fewer toys? are you crazy?. think about it… when you were a child, what was one of your favorite...
TRANSCRIPT
Fewer Toys?
Are You Crazy?
Think about it…when you were a child, what was one of your
favorite things to do?
Were any toys involved in your favourite activity?
Probably not. Most people describe their favourite
activities as playing outdoors… tag, building
forts, climbing trees…
being in the natural world.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1762
“Leave childhood to ripen in your children.”
This presentation is about an
early childhood program’s experience of observing children, taking risks
and delighting in the wonder
of children’s play.
It all began…
…in Red River College’s Early Childhood Education Workplace Program, an introductory course on play and an article called: “Daycare Without Toys”
• By Anna Rubinowicz-Grundler• Translated by Ewa Maik (2003), ECE student
The article described the initiative
of Elke Schubert & Rainer Strick from Weilheim Schongau, a small
Bavarian district in Germany.
Their initiative involved offering blocks of time in kindergarten programs
where toys are “retired”.
• There is an overall lack of time during the day that is at a child’s discretion
• There are more restrictions on children’s freedom in general
• Children are continually confronted with products offered by consumer goods industries
• Many times, children’s problems & frustrations are dealt with by being offered some kind of ‘consolation’ i.e. toys
• Toys are the most popular consumer articles of children
The authors consideredthe following points…
“Large corporations create most
children’s toys and materials, which
often serve as commercials for TV
programs. They come with a theme and
script, or a particular way to use them.
How do these toys provide for children’s
investigation, imagination, or creativity?
In most cases, they rarely do.”
Carter & Curtis (1996) Reflecting Children’s Lives. p. 28
Toys
About toys…
“After German consolidation weexperienced an overflow of toys.Everybody had to have Barbiedolls, Lego blocks, cars andboard games. We survived thePower Rangers craze, even twoyear old girls were fighting overthem.”
Marianne Bruckardt (Director of an east Berlin daycare) cited in “Daycare Without Toys” by A. Rubinowicz-Grundler. Translated by Ewa Maik.
Picture: www.olgahorvat.com
“Children did not talk to each other atall, and also did not have anyconcept how to play together.”
Sieglinde Graetz as cited in “Daycare Without Toys”by A. Rubinowicz-Grundler. Translated by Ewa Maik
spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com
“It was felt that…• with the wealth of offerings • the consumer orientation at
kindergarten facilities as well as at home
• the observable boredom despite or because of superabundance
• the lack of perseverance & • quick frustration
… the [no toys kindergarten] project aims at recreating scope for playing as well as fantasy and creativity.”
Schubert & Strick
The “retiring toys” approach is not
against toys per se rather, it is
based on a belief that removing
toys for a limited time period
(approx. 3 months) helps foster
important life skills.
Life skills such as…
• effective communication abilities • creative thinking• problem-solving skills • cooperativeness• self-assertiveness• self-esteem
Could we “retire” some toys in our program?
How would the children respond?
At Lakewood Children’s Centre, they asked…
Spring Break March 2004
• Children (6 year olds) were prepared by explaining that some of the toys would be put away during the spring break week.
• The children asked “What do you mean?”
Spring Break
March 2004
A variety of open-ended
materials were added:
– different sizes of boxes– milk cartons– different types of tape– Styrofoam pieces– markers, string
Loose Parts
“Loose parts is a term coined by architect
Simon Nicholson, to refer to open-ended
materials that provide opportunities for
transporting, transforming and using one’s
experience and imagination. Given the
chance, children will use loose parts as
invented props to support their play and
investigation of the world.”
Curtis and Carter (1996) Reflecting Children’s Lives. p. 28
Children’s reactions
• At first children asked the staff “What do we do?”
• Then children would check their ideas and look for approval from the early childhood educators.
• Gradually the children began playing on their own and with others.
$15 for soy sauce
Click to play Click to play
A guy and a puppet
Click to play
Baby jaguars
Click to play
Campfire Stories
Click to play
What the Early Childhood Educators observed
2004
For the short time it was
implemented, we noticed:
• more cooperative play• more imaginative play• less involvement of adults• less noise in the room
Spring Break
March 2005
• Once again, children (5-6 year
olds) were prepared and consulted
• Children were asked what materials they wanted in the room
Boxes were the favourite
March 2005
Wheels on the box
Click to play Click to play
March 2005
Click to play
March 2005
A big house and “fort”
Diva
Click to play
What the Early Childhood Educators observed
2005
• more cooperative play and turn-taking
• more conversations• more “what if..” – imaginative and
problem-solving play• children’s joy in what they were
doing• little or no need to ‘guide’
children’s behaviour
January 2006
Let’s do it again!
Click to play
It’s all mine!
Click to play
The Band
Click to play
Pop goes the weasel!
Click to play
Building a village
Click to play
Paperbag Princess
Click to play
What the Early Childhood Educators observed
2006
Like previous experiences:
• there was more cooperation & creativity in the children’s play.
• children usually started off with individual pursuits i.e. claiming boxes, but soon children started working together – a community cooperating, building and playing.
Spring Break
March 2006
Click to play
Click to play
Spring Break
March 2006
What would older children think of this idea?
Spring Break
March 2006
What really happened…
Click to play
Making wings
Click to play
Big guys and
boxes Click to play
Did you know?
In 2005, the cardboard box was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
“Inside a big cardboard box, a child is transported to a world of his or her own, one where anything is possible.”
www.strongmuseum.org/NTHoF/box. html
Removing the toys…
• Promoted interactions & communication between children
• Fostered negotiation and problem-solving
• Enhanced creative thought & play and children “learned how to fight boredom”
Schubert & Strick
Findings
• children were more focused• longer attention spans • more interaction and
communication with each other• more negotiation and problem-
solving• more intense and longer creative
play periods• more stories told by children
Schubert & Strick
“Do we, in our consumption society,
take for granted that we are glutted
with consumer articles to such an
extent that it comes as a sensation
when this situation is changed
for a (limited) period of time by
providing time and space for children
to grasp their normal selves again?”
Schubert & Strick
Think about it…
• Are there too many toys surrounding our children?
• Do toys somehow change the dynamics of children’s interactions?
What do you think?
“We talk too much, all of us, and observe and live with children far
too little”
An Adventure with Children (1985)
Mary HammettLewis
Website
For more information about the
Toy-free Kindergarten project in
Germany, visit:
www.spielzeugfreierkindergarten.de/pdf/englisch.pdf
For more information
Shawna Wilton
Lakewood Children’s
Centre
Ph: 204-832-5802
Email:
Jamie KoshykEarly Childhood
Education
Workplace Program
Red River College
Ph: 204-632-3070
Email: