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Having toys and play at the library is certainly a timely topic: the revised Every Child Ready to Read includes play as one of the five practices to promote early literacy. ALSC sponsored a program at ALA on this topic entitled “You Want Me to Circ WHAT?! or How to Best Utilize Toys as a Literacy Tool in Programs and as a Fun Part of Your Lending Collection.” Toys are a great, child-approved way to integrate play into the library, and this session had quite a few ideas for making that happen:
- No space is too small for incorporating toys into the library. Whether you have a room, a playhouse, a closet, a table, or just a bit of space under some shelves, you can add toys successfully. Wall panels work really well, too.
- Adding toys is not a “go big or go home” scenario: a small selection of toys is just as beneficial as a huge variety. A child engages with one toy at a time, so a few puzzles are just as satisfying to a child as a roomful of different items.
- Need to justify spending some of your budget on toys? Offer programs that highlight play and give plenty of opportunities for kids to play with the library’s toys. Start off with a short book and a song, then spend the rest of the program letting kids and caregivers go to play stations. Ideas for stations include playdoh, blocks, letters, etc., all with brief instructions for grown-ups to encourage interacting with the toys.
- Adapt activities for older children, too; they also benefit cognitively from play, and making play a family affair does more to ensure the practice will continue outside of the library.
I was so energized by this session that as soon as I returned from Anaheim I ordered magnetic drawing boards to have out in my children’s area. More play initiatives are in the works.
How do you bring toys and play into the library?
*******
I am the Children’s Librarian at the Corporate Parkway Branch of the St. Charles City-County Library District in Missouri. I am active in ALSC, and I blog as the Show Me Librarian at http://showmelibrarian.blogspot.com/.
I recently read Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture (2011) by Peggy Orenstein. While hospitals don’t hand out manuals to parents who leave with a… Read More →
By:
KidLitReviews,
on 5/24/2012
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Dart into the drizzle, Cool down summer heat. Slip out of the spray with wet hands and feet. FRESH! ………. 5 Stars In this charming book for preschoolers, vibrant photographs combine with delightful illustrations and bouncy, fun-to-read rhymes that will inspire children to use their imagination to transform into play what they see in the [...]
How often do you play? In your work, I mean? In your writing, if that's what you do?
Most writers start out, I think, by 'playing' at writing - however young or old we may be at the time. In those early days, writing is probably a hobby - perhaps an escape from real life in the form of a dull or demanding job and/or a challenging home life. At the beginning, we are often bursting with enthusiasm and ideas, and what we lack is the space, time and (perhaps) expertise to get them into shape.
If we persevere and have a hefty dose of luck, we may end up earning something for our efforts. In the past, if not so much so today, some writers could make a part-time or even a full-time career out of it. If they were
very lucky, they might even become rich, though of course most never did, however good they were.
The danger is that as our writing careers progress, it's so easy to lose that intial sense of fun and play. Writing becomes the thing we
have to do - either to please a publisher or even just ourselves. I'm all in favour of self-discipline - the 'sit down at your desk at 9am (if only!) so the muse knows where to find you' and the 'minimum word count per day' frame of mind. Mostly, these things work for me. But it's when I lose that sense of play that trouble looms.
I've experienced this before, way back in another life, when I studied for a PhD and then became a researcher and, eventually, a university lecturer. As a student, my research was mostly fun. OK, I was lucky - I know that PhDs can sometimes be a terrible slog. But I happened upon a topic that fascinated me, had a good supervisor and made encouraging progress from the start. My main problem was combining this with caring for two young children. Not easy, but still, on the whole, satisfying and fun.
The fun continued when I gained an EPSRC research fellowhip for three years to do postdoctoral research. In fact that was eaiser, as it was actually a 2-year fellowship spread out over three years, which suited me fine.
