Nature, Nutrue, & Play

Nature, Nuture Play

This is probably not my finest blog post. I've been working on it over a series of workshops. I think it's got the key points. I'm working quickly to get it posted because we're heading out in a few minutes and will have a late night. Sorry about any spelling mishaps.

Molly O’Shaughnessy
EX. Dir. MN Montessori Training Center
Maria Montessorri, 1870 – 1952, was Italy’s first female doctor. She began working with troubled children ages 3 to 6 and realized that these kids needed education not medication. She realized these children needed sensory experiences and began watching the children and their interactions indoors / outdoors. Children’s main tasks during these ages is to construct and adapt.

Some think that work is more important than play. But as Renee has taught us, David Elkind, play is work, and work is play. The key phrase was “don’t give more to the mind than you give to the hand.” Play is purposeful and constructive just as work is and both are about concentrated energy

Since the theme of the program was about the importance of play and specifically play in nature. We learned about the Montessori approach to nature play. Play is a key element in saving the environment because humans will not fight for what they don’t love. Therefore nature play can establish a deep love of nature.

The Montessori approach believes that children should have the opportunity to play (by their choice) indoors and outdoors – always with the option get outdoors from the room. Some of the way nature has been incorporated into Montessori play over the years – intergenerational gardens, the elderly helping young children to plant, tend, and harvest gardens. Children need th ability to move freely, need environments and toys that are simple and filled with natural things, tracing leaves.

Children cannot learn in an abstract way and need joyful discovery and hands on with nature. She closed with “Give the best to the smallest.”

Husband of Elizabeth Goodenough (cool last name)
“Where do the children play?” - film
The second presenter discussed the sadness and history on how outside play has diminished and is dying off. Families moving out of cities from the many races moving in and heading to suburbia, while more and more families followed, the wild disappeared. Now parents live in fear of stranger danger and children have limited if no access to nature.

He discussed how play is rooted in our species (Penny Wilson).Children learn best by child driven play. Child driven play where they make up the rules, find out what they are good at, take risks, and learn peer negotiation. The joke was made that “no child should be left inside.” He said this applies to all ages. Teen’s are suffering from misery of unimportance. They love environment and want to help younger kids. We should give them this opportunity.

Martha Erickson, PhD
Center for early Education and Development MN
Third presenter

Believes we should take play as opportunity to watch, wonder, ask, open ended questions, and join in play without taking over. She shared some stories about her grandchildren to illustrate this point. Cute quote from grandchild about the importance of play, “When you have imagination, the train is real”. Shocking – the statistic that most children get an average of 53 hours of screen time a week.

She ended with a quote from Marcel Proust, “The only voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Scott Eberle, PhD
Strong National Museum of Play

Final Presenter – Strong National Museum of Play
Shared a bit about their philosophy, their activities. They have an exhibit based on 8 genres of literature as well as a comic book exhibit morally based.

Overall, interesting. I was expecting nature of childhood – not nature outside. Heh, heh, heh. Nature outside is good too. I thought Lorena, Kristin, and Healthy RC folks would find the info. Interesting. We need to teach children and families to love nature. I’m excited for Earth Day already! One of the presenters (can’t tell you who right now) was saying that professionals, ecologists and such, who are working to save the environment said that the two experiences they had that pushed them in this direction – 1) time in the outdoor 2) an adult who taught them respect for the Earth. So the adults and families are just as key as the children.