Posts filed under ‘Unstructured Play’
A Taste of Independence: Trusting kids
With the freedom to explore, a child spotted a pair of cranes and took this photo.
I let three 9-year-old boys walk a good distance ahead of the group on a hike at Governor Nelson State Park last week.
This might not sound like a big deal, but it was for them.
They wanted to feel independent. And yet, they kept looking back, just to make sure we were still there. That’s how growing up works. Kids want to stretch their wings, but do so only when they feel that someone will catch them if they fall.
It’s important to give kids opportunities to be independent. They don’t get this otherwise.
Unlike my youth, these kids do not get to roam outdoors.
They go from home to school to after school and then back home again.
They do not get to practice being independent even in the smallest ways, like going to the grocery store or walking to school.
On this trip, I was happy to give them a taste. And look what happened. They “snuck up” on Sandhill Cranes; they spotted a hummingbird; they watched Canada geese with their goslings; they walked on the rocks by the water and spotted a dried up carp.
They were so excited and engaged and I didn’t have to do anything, but be with them. They developed observation skills, gained confidence and expanded their knowledge of the world.
But most important, they learned to trust themselves and I learned to trust them.
Let me know how you give kids a taste of independence.
Boys build things and play in the water
I let five boys play in “the pond” during after school on Friday. They got a little wet and dirty and they loved it. Imagine that.
“The pond” is a rain garden sandwiched between our parking lot and a cell phone tower. It’s a little bit of wild in an urban setting. It’s a place where chorus frogs sing, a pair of mallards nest and native plants grow.
It was fun to watch the boys create their own fun in this little spot of nature.
Arden, the thinker of the group, talked to the ducks and wondered what they were saying. Joe and John immediately started building a bridge across the pond with boards that were lying around. The other boys chipped in and added to the structure. They all enjoyed walking on the tipsy structure they built, trying hard not to fall in.
Joe was the ring leader and sloshed through the water – about one foot deep – to complete the bridge. A free spirit, he begged me to let him take his pants off. I smiled and said No! That didn’t keep him from asking again. It was fun to watch Joe plop the boards into place with a splash…with his pants on.
Kids don’t get many opportunities for this kind of play anymore. When I was a kid, we tramped around in the woods all the time. There was more freedom and open space available then and parents weren’t as concerned about their kids. Today, you can’t just go out and build a fort in the local woods anymore without getting into trouble.
That’s why it’s important to let kids play in unstructured environments as much as possible. They need permission to do this whenever and wherever possible. As summer approaches, I’ll be thinking of ways to build in time for unstructured play.
What are you doing to offer kids time to create in the outdoors.
You can find Diane Schwartz sloshing around with kids at the Goodman Community Center. Her next trip is April 16th to the UW-Arboretum where the kids will be picking garlic mustard and having a picnic. Thanks for reading. Be sure to “like it” and share it with your friends.
