PLAY
“Play is the highest phase of child-development—of human
development at this period (childhood); for it is self-active
representation of the inner, from inner necessity and impulse.”
“The plays of childhood are the germinal leaves of all later life;
for the whole man is developed and shown in these.”
“Come, let us live with our children.”
—F. FROEBEL.
Play is spontaneous self-activity. It is not found among lower forms
of animal life. The length of the play period with any species is
directly related to the degree of intelligence of which it is capable.
Young children instinctively play activities which become work
when they are mature, and which their ancestors have practiced
as work. Among animals, play is Nature’s method of training for
responsibilities of maturity in food-getting and protection from
enemies.
Among the great educators of earlier days who have recognized
the value of play as a means of education of children are Plato,
Comenius, Rousseau, Locke, Rabelais. Pestalozzi and Froebel were the
first modern educators to practically utilize play in the education
of little children, and the widespread interest in play to-day is
traceable to their efforts and influence.
=Play and Work.= In play the individual expresses his own desire,
unhampered by artificial restriction or repressions, limited only
by his own strength, his imagination, and the facilities of the
environment. Play is not necessarily easy, in the sense of making
small demands upon physical strength or mental energy. Any one who
watches children at their play knows that the intensity of their
interest and desire leads them into work requiring the utmost of
their physical strength, endurance, and skill, and the greatest
exercise of imagination, initiative, judgment, patience in the
solving of problems; drudgery is performed with relative ease,
because it is appreciated as a necessary means to a greatly desired
end. There is no value in drudgery as such. It is a part of the great
art of life to select motives and activities that are an expression
of self-activity, and to perform the drudgery in the same spirit
expressed by children in their play. Drudgery becomes irritating when
it is not appreciated in its relation to an interest, as when it is a
task set by some one else, with no relation to the life of the doer;
or is the performance of labor for others merely for pay, without any
personal interest in the work or its results.
The child must learn to perform many duties in his own personal care,
in the life of the household, the family, and the community. It is of
greater value to put imagination and the play spirit into these, to
learn to make games of them, than it is to make dull, unimaginative
drudgery of them. During his fourth or fifth year the child can begin
to comprehend the values of these tasks, in self-dependence, service
to others, coöperation in the advancement of human life, and that he
has the part of a worker to play in the great game of life.
Learning, intellectual study, art, should by all means be forms of
self-expression, a development of personality, a source of happiness
in their acquirement,—play in a large sense. If the pupil is unhappy,
disinterested, inattentive, the teacher or the educational system is
at fault in not having discovered the vital, instinctive interests
of the child and his natural, spontaneous way of learning. Better
turn such a child out for free play and first learn from him what are
his vital interests, and then utilize these, in this play spirit, to
bring to him content and discipline of educational—that is, permanent
and highest—value.
This ideal is practically possible by studying the child’s
instinctive activities and interests at any given stage, and
supplying (a) conditions in the environment which permit his full and
rich expression of these interests; (b) content or goals that have
permanent life value; (c) increasingly difficult and more complex
conditions and problems, so that the child is advancing in skill and
ability.
For example: The baby likes to handle objects. Cultivate this play
interest educationally by giving him objects illustrating a great
number of shapes and sizes. Utilize his love of sound by letting him
hear, every day if possible, some good music. The three-year-old
child loves to dramatize. Teach him good manners and courtesies in
playing “tea-party” and “visiting”; instruct him in simple first aid
and hygiene through playing “doctor.” Later, tell him great stories
from the myths, from history, from classic literature, that he can
“play out.”
At about five years of age children instinctively pour and measure.
Instead of leaving this to chance play, it is possible to make it
of permanent (educational) value by providing (a) a play space for
various kinds of measuring; (b) a variety of substances to measure,
as sand, sawdust, pebbles, water, colored water, long strips of
paper, cheap tape or cloth, clothespins, even “real” fruits and
vegetables; (c) standard measures,—pint, quart, gallon, dry quart,
peck, bushel; later, gill and ounce, and the pound and ounce weights;
(d) bottles with wide mouths, and other receptacles for pouring
into, that will cultivate steadiness and carefulness. Begin with
two or three measures, teaching their relation, as pint and quart,
gradually adding more as these become known. Give at first measures
and bottles easy to pour into, later those more difficult, requiring
better coördination. Set a standard of neatness and accuracy. Watch
for indications of fatigue and let the play stop before there is any
strain.
Normal children in a normal environment do not wish to be amused,
but they are full of ideas of their own that they wish to express.
The adult very often desires to amuse children,—not primarily for
their benefit but for his personal pleasure in watching them and
participating with them; he (or she) needs a training in self-control
and a deeper understanding of child nature, that he may come to find
as keen satisfaction in standing aside and watching the child’s
self-development, bringing forward his own personality only where it
will be of educational or social value.
