My friend, Kristen, recently posted about developing a sense of play with her fifth grade students. This is what she wanted to leave her students with as they departed for Middle School. The post is really interesting and made me think about how much we play at school, how much we actually allow these 10 and 11 year old people to be kids and to play.
I am currently in Portland and my friend is at a Reggio course here. The purpose of the course is to teach teachers about things like play and how important it is in developing imagination and creativity amongst children. I went on a tour of the Opal School which is part of the Portland Childrens Museum. One of the large classroom spaces was shared by two classes. Not unusual in itself, until I tell you it was the fifth grade and the first grade. What you saw was an amazing example not only of how to develop community amongst a group of students, but also the role of play in the learning of all the students, be they just starting or preparing to leave the elementary school.
Here is a video from the Opal School with an explanation from their 8-11 year olds about the connection between play and learning:
This all got me thinking. I spent most of the next morning in the education section of Powell’s bookstore, and while I found a lot of good stuff (especially about the ‘third teacher’ which I will post on shortly) I didn’t find what I was looking for about play. So I went to the business section. Obvious choice, right? Well, turns out it was. I found a book there that was perfect – and not just because the first page I turned to was all about Seth Godin (but that helped!)
Upon reading the first section of the book, The Red Rubber Ball at Work that focused on INNOVATION I became convinced that play, and more specifically purposeful play, was going to be needed in my classroom next year if I am going to help bring about the innovation and imagination and creativity that I really believe we should be striving for in schools.
Take a look at the ‘takeaway’ ideas I got from each contributor to this section on innovation:
Figure out a backup for what might go wrong. ~Seth Godin, Author / Speaker / Entrepreneur
Share your ideas in a grown-up version of ‘Show and Tell’. Collaborate and exchange information freely rather than hoarding it all for your own advancement. ~ Tom Kelley, General Manager, IDEO
Develop the art of improvisation and always, always use your imagination. ~Emily Crumpacker, Chef / Consultant
Community is play. Help your community (whomever that might be) find its voice. ~Majora Carter, Executive Director, Sustainable South Bronx
Engineering is Art – just with different specifications and a higher level of math required. Practice engineering through art and play – and get some Legos! ~James McClurkin, Robotics Engineer
Without imagination you cannot anticipate the future. It you cannot anticipate the future, you cannot impact the future. ~ Andrew Zolli, Futurist / Founder, Z + Partners
Look to other people’s art to inspire your own innovation. Push each other to refine your skills and come up with new ideas but keep at the core of your community a mutual respect for each other and the personal belief that your voice matters. ~ Carlos “Mare139” Rodriguez, Sculptor / Graffiti Artist
I really like this quote and I believe it too. In his book, Kevin Carrol explains the difference between playful play and productive play and why he believes productive play can actually be woven into what we call “work”. This type of play:
“…has consequences, specific outcomes, and goals other than pure pleasure. It has a specific purpose, such as producing a tangible thing, like a new and better widget, or playing tennis to win a tournament rather than just for fun.”
I love that I have something new to read that backs up my own thinking on the importance of play. Now to figure out what that is going to look like in “real life” in my classroom. Key will be using the “third teacher” to facilitate this. Stay tuned for more!
Update…
Here is a great post on how Play is the Work of Children with links to some excellent quotes on why play is so important. My favorite:
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
sonya terborg 
Sounds like a great course and interesting school. Say hello to Portland! Just got 2 books from your wish list–Ken Robinson’s and the 5 minds. Want to read and compare?
Which Ken Robinson book? The Element? I will get the 5 minds one. Would love to read and compare! Awesome. I loved Portland – could live there easily! The school was great – very inspiring stuff.
Kevin Carrol is also an amazing speaker. He spoke at my school, Flint Hill last year. If you ever get a chance to hear him, he is amazing! Has an incredible life story too.
I am loving his book so can only imagine what a great speaker he would be. Your school sounds more and more awesome the more I hear about it! What a great place to work that encourages and provides for so much food for thought.
Thanks for yet another great post Sonya! And thanks to Kristen too. My students’ responses to “What were your favorite things about Grade 2” attest to the fact that friends, recess, Grade 2 team time, and Lego are among the student’s favorite things about the year!
Lego and Dogs = the two things every classroom should have 🙂
Great post and I couldn’t agree more. I am going to share this and the post from Kristen with our teachers as part of the play initiative we have started at HIS. It has been mostly centered on active play but time to expand.
That sounds really good, Dan. I liked the distinction between playful play and productive play. Will be interested in seeing how things at HIS play out (bad pun intended!) Hope you have a great summer!