Evaluate The Key Principles Of Play Essay

Evaluate the key principles of play and their relevance to Forest SchoolThe Encyclopaedia of Children’s health (healthofchildren.com) defines play as" ...activities performed for self amusement that havebehavioural, social and psychomotor rewards. It is child directed, and the rewards come from within the individual child; it is enjoyable and spontaneous" At Forest School unstructured play can provide a sense offreedom in wilder spaces not normally found in day to day play. It can give participants a stronger sense of responsibility and self preservation. They give themselves permission to try things and if they don’t go according to plan they have learned and explored anyway. There is no-one there to judge them or tell them their ideas have failed or were wrong. It was just play. When children play together in this way they have to look out not just for themselves but each other. Their communicationskills are tested and honed. They hopefully learn to listen to the

They explore, investigate, touch, listen and smell. The rich sensory environment of a woodland setting can be the starting point for any number of adventures. The children become independent thinkers. Spending time in nature promotes a healthier more active lifestyle. Exercise in the outdoors stimulates the mind andimagination (see pic below) Example Recently I watched my eldest two children playing with another friend by a stream. As the boy’s mother and myself watched from a distance we saw the children test how deep/muddy/squelchy the stream was. The older ones leapt it but the youngest couldn’t do it. In her normal play setting this would have resulted in tears but here, when she perceived it as her and the big children in the big wide world she put her chin up and waded through instead. Again, getting that wet and