=Children’s Parties.= Children’s parties may be a means of social,
physical, and spiritual grace, or they may be made a cause of
nervousness, dissipation, corruptive ideals. As a means of grace,
they should (a) be held in the daytime and last about two hours for
children under six, three hours for the older group; (b) preferably
outdoors; (c) include a small group of guests—only four or five
for children three to five years, ten or twelve for children five
to seven, and about twenty as a maximum for children seven to ten;
(d) require simple dressing; (e) little preliminary excitement of
preparation; (f) games carefully conducted, and alternated with
stories to prevent fatigue or too much excitement; (g) a small amount
of very simple refreshments, as fruit juice and lady fingers, or milk
and animal crackers for children under five; or a small portion of
pure ice cream and sponge cake for children five to seven; or a small
amount of simple candy, nuts, popcorn for children over seven.
=Play Room and Ground.= The best playground is the home yard, where
mother can keep an oversight; where other children can come so she
knows the playmates, and where the child is kept in sympathy with
home influences. For indoor play, there should be a room kept sacred
to the uses of childhood. In this way both adults and children
have more freedom, with less conflict of comfort and convenience.
For children under three or four years this room will naturally be
the nursery; for older children it should include facilities of a
workshop.
The playroom should be well lighted and ventilated, with floors bare
except rugs for small children to sit upon. The walls, curtains, and
rugs should be washable. The color scheme should be cheerful and
attractive to childhood. Yellow, warm gray, or green are especially
good; red is too stimulating; violet is oppressive. Touches of rose
or light blue might be added. The wall covering should preferably
be a hard paint or Sanitas, at least to a four-foot wainscoting.
Pictures should be easily removed, frequently changed, arranged with
some regard to unity and symmetry. Pictures for little children
should be hung low enough to be easily seen.
The furnishings should include tables adapted to the child’s height,
chairs of hygienic design, cupboards and window seats for toys,
apparatus, tools, books, where they will be kept out of the dust
and in a reasonable order. The children should be responsible for
the orderliness of rooms and cupboards, good condition of walls and
furniture, and ordinary care of playground and playroom. Children
over seven may well be responsible for sweeping, dusting, wiping of
floors and woodwork.
=Playground Apparatus.= Sand pile, in framework or box, with cover
for protection from stray animals and weather. White sea sand is
cleanest.
Swings adapted to size and development of children
Playhouse
Place for pets and garden
Other apparatus, adapted to children at different stages, is listed
under each period, in this and two subsequent chapters.
For the playroom, supply an aquarium and vivarium, tools, workbench,
materials for handwork.
Play Interests and Activities. Infancy to Four Years
Sensory and motor activities
Individual play
Toys
Imitation; simple, imaginative, dramatic play
Quiet games preferred to active
One to Eight Months
Simple sense plays: Seeing, hearing, touching
Play with limbs: Arms, hands, legs, toes; grasping, sucking,
reaching for objects, holding, pulling, shaking, kicking
Pleasure in passive rhythmic movement of limbs, given by attendant
Play with simple toys
Apparatus: Baby pen, toys
Eight to Twelve Months
Experiments with sounds: Crumpling paper, pounding, pulling bells
Surprise and recognition: Peek-a-boo
Play with limbs: Pat-a-cake, touching features
Handling objects, turning key, opening and closing doors
Imitation: Smiles, vocal sounds, manual work
Rolling ball: Receiving ball when rolled
Apparatus:
Chair swing, with support for feet
Chairs to climb up by and push
Low railing for support in standing and walking
Two or three low, broad stairs (about 6 inches high, 12 inches
deep) to crawl up and down
One to Two Years
Sensory and motor experiments more extensive
Exploring, handling
Opening and shutting; taking out and putting in; turning key
Digging; pouring
Pounding for noise, tearing paper
Hiding self
Simple finger plays, _e.g._, “This Little Pig”, “Creep Mouse”,
“Knock at Door”, Froebel’s “Play with Limbs”
Rolling and tossing ball in free play
Brief games, rolling and throwing ball, with adult
Play with toys, as doll, cart, train, animals
Apparatus:
Swinging chair, with board or wall to strike feet in swinging
Low stile or stairs, with side rail or bannister
Small, low ladder
12-inch plank, 6-10 feet long, laid on ground, or securely
elevated 4 inches, making low bridge
Kitchen, cupboards, drawers, playroom, for exploration
Two to Four Years
Exploring wider range; watching activities, people, animals,
machinery
Examining objects, taking apart and putting together
Digging, pouring; playing with sand, mud, water
Hammering, pounding; experimenting with sound
Building with blocks; piling up and tearing down
Simple ball play, chasing, rolling, trying to catch
Finger plays; only simple ones yet possible, “Thumbkin says, ‘I’ll
Dance’”, “The Merry Little Men”,
“The Garden”, “Here’s a Ball for Baby”, (Poulsson)
Jumping and sliding begin; short running, being caught
Walking sidewise along fence, swinging on rope; climbing
Imitation of adult activities begins; household work, common
industries
Hiding self, but without sufficient control to remain until found
Pounding and rolling modeling clay; pretend painting, drawing,
sewing
Gathering stones, sticks, bright-colored objects
Experimenting with liquid color
Looking at pictures, especially of children, animals
Feeding pets, planting seeds
Play with dolls, toy animals, active toys
Apparatus as for previous age, and add:
Slide, purchased ready-made; or homemade one of 12-inch plank,
smooth, waxed, firmly secured, raised at one end 2 feet,
protected at sides by 3-inch strips, free from slivers
Board swing, with back, opposite board or wall to strike feet
against
Heavy rope, knotted at end, suspended from tree or ceiling, to
catch hold of and swing upon
Pit of straw, hay, sawdust, or sand to jump into
Playhouse with small doors and windows to crawl through; may be
made of large packing boxes
Swinging bar, to hang from by hands, toes on ground. Should be
raised just enough for difficult reach; may be homemade of broom
handle, capped at ends with leather or cloth, suspended by ropes
from tree or ceiling.
Shallow brook, watering trough, tub, or basin, for water play
For outdoor play, clothe the child in white or light seersucker
rompers, with sandals, in summer, and knitted sweater and leggings in
winter, for both boys and girls.
Teach children how to jump correctly, landing on soles of feet,
bending the knees.
Children at this age are most likely to be at a loss what to do
next. With ample opportunity and space for exploration, objects
for examination, and suitable apparatus for instinctive physical
activities, they will find this need met and will not need to be
“amused.”
Four to Six Years
Sensory and motor activities
Dramatic imitation, industries, animals
Imaginative dramatic play; dressing up
Beginnings of group play, unorganized
Beginning interest in circle games, singing games, traditional games
Finger plays
Climbing, jumping, rolling, sliding, swinging; balancing, walking
on straight line
Beginnings of marching, skipping, dancing, swimming, skating
Handcrafts: Carpentry, painting, drawing, modeling, pasting,
building with blocks, mechanical construction
Pouring, filling, weighing, measuring
Play with water, sand
Planting, caring for garden; caring for pets
Collecting less crude; stones, sticks, leaves, insects, pictures,
flags, buttons, bright colored paper, cloth
Doll play (boys and girls)
Hiding, hunting for persons and objects; with growing control
Simple tag games, short running, simple rules
Simple guessing, observation, surprise games; playing tricks
Play with words, as nonsense syllables, long words, rhyming
Experimenting with sound; improvising songs, melodies, on
instruments
Experimenting with colors and shapes; sorting, matching, grading;
coloring pictures
Looking at pictures with story value, historic value
Experimenting with problems in physics, chemistry
Exploring a wider environment
Apparatus and equipment:
Farmyard, garden, orchard, meadows, woods, beach
Sand pile; sand box for house
Swings, slide, jumping pit, playhouse, adapted to size
Swinging rings; made of rope secured with heavy surgeon’s
plaster, and covered with cloth, suspended from tree or ceiling
Rope ladder, 6 feet high, with mattress, straw, or hay bed beneath
Fence for sidewise walking
Joist or rail, 2 inches wide, single or parallel, for
straight-line walking
Aquarium, vivarium; boxes for collections
During this period there is need of much companionship with a few
other children of from three to seven years. This will give training
in generosity, social feeling, kindness, patience, self-control. It
will provide larger opportunities for dramatic play, and thus for
range of imagination.
Six to Ten Years
Sensory interests less marked
Ability to keep to rules of game
Group play, especially traditional, circle, singing games, group
competitions, ball games
Running: Running games, catching, as in forms of tag
Doll play; usually confined to girls; in latter part of period,
paper dolls, stunt dolls
Ball play and games, especially among boys
Dancing, balancing, swimming, skating, climbing, swinging, sliding,
tumbling
Manual dexterity in catching, throwing, balancing, hitting at a
mark, hitting at a ball
Dramatic play organized into serial play extending over days and
weeks, especially industrial activities, as playing house, store,
school, primitive life; playing at camping, hunting, imitating
social life of adults as found in environment
Handcrafts: Carpentry, painting, drawing, modeling, weaving,
sewing, knitting; pasting, papercutting; mechanical construction
Decorating, decorative designs, personal decoration
Weighing, measuring, counting
Housework, cooking
Rummaging, hoarding
Hiding and finding games more complex and difficult
Collecting interest strong; wide range, little classification;
includes pictures, flags, stamps, shells, souvenirs, leaves, birds’
eggs, minerals, insects
Gardening; care of pets
Games of mental alertness, observation, shrewder guessing, physical
alertness, accuracy, motor control
Play with words; rhyming, puns, riddles, counting out
Measuring strength of wit, patience, personality, will, with
others, especially adults
Observing industries, visiting natural history museums, watching
machinery in action
Exploring meadows, fields, woods, caves
Expression of natural ability in special phases of art
Apparatus and equipment:
As in previous period, except fence and rail
Ample space for running, climbing, group games
Companionship of comrades, boys and girls, for cultivation of
social adjustment, fairness, generosity, competition.