let the children play

Nothing escapes the tape

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:29:00 +0000

The things they leave behind on the craft table:

If this made you smile, you might also like:

Little Gifts
More Little Gifts

Rainy day play on It's Playtime

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:42:00 +0000

New to It's Playtime? You can find out more about our playful learning link up by clicking here.

Playful Picks:

We all know how crazy it can get when the kids are couped up inside in rainy weather. Here are some simple indoor play ideas that are perfect for getting the wiggles out on wet weather days:

Indoor Obstacle Course from Mummy Musings and Mayhem:

Beanbag Tin Can Alley from Adventures at Home:

Build a Fort at Rainy Day Mum:

Has your post been featured? You are welcome to grab this badge to display on your blog.

Meet my Partners in play:

Messy Kids,

The Imagination Tree ,

hands on: as we grow and

QuirkyMomma

What rainy day play ideas keep you sane when the wet weather hits?

Looking for outdoor play ideas?

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 02:47:00 +0000

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To celebrate the launch of the new Play Outside! database, let's take a quick look at just a few of the 250+ ideas already included.

You will find everything from ideas for your toddler or preschooler in the backyard:

Chalk Roads from Create With Your Hands:

Ideas for creating irresistible outdoor play and learning environments at home or in an early childhood setting:

Creating Cubbies from Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning

Ideas to get the kids moving:

Get Moving from Happy Hooligans

Ideas for playing in the sand:

Dinosaur Worlds from Dimples and Giggles

or ideas for creating outdoors:

Land Art for Kids from Bowerbird Blue

and so much more.

If you haven't already, why not pop on over to Play Outside! to browse through the hundreds of outdoor play and learning tips and ideas on offer.

Or better yet, I'd love you to submit your own outdoor play post to add to the growing collection.

It is through your contributions that Play Outside! will grow to become a valuable resource for families and educators alike.

So tell me, what have you been playing outside this week?

Brand spanking new: Play Outside!

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:07:00 +0000

Introducing Play Outside!

I'm excited to announce that there is a new kid on the Let the Children Play block. Play Outside! is an ever growing searchable database of ideas, tips and tools for outdoor play and play spaces gathered from around the blogosphere into one handy location.

Already chock full of over 250 top outdoor play ideas, Play Outside! is a one-stop-shop for outdoor play and learning inspiration for early childhood professionals and parents of young children.

The play ideas are sorted into an extensive list of categories, to make it easy to search for just the one you want. For example, you might like to search by:

age
play material
play type
play space

You can find the categories by clicking on the "search by category" tab under the heading, or on the pop out menu on the right sidebar. For the complete list of categories, click here.

How do I get there?

When you want to visit Play Outside! from Let the Children Play, simply:

click on the Play Outside! page on the tab bar (just below the Let the Children Play blog header)
click on the Play Outside! box at the top of the sidebar. It looks like this:

You can also subscribe via RSS feed or email to receive all the new ideas added each week to the data base. Simply go the pop out menu on the side bar of Play Outside! and click on Subscribe.

How can I contribute?

I'd love you all to contribute to the Play Outside! database. Click here to find out how.

Bugs.

Play Outside! is new, and let's face it, it's a miracle that I know how to sign into my computer. If something isn't working or you can think of how I could improve Play Outside, please let me know. I promise I won't be offended.

Thank yous

There are an amazing bunch of bloggers out there who generously allowed me to rummage around their blogs and raid their outdoor play posts to kick start the data base. I'd like to thank the following people for their support, and encourage you to check out their wonderful blogs:

Early Play
Takoma Park Cooperative Nursery School
Flights of Whimsy
Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning
I'm a Teacher Get Me Outside Here
Happy Hooligans
Child Central Station
How Long is This Hall?
Teacher Tom
Teach Preschool
Share and Remember
Living Montessori Now
Learning for Life
Males in Early Childhood

Okay, so what are you waiting for? Go play outside!

Let the Children Play Poster

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:49:00 +0000

Now available to download on the blog by clicking here.

Enjoy :)

When I Play Outside I Am Learning....

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 01:56:00 +0000

Does this sound familiar?

