Why We All Need to Play
GUEST WRITER: The foundation for student wellbeing in Secondary School is created in Primary School, and play is paramount to children’s wellbeing. That’s why I’m delighted to introduce you to author and educational consultant, Therese Hoyle. In this article, Therese talks about why playground games are essential not only for the wellbeing of primary school children, but also for the wellbeing of parents and teachers as well. In this article, you will learn:
- why children, parents and teachers benefit from playing together
- what types of play there are and the benefits of outdoor play
- how we can encourage play with primary school children via what we say and do
- what playground games we can play with primary school children
Therese has a long track record of having a positive impact in education. Since 1996, Therese has worked in the UK and internationally with over 495 schools and organisations. She loves inspiring people to improve their emotional literacy, leadership and wellbeing through various forms of play.
BENEFITS OF PLAYGROUND GAMES FOR EVERYONE'S WELLBEING
Play, it’s one of those words that we all immediately connect with children, and one that conjures up our own happy memories as well as those we make with our own children. Play is powerful; it’s not only beneficial to children’s wellbeing, but also ESSENTIAL to every child’s life and is vital for their social, emotional, intellectual and physical development, in fact, play supports children in every area of their development.
Over the last few turbulent years, play has often been a neglected and undervalued part of our children’s lives, with playgrounds closed and access to play equipment restricted. In a 2021 poll of children in the UK, Save the Children reported that 92% of children felt that the way they play had changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, this includes 51% saying they play outside with their friends less, with 34% playing alone more regularly. 23% stated that they are playing less sport than they were before. Stuart Brown comments in his book Play, that we have a play deficit, very much like the well documented sleep deficit.
Play is something that as parents and educators we need to feel empowered to support our children with, whether that’s playing alongside them, or giving them the opportunities and resources to play by themselves. Over my time of working with schools, I have discovered that children just want to have fun and are eager to play and learn new games. Once I start a game, I almost always have the whole school joining in.
We know from research that when children have a happy playtime, they learn better in the afternoon. An added bonus I continue to hear from schools is how much happier their lunchtime supervisors, teaching assistants and teachers are, walking calmly into the staff room after play commenting on their happy playtime, so it’s not just the children who benefit – we all do! And that includes PARENTS! That’s what inspired me to write my book, 101 Playground Games [2nd Edition] because wellbeing is important for us all.
SO WHAT TYPES OF PLAY ARE THERE?
BIG BODY PLAY
Rough and tumble or big body play like running, climbing, jumping and even wrestling is necessary for proper brain development in children and beneficial for building relationships and developing healthier bodies.
OBJECT PLAY
Object play, such as playing with toys, banging pots and pans, handling physical things in ways that use curiosity. Throwing and catching a ball really develops hand and eye coordination.
SOCIAL PLAY
Social play, play which involves others in activities such as tumbling, making faces, and building connections with another child or group of children.
Why should we get our children outside?
Children who play outside develop better language skills, are fitter and have fewer behavioural problems. So benefits of children playing outside include:
- They use five times as many words when they play outside compared to indoors.
- Fitness; there is a direct correlation between obesity and lack of time spent outdoors.
- The freedom of playing outdoors improves children’s physical and sensory development and their imaginations.
- It gives them permission to fall and to fail and builds their resilience.
WHAT SORTS OF THINGS CAN WE DO TO ENCOURAGE PLAY?
PRAISE THEIR PLAY
Chances are that your child already engages in some amount of free play every day. Encourage more of it by regularly telling your child what a great job they’re doing.
Offer open-ended toys
Have you ever bought your child a toy, only to find them obsessed with playing with the cardboard box packaging? Using the simple things around you e.g. boxes, saucepans, blankets, pillows etc are one of the best ways to encourage your child to use their imagination, and you can play along with ‘pretending’ too.
Lead by example
Sometimes we just have to show our children how to actually play, it might be introducing a
new game, or showing them how to use a new toy. Or even showing them how to be respectful of an environment.
WHAT GAMES CAN WE PLAY?
THE BEAN GAME: HOW TO PLAY
One person is chosen to be the leader. The leader explains the different categories of beans and demonstrates the actions for each.
Broad bean – the players make a standing starfish shape.
French bean – the players say, ‘Bonjour’, and bow down.
Jelly bean – the players wobble like jelly.
Baked bean – the players lie down on the floor in a stretched-out position.
Kidney bean – the players lie curled up on the floor.
Chilli bean – the players shiver.
Frozen bean – the players freeze (stay still).
The leader calls a bean and all the players have to do the actions of that bean.
For more new ideas for games to keep your kids active and happy, you can check out Therese’s new book, 101 Playground Games.
REFERENCES
- Therese Hoyle (2021) 101 Playground Games: A Collection of Active and Engaging Playground Games for Children [2nd Edition]
- Sally Weale (May 2021) “Half of UK Children Playing Out With Friends Less Since Pandemic”, The Guardian
- Stuart Brown & Christopher Vaughan (2010) Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul
About the author
Therese Hoyle has over 25 years’ teaching experience in mainstream, special and higher education. She is the founder and Head Facilitator of Therese Hoyle Consultancies. Since 1996 Therese has worked in the UK and internationally with over 495 schools and organisations and with more than 16,000 individuals inspiring them with Positive Playtime, Circle Time, Coaching Circles, Positive Parenting, Positive Behaviour Management, Emotional Literacy and Leadership Coaching programmes. 101 Playground Games is out now and can be purchased from all good booksellers and on Amazon. You can find out more about how bestselling Author and Positive Playtime expert Therese Hoyle’s can support your school with reinvigorating playtimes at www.theresehoyle.com
