1,100 words about the importance of advocating for children and their playing by way of a hard lesson learnt.
"The children at this school told me about ‘The Swinging Tree’. It was right at the back of the school field and was called this because there was one branch in particular that was at just the right angle and height to produce a great place to swing."
670 words on the history of one particular form of skipping game, a radio show, and the contibution of a littleold lady.
"Interview done, I sat back sipping my cup of BBC coffee and listened to the calls coming in. One of them took me and the programme staff aback a little."
An 800 word short on the importance of bikes for children's independent mobility and a bit of chopper envy.
"I kept saying to him, ‘Don’t let go, don’t let go!’ and he replied repeatedly, I won’t!’ with me never realising at the key moment that his replies were getting fainter and fainter."
A short on pots and pans, secruity measures, and how keeping secrets from children is virtually impossible.
"Then, one day I turned up at the school and, as per usual, headed for the staff room but when I got there I couldn’t get in. Between visits a new push button security lock had been added to the staff room door and, of course, I didn’t know the code."
A short on an online conversation, confusion over what is and is not 'play-based learning' and the pressures facing educators.
"When educators, in the early years especially, say that they are not getting the results they expect from a play-based approach the most common reason is that they are not actually applying a play-based approach."
A biographical short on rules, who they apply to and who they do not.
"I had to deliver the initial results of my interviews to a whole staff after school hours meeting and at the opening of the presentation I laid out a number of rules for the next hour that I was applying ‘for safety reasons’."
A biographical short on why sometimes the best intentions can hinder rather than help.
"His support staff had noticed this was making it difficult for him to get around independently in his old unpowered chair. So, to help him his school decided to put some of his support money towards buying him an electric wheelchair."
A biographical short on running away from home
"I remember walking down the long never-ending street that granny lived on being not upset but very angry. Then, my dad suddenly appeared alongside driving our old ex-army Moggie 1000 very slowly, his head sticking out the open window."
A biographical short on the difference between one of my schools and another.
"School was ok too - I settled in quite quickly, made some good friends and generally I have good memories of my time there. There was one aspect of this new school that I really struggled with, though."
1,000 words about where loose parts should best be left to get the most from them. It's largely about the word serendipity and a dead German biologist. The second of a two-part blog.
a \‘shȯrt-rēd’\ piece
"Whether we acknowledge it or not, when we adults gather specific materials together and place them in a context that we have pre-decided, like the tabletop, then we have both reduced the variety and the possible combinations available."
900 words on what happens when a five year old spots an aging playworker while trying to balance along a low wall, with a bit of a more than 100-year-old theory thrown in to boot.
"It is at this point that she noticed me walking towards the pair with shopping bag in hand and we briefly made eye contact – and something happened. Question is, what?"
900 words about what happens when you ask a playwork consutant to make recomendations on movoing a local community playground because of noise complaints. It doesnt as expected.
"It seems to be a truism that when children and young people come into conflict with adults in their local communities it is the adults who invariably win."
900 words about the confusion some find over using loose parts and how that relates to 'open-endedness'. The first of a two-part blog.
"By definition an object, whether a loose part or not, cannot be ‘open-ended’."
850 words about conflict between child-space and adult-space in local communities.
"It seems to be a truism that when children and young people come into conflict with adults in their local communities it is the adults who invariably win. This is especially true with the allocation of space as can be seen from the vast number of complaints made by adult residents against local playgrounds every year."
850 words about a memorable, exciting moment in a darkend room with a loose parts element.
"This may sound silly, but my hands were shaking a little as I opened the envelope and a waft of a familiar smell leapt out ..."
900 words about what we, the adult in a playspace, should be doing while there are children playing all around us. Vygotsky gets a mention as does a playwork pioneer.
"We have had many positive developments in an early learning and forest school context in how adults see their role in recent decades. What was the ‘teacher’ has, in many respects become the ‘educator’, for example, and that has clearly been a considered move; and yet ‘educator’ still implies ‘educate’."
900 words about the deep suspicion there appears to be for 'play' in the American kindergarten classroom.
"Restricting particular types of play, or learning, into a predesignated ‘corner’, ‘area’ or ‘station’ is like putting a wild animal in a cage and thinking that’s helpful. It’s not."
900 words about Simon Nicholson's 'Theory of Loose Parts' that asks if we are missing something in our interpretation of his ideas.
"Pretty collections of beads and shells, plastic shapes and buttons, stored neatly in nice wicker baskets or storage tubs, etc. do indeed constitute loose parts, there is a slight problem here. Becoming fixated with seeing ‘loose parts’ as just these small aesthetically pleasing things at the expense of others that might be less attractive to the adult eye really misses the major idea behind Nicholson’s original theory."
500 words about abnoxious teenagers and how we all went through a phase of being rude, destructive and apparently unthinking. And yet, we all did it ... didnt we.
"It was dark at the time as we climbed commando style over the fence and I confess I don't remember feeling concerned about this. Curiosity had got the better of us."
500 words about how the wear and tear marks left behind on physical features by years of use provide subtle clues to the actions of people long after they have left.
"This week, during an aside from the regular monotony of motels and cafes which makes up the uninteresting side of being on the road touring, brought up an unexpected example of forensic Playwork - the act of reading and interpreting the physical signs that playing leaves behind."
a \'shȯrt-rēd'\ piece
500 words about childhood family rituals and oddities and the importance they place in making us 'family'.
What family rituals can you remember? What little oddities do you still have in your family?
500 words about the differences and similarities that can be found in thirty-years worth of photographs of children at play.
Do you have photos of you playing as a child? Can you see any differences/consistencies?
500 words about the importance in having an eclectic collection of books for the serious researcher on play and playing.
How eclectic are you bookshelves? Where have your unexpected influences come from?
1,000 words on describing a chance encounter that resulted in a genuine, deep-down, fighting for breath belly-laugh.
What uncontrived moments have you shared with children and young people? Where were they? What were the circumstances?