I receive many emails for advice like this one from teachers who are feeling the pressure to justify their play-based outdoor programs to parents, administrators or colleagues.

Lisa Murphy aka The Ooey Gooey Lady refers to these folk as 'wolves':

Wolves ....desire to know the rationale for flubber, the developmentally appropriateness of ooblick, the reason for the hokey pokey...and seem to search incessantly for an overall justification of the importance of what we might call “play.” Wolves desire goals, objectives and activities that are aligned with standards, benchmarks and an assortment of desired results. - A Crash Course in the Language of the Wolves by Lisa Murphy

How do we deal with wolves? We learn to speak their language. Confidently explaining what children are learning when they play can work wonders to allay the fears of parents in a world where many feel pressured to hurry their children up and prepare them for the next level of their education.

Learning to speak the language of the wolves can be as simple as linking 'learning words' with play experiences when we speak to parents, says Murphy:

When we are squeezing playdough we are strengthening our hands and eventually, when our hands and fingers are strong enough, we are able to hold pencils.

So inspired, I've tweaked and added to Lisa Murphy's list of 'learning words' to make them applicable to outdoor play. You can use these words to help you explain what the children are doing when they play outside:

I have created this as an A4 sized document which you can download easily by clicking here. Print it out and pop it on your notice board, add it to your newsletter or use the words in everyday conversations with parents.

As Lisa Murphy says:

Great will be the day when we no longer have to defend what we do – but for now, we do. So we must be armed with an arsenal of information!

(I'd love you to let me know if you find handouts like this one useful.)

It's Playtime

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 02:21:00 +0000

New to It's Playtime? You can find out more about our playful learning link up by clicking here.

Playful Picks:

This week I couldn't go past this spectacular and colourful ball run from Learning Through The Clutter:

Has your post been featured? You are welcome to grab this badge to display on your blog.

Meet my Partners in play:

Messy Kids,

The Imagination Tree ,

hands on: as we grow and

QuirkyMomma

What have you been playing this week?

play outside!

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:26:00 +0000

Disturbingly, a new study has found that almost half of preschool age children don't play outside each day. Furthermore, the children in the study were found to be sedentary 80% of the time they are at preschool.

Why does this matter? Quite simply, outdoor play is good for children.

The benefits of outdoor play are well documented, and include:

increasing physical activity
increasing the body's vitamin D levels
reducing anxiety and improving mood
improving concentration and focus
enhancing imaginative and creative play
promoting problem solving and leadership skills
growing the next generation of stewards for the earth
developing stronger immune systems

Less time spent playing outdoors is linked to:

obesity
type II diabetes and high blood pressure
high cholesterol
anxiety disorders and depression
attention deficit disorder

There has never been a more important time for parents and educators to make outdoor play a priority for the children in their lives. It is one of the best things that we can do for their health, education and well-being.

In need of some outdoor play inspiration?

50 things to do before the age of 12
Outdoor Play Ideas on Playopedia
Nature and Outdoor Play Ideas from The Grass Stain Guru
Fun Ideas for Outdoor Play from Play 4 Life
Fabulous Ideas for Outdoor Play from Nurture Store
Ideas for Outdoor Play from Squigglemum
The Outdoor Play Party hosted by The Golden Gleam, Mama Peapod, Greening Sam and Avery and Learning for Life.

So what are you waiting for? Grab the kids and head on outside to play!

Resources for block play

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:35:00 +0000

The materials you add to the block corner can take play off into new and different directions.

For the past two weeks, the simple additions of material scraps and dolls house furniture have led to a spate of interior decorating and rich imaginative play:

I love finding inspiration from around the blogosphere for new materials to add to our block area. Here are just a few:

Pipes, tubes and balls @ Marvellously Made Preschool
Kitchen utensils @Brick by Brick
Tin Cans @Our Reggio Emilia Inspired Classroom Transformation
Real Bricks @Preschool Daze

You will find more ideas on my Pinterest board - Preschool block play.

Do you have an idea you could share with us? Do tell....

it's playtime

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:19:00 +0000

New to It's Playtime? You can find out more about our playful learning link up by clicking here.

Playful Picks:

School holidays are here, and what better time to head outside and play!

Walnut Acre shares ideas for outdoor play, including creating an outdoor play basket filled with animal figures, wood, stones and sticks to kick start imaginative and creative play:

Or why not get creative outdoors with some sponge texture painting? From Mummy Musings and Mayhem:

Or take the dramatic play outside with a picnic basket? From Paint on the Ceiling:

Has your post been featured? You are welcome to grab this badge to display on your blog.

Meet my Partners in play:

Messy Kids,

The Imagination Tree ,

hands on: as we grow and

QuirkyMomma

What have you been playing this week?

worlds of imagination in a sand tray.

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:11:00 +0000

It seems that creating small worlds of imagination never looses popularity amongst the children.

Throw in the added attraction of teeny tiny things that kids just love to handle - small smooth pebbles, marbles of glass, minute tea sets, mini furniture, buttons, shells - and you have yourself a winner.

This sunny day we set out a couple of shallow boxes and containers filled with sand, along with a basket of goodies to create little worlds.

Scraps of material, small dishes, fake flowers, pebbles, driftwood pieces, shells and plastic butterflies were arranged and rearranged endlessly to create worlds and fairy gardens.

What fairy could resist a world such as this, created with care and thought and imagination?

Imaginative play worlds in sand boxes are simple to throw together at home and make a fun school holiday experience. You can pick up bags of sand cheaply from your local hardware.

Like some more on fairy gardens? Try:

::: Creating a fairy garden in a pot

::: Fairy worlds and fairy shelters

::: Fairy Gardens @ Pinterest

::: Miniature Play Worlds @ Pinterest

::: Small world play ideas @ The Imagination Tree

::: Cardboard box town @ The Imagination Tree

Where has imagination taken your children lately?

a recipe for boredom

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:55:00 +0000

It's school holidays. The boys are home, and this morning they are bored. Or so they keep telling me. Over and over and over again.

As I contemplate possibly leaving home, I remember something I once read from Charles Eisenstein, author of "Ascent of Humanity".

Here is how to make a child bored:

"First and foremost, keep him indoors so that the infinitude of nature, its endless variation and chaotic messiness is replaced by a finite, orderly, predictable realm."

"Second, through television and video games, habituate him to intense stimuli so that everything else seems boring by comparison."

"Third, eliminate as much as possible any unstructured time with other children, so that he loses his capacity for creative play and needs entertainment instead."

"Fourth, shorten his attention span with fast-paced programming, dumbed-down books, and frequent interruptions of his play."

"Fifth, hover over him whenever possible to stunt his self-trust and make him dependent on outside stimulation."

"Sixth, hurry him from activity to activity to create anxiety about time and eliminate the easy sense of timelessness native to the young."

And so I stand firm. I will not cave into demands for computer games or TV. I will not be their entertainment director (all the time). I will invite some mates over. And they will go outside and play.

I know from many school holidays of experience that eventually they become so bored with being bored that they use their creative thinking to come up with alternatives, that can often keep them going all day.

Is "Mum, I'm bored" a familiar refrain in your house? What do you do?

40 fab blogs about play, learning, parenting and life!

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 01:34:00 +0000

What happens when you put the call out to your lovely Facebook readers to share their blogs? You get 40 new blogs to read through, that's what!

Think Magnet - laughing and learning through teachable moments
Stuck under a Baby
Child Central Station - where children come first
Meaning Matters - guiding the development of young readers through meaningful literacy experiences
Mason's Journey - our boy with a special heart
Peek a Boo Beans - play stylist
Plath's Adventures - crafting, homeschooling and just plain life
Lesson's from a Teacher
Heart Wanderings - creative exploration, parenting with heart, looking within.
Little Hearts - Gentle parenting resources
D is for Dinner
Butterfly Wings - child parent program
The Three Bears Get Crafty
Homegrown and Healthy
Dribs and Drabs
Like Mama Like Daughter
Precious Childhood
Today's Play
Treechange
Wee Friend's Kids
Fit Kids Clubhouse
Cheese and Quackers
Foodie Loves Baking
Catching Readers Before They Fall
Being, Belonging, Becoming - reflections of learning and teaching with preschoolers
Ms Mom
Daisy in the Sun
Provocations for ECE
Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes - kindergarten is a journey, you need the right footwear for adventure
Artful Genius - inspiring amazing artful experiences that enrich, entertain and educate
Entertaining Monsters
For the Children
365 Days of Motherhood
Growing Greenies
Mountaintop Family Day Care
The Little Magpie
The Big Little Picture
Sara Loves to Play
Conservation Calendar - celebrating our world everyday
Turtlewings

Now that should keep you busy over Easter!

Did you miss out linking to your blog? If you have a blog to share, please share it with us by leaving your blog title and link in the comments.

It's Playtime

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:40:00 +0000

New to It's Playtime? You can find out more about our playful learning link up by clicking here.

Playful Picks:

First cab off the rank this week comes from Simple and Joyful, who shows us how to make an outdoor xylophone:

And here is one for the toddlers in our midst - DIY texture mats from Pre-school Play:

You know I can't go past a natural playscape. The Single Crunch shares their natural backyard playscape:

Has your post been featured? You are welcome to grab this badge to display on your blog.

Meet my Partners in play:

Messy Kids,

The Imagination Tree ,

hands on: as we grow and

QuirkyMomma

What have you been playing this week?

child-sized spaces with mosquito netting

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:13:00 +0000

Got a mosquito net handy? They are a simple way to create temporary and inviting child-sized spaces both indoors and out:

For more ideas, have a look here:

::: A new year is about to begin from Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning

::: Quiet, peaceful spaces

building a house of branches.

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 23:56:00 +0000

What are your favorite outdoor memories from childhood? Ask an adult of our generation this question, and their is a good chance that their reply will include making cubbies, shelters, forts or dens.

Young children love places to call their own. Places to hide from the prying eyes of adults. Places to create their own world. Places to retreat to. Places to hang with a few good mates. Places to pause and be still.

A cubby doesn't need to be elaborate or an expensive store bought concern. In fact, it is often better if it isn't. Give children the bare bones and let their imagination and creativity do the rest.

Last week's cubby began as nothing more than a pile of loose materials: tyres, bamboo poles, branches, wooden pallets and tree cookies.

We dug 2 branches and 2 bamboo poles into the ground, tied the tops together to make a make-shift teepee. And then stepped back. Minutes later, the girls took up residence and set about renovating, expanding and making it their own.

Fake flowers, willow branches and a tablecloth became the walls:

A mat for the floor, and a door mat (no dirty feet allowed in this cubby please):

With plates for lunch all set out, the teepee became the kitchen:

Chairs on the wooden pallet became the verandah:

When it was bedtime, they needed a place to rest their weary heads. They asked me for a mattress (we used a blue mat) while they ran off to fetch the pillows and blankets from inside:

Kitchen - tick. Verandah - tick. Bedroom - tick. All that was needed was a living room, and the tractor tyre did the job nicely.

Of course, girls don't like to be confined to the house all day long so a car was needed to take them to wherever their imaginations led them:

The wondrous thing about this experience is that a pile of old junk can become a place of beauty in their eyes.

The outdoors - with the addition of lots of loose materials and the freedom and time to use them in their play - enhances the children's creative and imaginative play. Resist the urge to step in - unless invited - and you will be amazed where the play takes them. I promise.

write? we can't stop them.

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:07:00 +0000

Yes, I can see that they are having fun playing.

I notice that there doesn't seem to be much structure to your program.

I can't see evidence that you sit down and teach them their letters and their numbers.

I don't want my child to be behind the other children in Kindergarten.

It's all very wonderful, but will the children learn to write?

Just try to stop them!

They write their name on their paintings:

They write tickets to their shows:

They write on their block plans:

They write signs for their cubby:

And maps to show where they have buried the treasure:

They write their own books:

They write on rocks, with rocks:

They write on the concrete:

They write on the typewriter:

They write warnings to bugs:

And warnings to boys:

In a play-based curriculum, each day provides opportunities to learn about writing through real, meaningful situations in a safe environment that lets them try new challenges, solve problems and experiment with supportive and interested adults who understand how children learn and develop.

Really, we couldn't stop them writing if we wanted to.

