Welcome back to the Forgotten ECE, the podcast
that amplifies the voices of educators who work
in spaces that are often overlooked. I know you
know that, I know that you know what I'm talking
about. I'm Jamie Wagler, your host, and today
we're diving into the topic that is at the heart
of every before and after school program. Obviously
it's play. Now we all know that play is important.
I know you know that play is important because
you're in this field and you've done this before
and you are not new here. If you are new here,
play is important. What I want to ask you is
what innovative play looks like? And how do we
actually move beyond the quote unquote just free
play and bring intention, engagement, and developmentally
appropriate experiences into our programs? Guess
what? That's what we're going to look at today.
I'm going to break down some strategies that
help children problem solve, build relationships,
and explore new ideas. All. through play. And
I'll be answering some of your questions at the
end. So stay tuned. And thanks for joining. Welcome
to the Forgotten ECE, the show where before and
after school educators, summer camp and PD staff
and CYWs have a place where they are seen, heard
and valued. I'm your host, Jamie Wakeler, and
I'm so excited you're here. Alright, let's start
with a big question. Is free play enough? Free
play is obviously crucial. You and I know that.
It gives children autonomy, fosters creativity,
and allows children to decompress after a structured
school day. Oh my gosh, can you imagine sitting
at that desk for eight hours? I can't. I cannot.
I sit at a desk now and I have to get up constantly.
Sometimes in before and after school programs,
we rely on free play without putting thought
or offering enough opportunities for a deeper
engagement. So I thought we'd start this episode
off with the difference between free play and
purposeful play. So let's go back to the basics.
Free play is child -led, it's spontaneous, and
unstructured. Purposeful play is still child
-centered, but guided by an educator's understanding
of child development. So it's introducing materials
or environments or prompts that enhance learning
while keeping the play child -driven. So kind
of break it down a little bit. For example, instead
of just offering a pile of blocks and saying,
go build something. You might say, can you create
a bridge that holds this toy car? Or how tall
can you make that tower before it falls? This
small shift invites problem solving and experimentation
without actually taking away the joy of play.
And that's the last thing you want to do is take
away that joy. The key is offering these meaningful
invitations without over directing. Children
still have ownership of their play, but you're
giving them a spark to explore it a little bit
deeper. I would love to hear what you think about
this, so always feel free to send me a message
or hit me up on Instagram or comment on Spotify.
Can you comment on Spotify? I feel like you can.
If not, Instagram is your safest choice. Okay,
back to it. Sorry. One of my favorite ways to
encourage creativity in play is actually using
loose parts. Again, something you are familiar
with. If you're not though, think of instead
of a toy. that has one fixed purpose, that loose
parts are materials that children can manipulate
and combine and use in endless ways. For example,
wooden blocks are great, corks, buttons, ooh,
fabric scraps. I just had a parent not too long
ago donate the fabric scraps from their child's
dance class, is the right answer, their dance
class, all the loose fabric parts, and we were
teaching our school -agers how to sew today.
Oh, PVC pipes, cardboard tubes, and recycled
materials are good examples. Shells and stones
and sticks and even pinecones. What's amazing
is that loose parts naturally encourage collaboration
and engineering and storytelling. You don't actually
have to have expensive materials, just things
that spark curiosity, which is important in today's
world because we know that we are in a recession
100 % or at least close to it. Okay, my next
favorite thing I wanted to talk about was risky
play. This term sometimes makes people nervous
because everyone has their own comfort level
when it comes to risky play. But it's not about
danger. It's actually about helping kids push
their limits in a safe and supportive way. Think
about it in a way like this. Children need to
climb and jump and experiment with balance to
develop coordination and confidence. But in many
programs we're seeing a decline in these opportunities
due to safety concerns and the fear that their
parents are going to get mad or our administration's
not going to back us up. But I want you to start
supporting risky play and ensure safety. So for
starters, offer challenges instead of just a
flat playground. Add some logs or tires. I love
tires in the playground or balance beams to invite
movement. Encouraging problem solving is another
thing you can do. Like kids figure out how to
climb safely instead of saying, be careful all
the time. Please do not say, be careful. Be careful
doesn't show that you believe children are competent
and capable and able to do things. It shows that
you're worried for them. Trust. Children's ability
is the last thing that you can do. Kids are often
more capable than we actually think or give them
credit. And with proper supervision, they can
assess their own limits. And that's exactly what
Risky Play is doing is helping them assess their
own limits and make the choices and decisions
that they need to make. OK, next. STEM, science,
technology, engineering, art and math can be
woven into their play effortlessly. Science,
such as creating potions with baking soda or
vinegar, or outside in the sand, baking and adding
stuff to your sandboxes. I say baking because
I used to mix sand. The sand on top that was
lighter, I would make it vanilla and the sand
underneath that was darker or more clay -like,
I would make it chocolate and mix pies as a child.
