Tuesday, February 18, 2003
What is Playful?
Among the many delightful resources found on the website of the Child Research Net is this collection of responses from an Interview Project on "what is playful?" Here's a sample:
"When there are playful people around me, I feel playful. Playful is infectious. And, it is necessary to work on the playful nature that you have so you can react to a playfulness of other people. And, to make other people feel playful, you have to take the initiative in feeling playful yourself."
"To enjoy making others happy. To enjoy being made happy by others. It can be a smile during busy hours at work, a nice surprise in the mail, or just going starting a conversation with people around you. I think you need to be comfortable with yourself (without serious concerns, feeling low, etc) in order to think about wanting to make others happy, so playfulness is something that is very important to yourself as well as others!"
"To be free in soul and action. To have the heart to laugh at yourself. That's playfulness."
The Child Research Net is "...a non-profit, internet-based child research institute and operated as an activity of the Fukutake Education Foundation under the auspices of Benesse Corporation in Japan" is the first research-centered organization I've found that takes itself lightly enough to go beyond the restrictions of carefully footnoted, scholar-appropriate scientific methodology, and dive headlong into collecting source material, from children and from adults who play with children. Though there is an ample supply of scholarly papers and the majority of the advisory board members are highly-accredited and accomplished academics, the focus is clearly on the pragmatics of play. The result is a remarkably powerful, practical, and inspiring collection of articles, grounded in experience, rather than ground down by experiment.
Everything I read in this collection is further evidence of an organization whose hearts and minds are devoted to play. I found the following definition of "What is Playful" in a collection of articles describing their Playful Learning project.
Children possess programs to fully use the capabilities of the mind and body. CRN's starting point is the concept that playfulness starts these programs in operation. When children are absorbed in play, filled with excitement and a joie de vivre, the programs of the mind and body work at full capacity. We also define the "playful spirit" as a certain feeling or emotion, the thoughts, curiosity and inquiring mind that arise when an individual is absorbed in something. The definition of "playful spirit" also includes sympathy for others, positive attitudes, and a concern for people and things. In other words, a playful spirit encourages children's spontaneous learning.
From the perspective of one who cares about children, and the quality of life, CRN offers us all a much-needed source of sanity and reassurance.
"When there are playful people around me, I feel playful. Playful is infectious. And, it is necessary to work on the playful nature that you have so you can react to a playfulness of other people. And, to make other people feel playful, you have to take the initiative in feeling playful yourself."
"To enjoy making others happy. To enjoy being made happy by others. It can be a smile during busy hours at work, a nice surprise in the mail, or just going starting a conversation with people around you. I think you need to be comfortable with yourself (without serious concerns, feeling low, etc) in order to think about wanting to make others happy, so playfulness is something that is very important to yourself as well as others!"
"To be free in soul and action. To have the heart to laugh at yourself. That's playfulness."
The Child Research Net is "...a non-profit, internet-based child research institute and operated as an activity of the Fukutake Education Foundation under the auspices of Benesse Corporation in Japan" is the first research-centered organization I've found that takes itself lightly enough to go beyond the restrictions of carefully footnoted, scholar-appropriate scientific methodology, and dive headlong into collecting source material, from children and from adults who play with children. Though there is an ample supply of scholarly papers and the majority of the advisory board members are highly-accredited and accomplished academics, the focus is clearly on the pragmatics of play. The result is a remarkably powerful, practical, and inspiring collection of articles, grounded in experience, rather than ground down by experiment.
Everything I read in this collection is further evidence of an organization whose hearts and minds are devoted to play. I found the following definition of "What is Playful" in a collection of articles describing their Playful Learning project.
Children possess programs to fully use the capabilities of the mind and body. CRN's starting point is the concept that playfulness starts these programs in operation. When children are absorbed in play, filled with excitement and a joie de vivre, the programs of the mind and body work at full capacity. We also define the "playful spirit" as a certain feeling or emotion, the thoughts, curiosity and inquiring mind that arise when an individual is absorbed in something. The definition of "playful spirit" also includes sympathy for others, positive attitudes, and a concern for people and things. In other words, a playful spirit encourages children's spontaneous learning.
From the perspective of one who cares about children, and the quality of life, CRN offers us all a much-needed source of sanity and reassurance.
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