Free Play is Free Will

"In 1903, William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson were in their early 20s when they produced the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle in a backyard shed" (source: the History Channel's American Pickers).

If you stop for a moment to imagine the first Harley-Davidson shop, images of leaking oil cans, metal wrenches strewn on a dirt floor and sunbeams playing into a room full of dust come to mind. Creation, inspiration and perspiration. Free will.

Though not a motorcycle factory, here's a picture of my coffee table:

(Yes, there is a coffee table under there.) My son made this during a morning of free play. I don't know what this creation is all about, but I do know it's a pure expression of his free will.

He made the choices, and if his towers toppled over, he dealt with the consequences. I believe that if I took this free play time away from him, his stress level would skyrocket. And he'd have a tantrum. "The two most frequent indicators that children are stressed are change in behaviors and regression of behaviors" (source: NCCES).

There is talk about taking recess away from kindergarteners. Kindergarteners! When you don't give kids a chance to play, they freak out. And they lose the chance to experience free will.

Sometimes we get so concerned with cleaning up after our kids that we miss what they've created. We need to make sure our children have chances and opportunities to get to a point where they are comfortable enough exploring that they may just invent something. After all, if Harley's mother had said, "Stop fooling around in that shed," we'd be missing an entire part of our culture. And Harley would have missed the chance to feel the power of play.

© play101blog.blogspot.com, 2011-2012

A House Full of Spaz

I have a neat trick to entertain your kids. Are you ready? The easiest game ever. Stick a piece of blue painter's tape on the floor.

That's it! The possibilities are endless. It works every time. And it's practically free.

I was testing out a new game I'd come up with for my Play 101 series, and as soon as I got this one piece of tape on the floor my kids went crazy. It was a start line. It was a finish line. It was where the elephants and cars had to go. Granted, they know the blue tape usually means a game is about to start, but how could any kid resist the urge to play with this line?

A line means something. It's a marker. A boundary. A goal.

And when you present it to a young inquisitive mind, all sorts of games will emerge. Like the one my son suggested, "Let's crash into the wall! With our heads!"

They were so excited by this line, that by the time we'd tested out my new game they were in full-spirit spaz mode. Hence, the house full of spaz. My daughter was running around with her mouth in a wide open grin and my son was directing her like a traffic cop back and forth across the line.

They say kids will play with a paper bag and they're right. They'll play with anything if you just give them a chance to exercise their imagination. Open the doors and let the spaz into your house. It's fun, it's free play, and you really get to see your kids' minds at work. There's no better way to learn about your children than to simply watch them play.

© play101blog.blogspot.com, 2011-2012

Once They Crack Their Heads Open, I'll Call You Back

I actually said those words to my friend the other day when we were talking on the phone.

My kids were enjoying free play, an open-ended concept some parents totally get. But it's also a concept a lot of parents struggle with.

Free play is when you give your child a chance to enjoy time all on their own. No classes, no teachers, no book-learning, just good old-fashioned play. But here's where some parents shy away: it can be messy. Or, your child may get hurt.

God forbid.

Children need time to run, dance, create adventures, and yes, even crack their heads open. It's what makes them children. The innate learners and explorers of our world.

Ahh... summertime. I just had to use this shot as it brings me comfort during these relentless winter months. And it shows my daughter enjoying free play on one of our hikes.

What is she doing that will improve her math scores once she starts school? Is she reading flash card letters and numbers as she picks dandelions and tucks them behind her ear? What about her ability to draw circles and squares? To some parents, free play like this simply doesn't make sense in their child's "development." To me, it's the best gift you could ever hope to give your greatest blessings, your children.

My children enjoy free play, and because of that, have no trouble figuring out what to do with themselves when I'm in another room. (Except if I pick up the phone. That's the one thing that calls out to them like a siren offering chocolate cake.) So I knew that when I told my friend I'd have to call her back they were about to start up a game of "Let's hold hands and wrap scarves around ourselves and spin as fast as we can."

And this is where parents get scared away. If the free play gets too rough, or involves play-doh or paint, or moving the sofa cushions to make a fort. All I have to say is:

Get over it!

But don't use free play as a placeholder. I get that it's hard in the winter when we're stuffing our kids in their snowsuits into 5-point safety harness car seats and wiping runny noses. We don't have much energy left to clean up the after-effects of free play.

But then, why else did we have children? They'll be grown soon and their little toys won't be around anymore. Don't miss this chance to let... them... play.

And if you're in that group of parents who simply don't understand how to free play (see, now it's a verb), your children can teach you.

The easiest way is to start with a game. Then sit back, and let your children take the lead.

You can be ready off to the side with an icepack.

© play101blog.blogspot.com, 2011-2012