Long live play based curriculum and let’s hope this latest spate of attempting to structure and formalise reading and writing in preschool because “children reportedly said they wanted it”, disappears as quickly as it arrived. - Kathy Walker

For further reading:

The Worksheet Dilemma by Sue Grossman
Learning in the Early Years by Kathy Walker
Becoming Literate EYLF Newsletter
They Play, But Do They Write?

a muddy bushwalk

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 06:53:00 +0000

We're going on a bush walk. We're going on a big one. We're not scared. What a beautiful day.

Uh oh, mud. Thick, squelchy mud.

Can't go over it. Can't go under it. We'll have to go through it.

Squelch, squelch, squelch, squelch.

cleaning easels

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:05:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but sometimes I forget that the preparation before an experience and the clean-up afterwards can be just as valuable learning opportunities as the experience itself.

I'm an impatient person, and a perfectionist to boot. In my perfect world, families and children would arrive at preschool and everything for the day would be set out immaculately and invitingly for a day of fun filled play. A cleaning fairy would dance behind the children, picking up, cleaning up and restoring order.

With the help of gentle reminders from my colleagues, I'm learning to let go, to take deep breathes and to involve the children every step of the way.

There are always enthusiastic volunteers for jobs like washing down the easels. After all, soapy sudsy water, paint and sponges are a pretty irresistible combination.

In fact, the easel cleaners get so carried away that they move onto cleaning everything in the vicinity.

Including the children in all the day to day tasks involved in keeping our preschool community flowing smoothly - whether it is sorting the washing, hanging up the hand towels, feeding the worms, choosing supplies for the craft table or washing down the tables - helps to develop a feelings of belonging and responsibility, independence and autonomy, team work and self confidence.

And I learn to be patient and realise that we have all the time in the world.

What ways do you involve children in the day to day tasks at preschool - or at home?

it's playtime

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:36:00 +0000

Playful Picks:

Growing a Jeweled Rose shows us that you don't need a whole lot of space to create a mud pie kitchen:

For the Children shared this fab idea for nature backpacks for young children:

Meet my Partners in play:

Messy Kids,

The Imagination Tree ,

hands on: as we grow and

QuirkyMomma

What have you been playing this week?

Linking up is simple.

building pathways: a grand scheme with loose parts

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:06:00 +0000

Did I tell you how unseasonably wet it has been in Sydney this summer? After weeks and weeks of rain our outdoor play space resembled a swamp. Of course, this bothered the adults more than the children:

But after a while, even they tired of muddy feet and shoes - until one little bloke came to the rescue. Using pretty much every piece of wood he could lay his hands on he created a walking track that led from one end of the play space to the other.

With handy detours to all the hot spots, like the swings:

No more muddy feet!

Children who have the opportunity for plenty of free, unstructured play outdoors have been shown to play in more imaginative and creative ways. This is especially true when they have access to lots of 'loose materials'.

With loose parts such as wood, tyres, milk crates or rope readily available and the permission to use them as they please, children can not only come up with grand ideas like this one, but have the resources to carry them out.

Go loose parts!

What have the children in your world been building with loose materials lately?

from plot to pot: a preschool veggie garden

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:51:00 +0000

Harvest.

Wash and scrub.

Chop.

Share.

playdough and natural materials

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:52:00 +0000

Natural materials: shells, seeds, nuts and pebbles.

Add playdough and a child's imagination, experimentation and creativity.

Result: masterpiece.

Natural materials can be used in all areas of the classroom to spark creativity, imagination, story telling, construction, exploration and curiosity.

Like some more examples of natural materials in the classroom?

::: natural play with clay and sticks

::: the point preschool: use of natural materials

::: creating nature collages

::: natural and recycled materials @ Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning

How have you been adding natural materials to play lately?

tracing your shadow

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:26:00 +0000

go and open the door

noreply@blogger.com (jenny) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:02:00 +0000

When we opened the door and stepped outside this week we discovered trees as tall as the sky, with secret child-sized cubby spaces:

We discovered that the world looks very different up on top of the rocks:

We discovered that you can draw on the surface of rocks with stones:

We paddled in the cooling waters of the creek:

and searched for creatures living in it:

Every time we step outside the door and walk into our beautiful bush there are new discoveries to be made.