Disclaimer: I have so many thoughts going through my head - can't promise that this post will stay on a single topic or even make any sense to my wonderfully patient readers.
I spent the morning walking in the woods, clearing small trails for tiny humans to eventually explore. I have talked about my passion for outdoor learning and just being in natural spaces as much as possible frequently, so y'all shouldn't be shocked that I'm back to say - get outside!
On one of my thought tangents this morning I was drawn to the idea of play. Now, maybe the word play brings up an image of kids running around a playground engaged in whatever made-up game that is all the rage for that week. Instead of that image, I instantly replayed my second semester at Northland College (due to multiple useless advisors at UW-Superior, I believe it was considered my Sophomore year... *shade thrown*). Now, why did that moment in time pop up in my mind? Because we PLAYED. Adults (or maybe some just large humans) playing! It was magical. We (not all, but I'd say most) forget how to play as we age. Yes, we all can't just frolic in fields the rest of our lives, but why not every Wednesday afternoon?
Okay. So what did we play? Why were we playing? Did we even learn anything college-appropriate? Let me take those questions one at a time.
What did we play?
An array of games. One of my favorites was Oh Deer! where we stood in two lines, facing each other, and fought through the harsh elements to survive... (*dramatic pause*) Okay, so really we ran back and forth trying to tag a fellow habitat component and get them to the side to then turn into a deer. Until I tried to summarize this game in a short, simple paragraph - I never realized how hard it was to explain without going too far into detail. You might just have to trust me with how cool it was or I'd be happy to explain in further detail, if prompted. So, what I want you to do is to picture this - twenty-some (maybe more?) college-aged adults running back and forth, tagging and claiming each other as a necessary habitat component and I promise you, it was as ridiculous-looking as it sounds.
This was just one example of all of the running, escaping, tagging, exploring, and playing that we did in this class. Most of the games that we played are derived from the K-12 curriculum Project WILD and Aquatic WILD - if you are an educator and haven't come across it, or if you're just looking for a sophisticated wine-tasting activity, 10/10 recommend those.
Why were we playing?
This answer gets pretty deep. So, here we go.
Here's my experience/education disclaimer: I've worked with children 0-3 years old for the last five years. I've also gotten my degree in elementary/middle childhood, as well as my minor (and countless trainings) in early childhood education.
Now, all of these sources say the same thing - CHILDREN LEARN THROUGH PLAY. Social games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake evolve into playing house or dinosaurs or, in my son's case - dinosaur house and then kids start adding rules and roles. I know that there are different learning styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic), but what if that fact never changes, what if it's just the type of play that changes? Think of the way you learn best - if you need to memorize something, is it easier to do so in song or movement form? If you want to learn about something, doesn't it usually intertwine with things you enjoy? Maybe it's just me as an early childhood educator, but learning comes so much easier for me if it's 1) fun and 2) something I enjoy. Maybe you hate fun and maybe you learn better with someone scream-drilling facts into your brain - if so, this post probably isn't for you.
Did we even learn anything college appropriate? Absolutely! Especially since I believe that a lot of us went on to careers in some sort of education field. I believe that this class that had me running around like I was 6-years-old on the playground again had more of an impact on my education than most of my other pedagogy classes. If I can still remember the random facts of a salmon life cycle and define the "limiting factors" and "carrying capacity" of the deer population, I think about how much information can be absorbed through play, no matter how young or old.
So, this experience - along with other influences - made me realize that this is why I want to be an educator. I want children, and humans in general, to learn without the pressure of mainstream, worksheet and memorization-driven knowledge or realizing that if that isn't how they learn - it shouldn't deem them "not smart". Though, my son is a worksheet kid for sure and I know that I was (I begged my head start teacher to give me homework), so I know how hard it is to steer away from that. I also recognize that when I got to high school and they through problem-solving and "real world problems" at me instead of giving me the formula to memorize - I struggled and doubted myself immensely. I'm not saying that if you give a kid a worksheet, you'll doom them for all of eternity. But, I hope with time and practice, that I can offer alternatives to that type of learning, even just to supplement with hands-on, interactive, and project-based learning.
Miigwech for reading and I look forward to any and all feedback. Until next time - get outside!
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