I’ve been incredibly lucky, in the years I’ve been doing childcare I’ve only had to deal with a few toddler explosions; and only, so far, from mine own.

Tantrums happen, I don’t believe that any parent gets away scott free. Instead we have to develop our own schemes and strategies to respond to these upwellings. Frequently they are born of frustration, toddlers have so much tumbling around in their minds that they often struggle to get it out using the few words they have. Often this is compounded as they reach a developmental milestone - I remember a week of stropiness, followed by the ability to use the past tense quite well indeed. Or perhaps its a situation where the toddler feels insecure in the midst of a barrage of new experiences; like theme parks, parties, or the bright glow of the supermarket. The Rev’d Welikeplay quite often warns of the post-baptism freak out, usually the day after a family event where the child is simply hacked-off with being passed around.

Top 3 tantrum tips: read on »

tag... play, 2up, 3up, be helpful, philosophising, stay safe

I’ve a hunch that there is a gender spectrum of play; that is to say that there are games that are ‘boyish’ and ‘girlish’ but there is an imaginary gradient between the two. So some games involving grunting, goo, machines and kicking stuff which appeal more - but not exclusively - to boys. Whilst some games involving shrieking, baby goo, imaginary pink animals and kicking stuff appeal more - but again not exclusively - to girls.

This weekend No2 child set up a fairly classic boy game. After levering me off the sofa, with a puppy-dog-eye plea, to attach the 7ft high Hot Wheels V-drop. He busied himself creating ‘missions’ or what I’d have called stunts for the flying car to pass through. What I found fascinating was the way he’d go about measuring the angle of the cars jump and then search out the right items for ’snootie car’ to jump through. Snoots are the noses of the round, blue, fluffy and above all imaginary smooshies that infest the welikeplay play research centre.

This drop is a good toy. It’s fairly robust, needs some adult help - but only to get started - and can be modified. To put my geeky hat on; this toy can be hacked because its scalable and has a fairly open-source approach.  It can take most die-cast cars, it can link up with other pieces of track either by design, or the application of masking tape.  It’s design is apparant to kids who can then take the basic principles and apply them to their own creations.

Such philosophising leads me to think that, in a world where the use of technology is become pervasive, perhaps their should be more of a move to toys that can have their function twisted, as this twisting is such a useful skill for techno-mites to grow up with…  but then I’ve always been a lego fan sitting slightly to the boy-side of the spectrum.

tag... play for today, 5up, philosophising

For those of you who need an introduction, here in the UK all childcare services - be they schools, local authorities, child centres, hospitals, nurseries, social services or childminders (like myself) - are now deeply immersed in the Every Child Matters framework. It started back in 2003, following the terrible case of Victoria Climbié, to ensure that no child fell through the holes in the services. As a strategy it has five aims, around which much of childcare and schooling is now being focused; you can browse this site for play ideas or reviews tagged with these aims.:

be healthy - stay safe - enjoy and achieve - make a positive contribution - achieve economic wellbeing

One of the founding principles of welikeplay.org was to provide ideas for play-professionals within such a framework, though it naturally lends itself to a rigorous approach to thinking about play in all its effervescence of activity.

We at welikeplay HQ hope this helps out. Do leave a comment here if this is useful to your setting, or you’d like to share good resources (I’m looking into How to Achieve the Every Child Matters Standards, though it’s school and child centre, rather than childminder focused).

If there is anything we can do to help out, let us know.

Brian

tag... play, be healthy, be helpful, enjoy and achieve, money matters, philosophising, stay safe

When I made the move from teaching to childminding (day-care), I was given a piece of advice from a grand-dame of the business. Whilst chatting away to very little ones, I was told, be sure to move your face. In the many years since, it’s been the one piece of advice I’ve returned to time and again. Its advice that reminds me of my favourite book when I was 7, Danny the Champion of the World;

he never gave me a fake smile, because it’s impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you aren’t feeling twinkly yourself

read on »

tag... play, gender, philosophising

There is something deep about play; it goes to the heart of who and what we are. I like culture, not just the ephemeral stuff that flickers past us on the tube, but the big long history of what makes us humans so human. In every generation language and hopes get passed on to be reinvented by the next. Where once-upon-a-time this was the domain of the older kids teaching the younger kids, who taught the younger still we know have a more fragmented world in which grown-ups have to rediscover play.

With any luck, and a little thought, that which is good in us can be given generously away to those little ones we know, whilst our monsters stay under the bed so that they can find and wrestle with their own.

Such is play, and it’s worth it.

About Bee

I, Bee, wound up the big key in the back of welikeplay.org in September ‘07. I’d been a childminder (daycare provider) for 4 years, a stay-at-home-dad for 6 and a teacher of Philosophy and Religion before that. With No2 child starting school, I had another hour in my day, so set about capturing all bits of play in a big ‘ol net of my choosing. And so welikeplay came into being. Childminders liked it, parents liked it, I liked it, so I kept doing it.

And No1 and No2 like it, No3 & No4 like it when they come to visit. No5 & No6 like it when I go over. For they test things to destruction with me. They let me know just how silly I look playing hopscotch. They teach me how to see the world from knee-hight and newness. And everyday we giggle.

Enjoy welikeplay.org,
because we do.

tag... play, philosophising

As welikeplay gets off the ground, we find we’re not alone - aside from the parenting listing at Blog Catalogue. MontessoriMum is tinkering with a new blog at kidsplaynlearn.com; it’s nice to have a little solidarity on the web, particularly ones who sum up play like this:

“To a child, play is an enjoyable, voluntary , purposeful and spontaneously chosen activity. It is often creative, involved problem solving, learning new social skills , new language and new physical skills.”

On the button. All the best.

tag... playpeople, philosophising

Kiddywinks need no instruction, for them play is as natural as breathing or getting good and grubby. It is us as playmates who need to pause and think about the baggage we bring to it. Play has to be where we make space for our children to really be; but that’s not as easy as it sounds, and it doesn’t sound too easy.

Now the following ruminations are just that, the whole essence of play is that rules are helpful but optional. And, as that’s a rule it too is optional; my personal exception is Sun Tze’s advice to know oneself.

read on »

tag... play, philosophising