This document discusses the importance and benefits of play for young children. It makes several key points in 3 sentences or less: Play is a voluntary activity that children and animals engage in for enjoyment and freedom. Play has structure with rules and rhythms that create a "magic circle," allowing participants to modulate their experiences outside ordinary life. Play is valuable in its own right for the subjective experience of fun and helps develop social strategies and behavioral flexibility through exploration.

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The believe in play as an
educational tool has become so
dominant in research and
Teachers of young children as homo ludens practice that we tend to forget
Elly Singer
the playing child.
BECERA 2013
Sutton-Smith, The Ambiguity of
Play , 1997
2
First and foremost all play is a
voluntary activity.
Child and animal play because
they enjoy playing, and therein Play is an essential quality in early
precisely lies their freedom. childhood education
Huizinga, Homo Ludens, 1938
3 4
Excitement 5
Surprise 6
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Involvement
I
7
Fun
8
We do not play because of some
benefit that is more valuable then
play itself.
Huizinga, Homo Ludens, 1938
Togetherness
9 10
2-year-olds playing peek oeboo
Players create a rhythm and
‘magic circle’
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Totally involved
The point of logic, as traditionally
construed, is to establish
unambiguous canons of correct
reasoning.
In contrast, the fundamental aim
of play is the modulation of the
player’s experience
Rodriguez, The playful and the
serious, 2006
13 14
Adult’s play has fixed No No Sing Song
boundaries in time and space
15 16
The baby leads the dance of
intersubjectivity
Play is:
•Play is valuable in its own right
(Bruner et al. 1969)
(subjective experience of fun)
•Play is voluntary and free
•Play has structure, rules and rhythms
(magic circle, being in relationships)
•Play modulates experiences
(not determined by logic and laws of nature)
•Play has boundaries in space and time
(outside ordinary life)
•Play is an original wellspring of culture
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Infant and family members start When behavioral flexibility is
playing rhythmic body games, and important to an animal it is likely that
enjoy music, songs and dancing which some mechanisms would evolve that
becomes part of the fun of their life promote learning the vagaries of a
together. They negotiate the invented changeable environment. Play is one
life of meaning. of those mechanisms.
Travarthen, 2011 Bjorklund, 2007
19 20
Exploring balance and law of gravity
Perhaps it [play] is especially
influential in refining our frontal
cortical, executive networks that
allow us to more effectively
appreciate social nuances and
develop better social strategies.
Panksepp, 2010
21 22
Fine tuned conflicts strategies
The more regulated by artificial rules
of procedure and laws, the less it
[society] credits the innate
endowment of all children for positive
contribution to society.
Trevarthen 2011
23 24
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25 26
27 28
Thin lines between pretend and serious activities
Children hear daily many don’t’s
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Scaffolding feeding the baby
31
Tea for your friend
33 34
•Pedagogues take care of boundaries Magic and shared attention
•Play connects peers and pedagogues
•Play is magic
•Play brings togetherness
•Discipline by flexible routines, rituals,
songs, humor and interest in children’s
play
•Playful attitude during the caring
activities and ‘work’
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Being nearby and involved: The teacher nearby, walking or at distance:
high level of play engagement effects on play engagement
Low, moderate or good Level of play engagement
in 2- and 3-year olds during free play
37
Singing and dancing together
Playfulness bridges the differences in
power and responsibilities between
pedagogues and young children
39 40
Teachers of young children
are
HOMO LUDENS
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