The trouble started after that. My marriage broke up, which didn't help. I spent a year looking for a job in the city where my ex worked so my children could see us both. After months of struggling to get by, doing tutoring and gardening and PhD supervision, often all at the same time (well, in the same morning, anyway), I managed to get a lectureship at a unviersity. Perfect - except that I was now so busy, with several hours' commuting each day, a high teaching load, masses of admin, supervising students, giving pastoral advice, etc etc etc - my research slid into the back seat. It was no longer fun - and all my creativity dried up. It became something I had to do - in order to keep my job - and something I had to do well. In the odd hour or so between other commitments, I had to come up with earth-shaking new projects and theories. Hmmm....
The human brain just doesn't work that way. Or mine doesn't. A move south (the children older now) and a new job helped a bit at first, but the pattern was soon reestablished and the commute even longer. What's more, I now had an invalid mother-in-law waiting for me with all her demands when I got home - and two teenage step-children. Then my mother died and my father (110 miles away) became very ill. Something had to give and it was my health. I had a breakdown and was very lucky to be offered early retirement on a small pension, which put me in a position (just) of being able to fulfil my lifelong dream and spend my time writing.
That was wonderful - and still is. But just recently, six years on, writing has begun to feel l
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jrpoulter,
on 5/17/2012
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I have found the opportunity to collaborate with illustrators something eminently rewarding, an experience that enriches both participants and results in a more vibrant and much richer work. My first picture book, “Mending Lucille” was also a result of a collaboration. Working with the amazing Sarah Davis was inspirational! I have gone on to collaborate closely with illustrators all over the world to create numbers of other picture books, some digitally published, some in process with print publishers and some I am still researching the right publishing outlet. Finding the ‘right’ outlet is very important. Not every publisher is ‘right’ for every book.
Digital Publishing
I have had the pleasure of collaborating with first time picture book illustrators, Jade Potts [USA], Jonas Sahlstrom [Sweden], Alexandra Krasuska [Sweden] and fellow Aussie, Jodi Magi [now of Abu-Dhabi] on uTales, and am about to have my latest collaboration, “Little Dragons’ Babysitter” released with Caroline Lee. Utales is non-exclusive which means creators can take advantage of other opportunities for their work as they arise. I have just signed a contract with Flying Books, Islreal, for “Rich Man, Poor Man” the book I did with Jodi Magi. My first digital collaboration is on www.istorytime, “At the Beach with Bucket and Spade” with Sarah Bash Gleeson [USA], whom I met on JacketFlap.com, a wonderful children’s literature networking site along with many other amazing and inspiring folk. Sarah is editor of magazine, “Dream Chaser” which focusses on children’s books and their creators.
Joanna Marple’s mini review of my latest digital book, “Xengu and the Turn of Tide”:
“A Tolkienesque tale, I love it!”
See a review of her first picture book in my last blog post with links to her interview with Darshana Shah Khiani on “Flowering Minds“.
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Perhaps a solution to my dilemma is at hand and it's thanks to John Irving.
As a subscriber to playwriting discussion forums, it's interesting and informative to read other playwright's opinions on the craft. Subjects that focus on how they overcome barriers when working out plots and endings is of particular interest to me, at least at this point.
I've shared...make that bemoaned my 'ending' problem ad nauseum here in this blog, attempting to convert a what was written as a short play into an hour radio play in order to enter the BBC International Playwriting Competition. The beginning moves along nicely until reaching the middle stage, at which point one arrives at the realization that there is no ending. This is the point where I question whether to continue pursuing playwriting especially since none of my plays have been produced.
Reading through one of the forums, there was one of those "eureka!!" moments upon reading the opinion (and advice) of novelist and Academy Award winning screenwriter, John Irving, who shared his philosophy on starting a new writing project:
"I begin with endings, with last sentences -- usually more than one sentence, often a last paragraph (or two). I compose an ending and write toward it, as if the ending were a piece of music I could hear -- no matter how many years ahead of me it is waiting."
This got me excited thinking that perhaps this could be a solution to my"never-ending" dilemma or at least something worth trying. There are two possible plays that I'm toying with submitting to the competition. As aside my two-act plays wrote themselves as did my one and only film script. In my wedding play, it ended with a wedding in an unusual setting but I knew exactly the direction the play should go and how it should get there. Does this make sense? My "Gin..." play on the other hand, had a few changes along the way, while my children"s script wrote itself since it was based on a personal childhood experience.