Oh, I love getting dirty though. Alright, technology
like introducing old keyboards or circuit boards
into your dramatic play area. Let's show them
to explore with them. Typewriters are amazing.
Art offer unconventional materials like foil
or sand or fabric. It doesn't always have to
be markers. And then math. Turn everyday activities
into playful math challenges like measuring ingredients
in a mud kitchen, adding those measuring tapes,
adding stuff into the water table and let your
schoolagers play with water. Do they even have
a water table? Get a water table or some sort
of bucket that they can play and explore in water.
It doesn't need to be separate activities though.
They can naturally be integrated into how children
explore and interact with their environment.
And if you take away anything from today, please,
please, please, please understand that using
play can build social -emotional skills such
as role -playing, problem -solving, and conflict
resolution. One technique I actually love is
the role play problem solving. So like if a conflict
arises instead of just using usual words or say,
what do you say? I actually want you to help
the children act out solution using toys or puppets
or even themselves. Let them see it firsthand.
For example, if two children are arguing over
a toy, you can say, let's pretend we're characters
in a story. How can we solve this problem? It
gives children a safe place to practice, emotions,
negotiation, and empathy. Okay, so I actually
got a couple questions when I was talking about
this topic the last time. The first question
was, how do I introduce loose parts play when
kids are used to structured activities? Easy
peasy. Start small. Maybe set up a mystery materials
table and let children explore. Ask open -ended
questions. What could this become? This will
help spark their imagination. The next question
was, what if parents are worried about risky
play? Too bad. I'm just kidding. Please don't
hold that against me. But communication is key.
Explain the benefits. Tell your administrator
that this is what you're doing and show them
the benefits also. Having their support is so
helpful. Talk about the benefits of climbing
or bouncing and how it develops coordination
and confidence and self -regulation. Show them
success stories. You can find them on YouTube
or the internet. TikTok could be your friend.
I don't know if they actually do that, but it
could work, I'm sure. And the last question I
got was, how can I encourage kids who say, I'm
bored, even when play options are available?
Another fan favorite, because this happens in
lots of programs. You got to shift the responsibility.
Instead of suggesting activities, ask what would
make it more fun? What's something new we could
create? Sometimes boredom is just the spark we
need to invent something amazing. Great things
come from boredom. I know it was short and sweet.
But I hope today's episode has given you new
ways to think about play in your program. Remember,
innovative play isn't about doing more. It's
about creating opportunities for children to
lead, explore, and grow. I do have a challenge
for you this week. I want you to try one new
play strategy, whether it's least parts or STEM
or adding a little bit more risk in your play
and let me know how it works, what happens and
what you discover. Honestly, if you found this
episode helpful, please share it with your fellow
educators and leave a review. It helps others
find this podcast for us, the Forgotten ECEs.
Until next time, keep advocating and keep innovating.
And I can't wait to hear from you soon. Thanks,
everyone. Thank you. Amazing listeners for your
support. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram
at miss Jamie underscore R E C E. Give a star
rating and leave a review. Have something you
want to hear about in relation to before and
after school programs or full day summer camp.
DM me or comment. Again, thank you so much and
happy learning.