Snapshots of Play

Photo Credit: Mita Mohanty

In August of this year we launched our play initiative in the Junior School, building upon some earlier moves in this direction the previous academic year. Three months in, we can see some tangible successes. Dedicating the last lesson of the day to play - a time for curriculum outcomes to be explored explicitly through playful approaches - and also re-envisioning our lunchtime play has really made a difference.

One of the main aims of our re-look at play was to increase the hours spent in play outdoors, either unstructured or teacher-directed. Even though the weather has been unseasonally hot and humid, everyone has made efforts to plan for time outdoors and, for some teachers, this is now becoming an integral part of the day. A small investment in play equipment and some simple storage solutions has made play time so much more attractive for our children. Having a hundred-acre campus really helps too!

The garden area, with the recent addition of a mud kitchen still proves to be a firm favourite across the age ranges. There has been an on-going project of trench-digging which has captivated various groups of children as they delight in digging a watercourse and an ever-widening pond. 

                                                     

                                             

Photo credit: Sheila D'Souza

                                     

Photo Credit: Mita Mohanty

   

Play time offers the opportunity for strengthing relationships between children and adults and many teachers have been playing alongside the students at break time. Teachers have been building dens, skipping, playing ball games, dancing and enjoying Indian wrestling to name just a few activities. What an energising way to spend a break time!

Photo credit: Latha Kumar

The dedicated 'play time' at the end of the day has impelled teachers to think of creative ways to explore academic areas. Grade 5 students, in their unit of inquiry on 'Innovation' explored buoyancy, weight, balance in their designs and prototypes of rafts made from plastic jerry cans.

Grade 4 students, regularly to be found outdoors doing Maths, explored 'frog-jumping' with empty number lines outdoors.

Language lessons can be made more fun with the simple addition of some costumes.

Photo Credit: Meena Uniyal

Skills like problem solving, communication, social skills and teamwork are obvious spin-offs from play. Here, some of the youngest members of the school were working out how to get from one side to the other with limitations:

Photo credit: Rozina Syal

Photo credit: Rozina Syal 

                  

Getting parents on-board with play and outdoor learning is going to be vital to the success of this initiative so we are taking every opportunity to share our approaches with them, engaging them in playful learning and/or outdoor activities when they come for orientation sessions.

Photo Credit: Ekta Lilani

Photo Credit: Ekta Lilani

                      

These are all just snapshots of the wonderful experiences children in our Junior School are having on a daily basis. Of course, there are challenges in embracing this approach but I'm sure that in a year or so, those teachers who have really taken it on whole-heartedly will be feeling very pleased with what they have acheived. As the leader of the initiative, I also have low moments, not in doubting the validity of play or outdoor learning, but because of the seemingly slow pace of change. I have worked through the process of change with various projects in this context and others and with each project witness the same patterns of behaviour and have learnt to anticipate and plan for the difficulties that will inevitably arise. What I can say with full confidence is that we are making real and lasting changes in our students' experiences of childhood, which I personally feel is priceless.