Perhaps I should put aside what has been written and focus on producing sentences that could lead to moving in a new direction or even a new play. Look - if it's good enough for John Irving, it's certainly good enough for me.
SOME REVISIONS AND RE-THINKING REQUIRED
*UPDATE NUMBER 3
Last night and this morning I did some more editing on "Neighbors." Can't call it a play - yet - since it's still inthe revision stage. I've encountered a problem.
Having reached sixty pages, there is still no resolution. This makes me think as to whether there is a problem that can be resolved or whether there is a problem, period. It's obvious at this point that I'm going to have to do some major editing and change of direction. One of the characters may have to be eliminated since his contribution to the story line really isn't necessary. In other words - the story could survive without the character.
I've got a dramatic ending in mind but this can't be accomplished unless the story line is shortened somewhat, so it can play out. If I should go along with this, the female character would play a major role.
I'm also toying with the idea - strictly at the idea stage - of having something dramatic occur in the bar i.e. a hold-up...something. That means two possible endings. Perhaps one of the characters would save the life of the other, something totally out of character...
Lots of choices and directions to go and time is marching on. But am I?
"So Eleanor - tells us how it's going with your BBC project."
Well - you know there's hesitancy when starting a sentence using the word 'well' - I'm making progress but have encountered a problem.
"Already? What's the dilemma?"
I've been editing the play from the beginning and making changes as I go along. It occurred to me after writing about a quarter of the way through that I should read the play through to the end. This was a revelation in that I realized I hadn't provided an ending to the play since, as I recall, I had inteded to turn it into a full 2-hour play. Best laid plans and all that. In any case, a definite roadblock.
The play itself has potential but has to be flushed out. This is the story of my playwriting life. The dialogue requires some cutting and blending and of course most importantly, an ending. So now I'm trying to figure out how and where to cut and stream-line. In other words - a re-think.
Frequently, when I'm stuck, I mentally go through a process where we i.e. characters and myself, have a conversation in the form of a question and answer period. This helps. We're already communicating to move the process along.
"So do you think you'll be ready to submit by the May deadline?"
Hopefully, I'm making a concerted effort since this was one of my first plays I ever wrote and it has definite potential. Famous last words...
Last weekend I went to see Swallows and Amazons. It’s a musical version, currently touring theatres across the country, and probably the best children’s show I’ve ever seen.
As well as being funny, clever and moving, having a great story and songs which are still going round and round my head, it was also thought-provoking. John, Susan, Titty and Roger are – wait for it – twelve, eleven, nine and seven (and the seven-year-old can’t swim) when they are set loose on their yacht, unaccompanied, to sail and camp around a Cumbrian lake.
Young library patrons enjoy some tea with Bobette.
As youth librarians, we understand the connection between children’s participation in imaginative play and early literacy. Room for this play, however, is difficult to find in smaller library locations where space and storage must compete for shelving, computers, and seating arrangements. At our Hope Mills Branch of the Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center in North Carolina, we don’t have the room in our community facility to house bunches of toys in our collection. Fortunately, our system has devised some creative ways, beyond our traditional story times, to encourage children to play and explore. Both programming and partnerships allow room to foster imaginative play without the need for more physical space.
One of these interactive programs, Preschool Performers, combined dramatic arts and music to develop children’s connection to storytelling. Our young participants acted out scenes from traditional folktales or original short stories. Children also participated in familiar nursery rhymes with accompanying actions, singing and dancing to selections on CD. Attendees manipulated puppets from our professional collection and played an active role in sharing flannel and magnet board stories. Our costumes consisted of minimal supplies; we relied heavily on construction paper masks and paper bag puppets. Our groups practiced once a week for almost a month. An audience of the participants’ families and friends attended a grand performance the evening of their final practice. Children and their families were able to see their names in print as our Community Relations Department created a program for the show.
Our library system adapted this series from programming spearheaded by Madison Public Library in Wisconsin. We presented this program at our Headquarters Library on our stage in our large activity room, but it could easily be set in a conference or story time room at smaller branch locations. The North Carolina Public Library Director’s Association awarded this series the best children’s program from a large library system in our state that year. This programming provided a forum for children to experience the dramatic arts in a relaxed environment.
Our Hope Mills Branch also focuses on play with one of our current programs starring our wildly popular puppet Bobette. Bobette is identical to our story time mascot monkey Bobo; parents reserve her for a few days or a week, allowing their children opportunities to play with Bobette at home. This program allows children to relieve the story time experience as they pretend.
Families involved with this program describe the creative ways their children play through a journal Bobette brings with her to their home. Children delight in celebrating the monkey’s attendance at birthday parties and special events; they also play the role of caregiver for their new friend, combing Bobette’s fur and brushing her teeth. A parent recalled her child’s special recollections with Bobette. “We ate breakfast together. We read a lot of books, and we had a movie night. Bobette is the happiest monkey I ever met, and she always makes me smile.” (Bobette’s favorite food is plastic apples.) This program encourages play at home with little staff involvement.
These programs celebrate exploration and imagination, but our library also brings in toys to our branches during special library programs due to our relationship with the Partnership for Children of Cumberland County’s Resource Lending Library. Youth librarians, early childhood educators, and
Carmen: An Urban Adaptation of the Opera by Walter Dean Myers, Egmont USA, 2011, 122 pp, ISBN: 1606841920
Recap: When Carmen - a gorgeous, young, Dominican woman - sees Jose - the boy she had a crush on so many years ago - it doesn't matter that he is a police offer (who will soon be arresting her!), all of the old feelings come rushing back.
Jose quickly falls deeply in love, but it isn't long before he begins to show the darker side of his feelings. Carmen always thought true love was dangerous, but she still wasn't prepared for this.
Review:Walter Dean Myers is the man. 145th Street, Street Love, Handbook for Boys... these books are phenomenal, convincing kids who think they hate reading that books might not actually be so bad.
But Carmen? This was a big miss for me. Written like the script of a play, or an opera in this case, Carmen is an extremely quick read. I initially envisioned using it for readers theater once I'm back in a classroom again. But as the story progressed, I felt increasingly disenchanted.
The main characters, Carmen and Jose, fall madly in love in the space of about one page. And then a few pages later they've broken up. And then a few pages later they're in love again. And then... you get the idea. The cycle repeats. And it was all the more irritating because there wasn't any real, rational backstory on WHY they were seeming to fall in and out of love. Carmen thought Jose didn't love her anymore because he had to go to work. Jose thought Carmen didn't love him because she wouldn't move to Puerto Rico. Sheesh.
And I typically think Mr. Walter Dean Myers is an outstanding writer. But the dialogue here? Not so much. It just felt choppy and stilted, like there wasn't a real person behind it. Here's just one example:"Pain? Not love? Jose, maybe we need to slow this train down. I don't know if I'm ready to make a lifetime thing of this."
"Carmen, don't... Don't think of being away from me. I've given up my whole car
I am drinking a glass of virtual bubbles tonight!
I am really excited to announce that Pearl Verses the World has been honoured in the USA, as a Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Teens. You can see the listing here, and also read more about the Capitol Choices lists.
And, while we're on the subject of Pearl, the stage adaptation of the book is going to running in Canberra from May 18. I was
Hurray! It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!
Today’s choice is as much for parents and teachers as it is for kids!
Image from The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister, written by Linda Lodding, illustrated by Suzanne Beaky
The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister
Flashlight Press, October 2011, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 5 and up
Themes/Topics: the importance of play, over-scheduling
Opening: “Each morning, while Ernestine ate breakfast and Nanny O’Dear prepared lunch, Ernestine’s father zoomed out to work and called, ‘Live life to the fullest, Ern!’ And each morning Ernestine’s mother zipped out to catch the bus and said, ‘Make every moment count, E!‘”
Brief synopsis: Ernestine’s parents want her to have every experience she can, so they pack her days with sculpting and tuba, yoga and yodeling. It takes Ernestine to show them that one thing she absolutely shouldn’t miss is having time to just play.
Links to resources: What I really should say here is, “No resources! Just go play!” But here are some resources that are also playing: Coloring Page, and for activities, try making a daisy crown (or any kind of outdoorsy crown), or make clouds out of cotton or shaving cream and see what shapes you see in them, or build a fort out of sticks, or blocks, or an empty cardboard box. Use your imagination!
Why I Like This Book: Kids will enjoy Ernestine’s ridiculous schedule, her amusing list of lessons, her teachers’ funny names, the bold bright colors of the pictures, and Ernestine’s inspired solution to her problem. As a grown-up, I appreciate Ernestine’s message that while organized activities arranged and taught by adults have their place, so too does the unstructured time to be a child and simply play.
Click here for Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog post and comments.
0 Comments on Join in the Discussion about Play as of 1/29/2012 4:10:00 AM
I'm at a blank!
I know my plot, my scenes,
my characters and their backstories to the nth generation.
I have tidy rows of index cards in Scrivener
spelling me all the way to the end.
I know what NEEDS to happen next
but I just can't picture WHERE it happens.
On a ship? In a shack?
(Sounds like something from Green Eggs and Ham)
Outside? Moonlight? Storm clouds? Hammocks? Dock? Bridge?
This is no end of frustrating!
I recently read
this advice from author Molly Blaisell
about writing novels.
One of the gems she writes is to Stop Rushing Yourself.
So I'm playing with the kids.
A fruit box puppet theater is a good way to try different settings for the novel...right?
While a fruit box has a perfect open shape
for marionette-style puppets,
my kids wanted stick puppets.
So I cut a hole big enough for four pairs of hands
plus
By:
Chris Singer,
on 12/9/2011
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Review: Made to Play (Handmade Toys & Crafts for Homegrown Imaginations) by Joel Henriques
About the author (from his Amazon.com bio):
Joel Henriques is fascinated by color, shape, and craftsmanship. He was drawn to painting as a child, inspired by his grandmother, a painter herself. She spent hours showing Joel the paintings of Matisse, Picasso, Miró, and many others. Through these and her own paintings, she taught him ideas about color and design and eventually coached him on his earliest paintings. These childhood experiences lead him to pursue a B.A. in Fine Art and Philosophy.
Becoming a parent was, for Joel, another way of looking at art in the world. As a young child himself, he made many of his own toys. As a father, he began making toys for his young twins. He began to see that a beautiful, minimal, well-crafted object allowed his children to use and develop their own imaginations, rather than having an object tell them how they must play with it.
Moved by his children’s interaction with art, Joel began documenting these crafts on his blog, Made By Joel. Creating art for children, and for the child in everyone, is a powerful thing. Joel lives with his wife and three children in Portland, Oregon. See more of his crafts at www.madebyjoel.com, and see more of his art at www.joelhenriques.com.
About the book (from the publisher):
Delight young children and encourage play through unique handmade toys. From sewn and stuffed musical instruments to interlocking paper building blocks and wooden animal figurines, the projects in this book are meant to encourage open-ended play. Organized by kid-loving subjects, the toys here follow the themes of Zoo; House; Blocks, Cars & Trucks; Dress-Up; Music; and Art. Overall, the projects here are meant to stimulate imagination, build confidence through success and enjoyment, and enhance the bond between family and friends through the creation of unique, artistic handmade toys and crafts.
The thirty-five projects in this book include a variety of crafts, from drawing to sewing and light woodworking. The toys presented here are made out of wonderfully tactile materials—repurposed fabrics, wood, and paper—and invite opportunities for creative and imaginative play. Every project is easy to complete, made with accessible materials, and requires little time to make. The projects are simple enough that endless variation can come from the making of each, leaving enough room for you to make the item to suit your own personal interests.
My take on the book:
I was very pleased to receive a view copy of Made to Play by Joel Henriques. If you are a fan of Henriques’ blog, Made by Joel you will love this book.
As mentioned in the description above, the book is full of fantastic craft projects. I was dually impressed with the clearly written and illustrated instructions. Mainly because it always a craft project novice like myself an opportunity to participate in projects I know my daughter will enjoy.
Many of the projects use paper, wood, or wire and you’ll need some special tools such as a scroll saw and jigsaw to do the wood projects.
I’m looking forward to doing some of these projects during the holiday. I really want to make some of the dollhouse furniture and also the modern alphabet
By:
jrpoulter,
on 11/23/2011
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By:
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on 11/23/2011
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sometimes whirlwinds blow in
intrude on those carefully crafted goals
send sacred mud
in spades
and shovels
do i sigh and grumble over my lost tasks?
truthfully? too often.
but when i'm paying attention,
i stop and look at my happy wildebeests,
soak them up with my eyes
douse them with kisses
and then we go play in leaves
gather up our thankfulness by the armful
press them flat in big books
By:
Faith Pray,
on 11/9/2011
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Pip and Winnie's fairy door.
Do you ever find portals while reading?
Lucy Pevensie's wardrobe
Alice's rabbit hole
Harry's Platform Nine and Three Quarters
Dorothy's tornado
Meg Murry's tessaract
Characters in these stories are ordinary people,
minding their own perfectly normal business
when whoosh! -
in zips a talking rabbit, a parliament of owls, an envelope in emerald ink,
bag ladies spouting Latin -
and the next thing they know
they've been carried away into a gloriously different world -
and life is never the same.
Children, lunatics and writers
live on the edge of that line between fantasy and reality.
Life is good here.
It takes less work to believe in books,
to look for fairy doors
and hang out near them, hoping for a way in.
At least, that's my excuse when I find myself
wishing for Diagon Alley,
an invitation to Camp Halfblood,
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By:
Faith Pray,
on 10/8/2011
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Sinkers and Floaters.
This summer we made an entire fleet
of homemade boats.
We wanted to see which would be the most seaworthy.
If you're an artist or writer, you may be able to relate.
How do you view what you've made -
as experiments,
or tiny pieces of your soul?
Too often as a writer,
I send out tiny pieces of my soul I like to call
manuscripts.
My manuscript souls wobble out into the blue -
some of them proud and brave,
others nervously checking their rigging,
desperate to sail smooth waters.
But when those manuscript soul pieces,
(dare I call them horocruxes?)
hit bad seas
or... or...
sink
"OLD SOLDIERS" - BEEN WORKING ON RE-WRITE
Last night having watched the 25th anniversary show of "Les Mis", again, for the umpteenth time on PBS, it inspired me to tackle my current re-write of "Old Soldiers". As mentioned previously, I'm planning to enter it as a radio play in the BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition, all being well. As it reads now it's a short story inspired by an interview I did with an army veteran/old soldier as a columnist for the Remembrance Day edition. In spite of the dour subject, it's one of my favorite stories.
Rather than let it atrophy as a computer byte, I'm attempting to re-work it as a radio play. Dialogue has never been a problem for me but the addition of sound is something else. Situations have to be created whereby sound effects help carry the story line. My problem is that the story is flowing but the sound effects are limited. The deadline is April 2012 so there's still time to overcome this barrier and it is a barrier for me.
Last night I actually wrote, as took pen in hand, a few pages that really don't fit in the story line, yet, but it will one hopes. Sometimes a stretch of dialogue jumps into my head and the story moves in a different direction than expected. My philosophy is go with the flow. Maybe it will work and maybe it won't but we'll have to see down the line. It's a good omen since it happened twice before and resulted in the completion of my two full plays.
Meanwhile, I'm thinking about submitting one of my short plays, "For the Birds" to a competition. It's a good play and was actually a finalist in a short screenwriting competition, but after a long period of not having read it, looking forward to seeing how it reads and "feels." Hopefully, my muse will co-operate.
