Re-Thinking Play Out Loud

It began with an article in Sports Illustrated about Lacrosse (Lacrosse and Canada's Cultural Reckoning) and how that game was colonized in order to subjugate the Indigenous child. Then there was a post about non-white thinkers in Early Childhood Education. It ended where it will begin- with me banging my own head and saying, "Of course! How could I have not even seen that?" 

This post is more of a beginning for me, not a conclusion. It's more of a revisiting what I think I know, and realizing I need to go back and expand on my knowledge. 

Now, anyone who follows me or knows me understands how important I view play in our development. Why did it never occur to me that all of my beliefs in this matter come from the foundation of white Euro/American perspective? Mostly male, though there are some women thrown in there for good measure. Dewey, Vygotsky, Bronfenbrenner, the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy- these are the thinkers that influence my teaching. I don't believe they are wrong, but I am realizing my thinking is incomplete. Particularly in this world that I live, a world made of many cultures and identities. I need to expand my thinking, and I need to seriously look into thinkers who have been ignored or brushed aside because they didn't fit the 20th Century narrative of psychology and development. 

I want to go back to the basics on the theory of play- what is the purpose of play? I have always had a ready answer for that, but now I question it. I think I need to dig deeper. I need to look beyond my own cultural lens to see what flows underneath it and around it. 

I know that all mammals play- it's how we all learn. It's how humans work out the world around them and figure out where they fit into it. According to the SI article (mentioned above), lacrosse was more than a game, it has a spiritual underpinning that the dominant white culture attempted to take away. A game that was forced to shift from playing to discover something within us, to a game with winners and losers. There was a spiritual element to the game. It was a way for Indigenous children to figure out their universe. I imagine in many other cultures it is the same way. The purpose of play was more than a means to an end, but a way to connect to something bigger than we are, a way to delve further into our spiritual beings. And, isn't that what we really mean when we talk about using play to figure out the world around us?

So, my new objective- to look at the power of play, but from other perspectives that have been ignored. Play is big, and the thinking around it is bigger than we understand.

Literacy Walks, Mapping, and Outdoor Learning- Oh MY!

It started with a story.

Then we found a map!

So, of course we had to follow it!

And while we walked, we read the book

And while we were walking and reading we discovered clothes- just like the lady!

 (and some musical instruments to add some extra sound effects)

Turns out we had a pretty awesome time!

Here's the story, if you've never heard of it:

 The Little Old Lady who Wasn't Afraid of Anything

Sometimes, you've got to take it outside!

Social Emotional Learning More Important Than EVER!

I've seen a theme on Teacher Twitter lately- how the Students are misbehaving, bold, disrespectful, defiant. It's a month or two into school, students have settled in and are feeling comfortable in your class. It may seem as if it's time to taper off on the community building and social emotional learning. Time to hunker down and learn the "real, important" stuff. I want to challenge this notion. Instead of tapering off on it, now is when social emotional learning is the most important! 

It seems counter-intuitive. In any other year, now is when we might really start nudging our students to more academic learning. But this year, especially if your students were online last year, try something different. Try thinking about your classroom expectations from the perspective of your student. They were home, learning through a small screen last year, or they were face to face, socially distanced, in the same room as others, but not sharing the same space. Or, in the case of most kindergarteners, not in school in the first place.

Last year our provincial school board operated face to face all year. What we noticed was the behaviours we started to see taper off at the end of September were still being dealt with, long into the late fall and winter. Six months home, in a very small bubble of people impacted our social skills more than we had anticipated. We spent most of last year really dealing with big emotions from young learners. In a scary world, even if we aren't sure why it's scary, we just "feel" like it's scary, sometimes the only way we know how to react is defiantly. That self-preservation mode is strong, even in little humans.

While this year may seem a little different, our kids are still learning in the middle of a pandemic. If your students were online last year, then they have been in a small bubble for a long time! Things like that take their toll on us. Humans are tribal creatures. We work best when we work in community with other humans. Even the most introverted of us needs other people. Add this stress to seeing adults around them losing their minds over things like vaccination mandates and mask mandates. They see the anger, they hear parents and other adults talking, kids are observant. They know things we think they don't. And no one is asking them what they think. How many students have truly been asked their opinion of wearing a mask in school? The entire conversation has been around adults feelings and opinions, not on the actual ones who are directly affected.

Are your students talking back to you? Ask yourself what that motivation is. Are they getting up and walking around? Remember last year they could do that whenever they wanted. Maybe build that into your day (confession: if you were to ask my opinion, chances are they are sitting way too long in the first place. Not a slight against any individual teacher, but against a system that expects children to sit still for hours while adults are up walking around). 

Think about their behaviour from an out of body perspective. Whatever the reason for their actions, it's probably not even about you as the teacher, but about their reaction to living in an unpredictable world where too many adults aren't doing their job protecting the children. 

So, instead of blaming the kids, find ways to work with them. Be the adult leader they so desperately need. Smile with them. Laugh. Play games. Have FUN! Even when- especially when- they may seem like they are coming apart at the seams. The only way to stitch them back together is through love and understanding.

The world is a harsh and scary place right about now. Don't you think it's time we lead with love?