Many different discoveries and experiences are entrenched in the developmental stages of play. Children weave in and out of solitary, parallel, and collaborative play and during the fall (the season of mushy leaves, spiders, and bruised veggies) the experiences are messy. However… I keep having to remind myself to step back and prevent myself from telling children why things are the way they are and perhaps toying with the idea that getting stuck in the rain without a raincoat is okay. Find a tree! Or — commiserate with a friend. In time-saving psychological/exlusionary words these types of experiences could be construed as a child working on ‘self-regulation’. ITs also just play and little feelings scientists looking to increase the complexity of their play. If people are worried about mess/stepping back there’s a burgeoning amount of research connected to play.
(People/teachers/industries/institutions define “play differently” but that can be for a future article).
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237108843_Why_Play_Learning
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This topic was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by Matthew Wetzler.