Originally from New York, Linda Ravin Lodding has spent the past 15 years in Austria, Sweden, and now The Netherlands, where she lives with her family in a one-windmill town. She is a working mom, shutter-bug, yoga class drop-out, cheesecake lover, hula-hooper, dreamer, and author of the wonderful children’s book, The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister. Here, she reflects on the child- and play-friendly culture she has encountered in her new home:
When my family first moved to the Netherlands, four years ago, it wasn’t just the quaint windmills dotting the landscape that tipped me off that we were living in a foreign land. Nor was it the tractor-wheel-sized rounds of cheese in our village shop. It wasn’t even the picture postcard views of tulips ‘ribboning’ through the fields. No. It was the children – biking, running around, and freely playing outdoors.
Let me explain. When we first arrived in The Netherlands, we decided that we’d “go Dutch” and cycle everywhere. My then nine-year-old daughter was keen. Her school is only a stone’s throw up the street – but it is a busy street with a tricky roundabout . To complicate matters, there are so many cyclists on the bike path that it feels like the Tour de France. So, naturally, I strapped a helmet on her head and off we cycled – together.
It was soon very evident (especially to my daughter) that no other parent was biking with their child like a Mother Goose making way for her gosling. Dutch children were biking by themselves — and not only to and from school. They were biking to the town, to their friends’ houses, to the beach, to their sports activities. I’d see children on bikes and wonder, where was the adult? Granted, kids here are basically born on bikes, but weren’t their parents worried that their little ones would get lost? Side-swiped by a bus? Plucked off the street by a pedophile?
Obviously Dutch parents didn’t have such concerns. Or, if they did, they decided to not let them get in the way of embracing a free-range childhood.
As a friend of mine said, “The dangers have always been here – it’s no more or less dangerous today than it has ever been in Holland, yet parents, on balance, opt to give their kids freedom and independence.” And she, like many Dutch parents, thinks this attitude leads to happier, healthier and more resilient children.
She may very well be right. A 2007 UNICEF study found Dutch children to be the happiest among children in the 21 industrialized countries surveyed.
That well-being seems to be cultivated at a young age through parents, schools and communities. “I want for my child the same kind of playful childhood that I had,” another Dutch friend of mine told me. “I tell my children to go out and play and not come home until their pants are ripped!”
Communities are also on board – especially as childhood obesity is on the rise here in The Netherlands. In an effort to reverse that trend, nearly every Dutch child is engaged in some sort of physical activity. As American schools slash recess and P.E. to make time for more sedentary classroom instruction, Dutch schools provide half-days every Wednesday so kids can pursue sports.
What else explains why Dutch children so happy? Play!
You only have to look at the painting, “Children’s Games” painted by Pieter Bruegel, the Elder over 400 years ago, to see that children in this region have been engaged in independent play for centuries.
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12 Comments on What To Do With Windfalls, last added: 11/27/2011
Really interesting post, Rosalie, and the quotes fit perfectly. I think you're absolutely right about the importance of playing, or keeping the joy. I've been reminded of that since I started teaching a writing class in the community - they just love what they do, and having fun with writing (as opposed to seeing it as a sometimes agonising slog!) rubs off very nicely!
It's sad that so many of us - like you - have to learn this the hard way; and even then we forget and have to learn all over again. I hope you can carry on playing - whatever life throws at you.
So true that the creative ideas bit can't be forced. But getting the thing written and working IS work, and is supposed to be. Still, work can be fun, too....
Great blog post! What was your research area back then?
I find the same thing happens with ideas when you take the pressure on and look at it in a "let's have fun" attitude.
I'm glad things worked out well for you in the end - sounds incredibly difficult.
It's important for all writers, and particularly so for children's writers. If the spirit of playful creativity isn't there in the writing, it'll be hard work to read, too.
It's important for all writers, and particularly so for children's writers. If the spirit of playful creativity isn't there in the writing, it'll be hard work to read, too.
Oh dear, Ros, you've just given me yet another excuse to avoid my desk and take to my bed in order to recover my spirit of play!
Thanks for comments, all.
Freya, I did research in cognitive science, specialising in language processing, specialising further in temporal adverbs like 'then'! And, later, metaphor. But had to teach computer programming, which I did not enjoy.
Happy playing/writing everyone!