They say boredom is good, but...My kids hang on my legs! They won't leave me alone! It's just chaos! We know that boredom sparks creativity, imagination, & critical thinking skills. We know that Waldorf proponents endorse open ended play. We know that Montessori proponents advocate for longer play periods and pushing through boredom or lulls. Yet, we sit at home and wonder why is it not working for me. What am I missing in all this? What is my kid missing? A kick startMaybe you're making the transition from a life of constant entertainment (TV, all the toys, loads of structured activities) to a life of simplicity and less. Or, maybe your kid is just in a funk today and can't seem to get things going. Here are some ways you can be the catalyst to their play. Your RoleYou have two jobs:
Invitations to create: Process ArtAccording to the Guggenheim, "Process art emphasizes the “process” of making art (rather than any predetermined composition or plan) and the concepts of change and transience," This means, you will be setting up the tools and, maybe, the prompt or limits, but your child will do everything else. You will not care how it looks in the end. Simply focus on the process. In this situation, I gave P a straw, 3 paint colors, and a piece of paper. This lead her on an hour long process which ended with her creating "monster puke" outside. She would ask me things like "what would happen if I poured this color in this color?" and I would say "I wonder what would happen if you mixed that?" Which gave her the permission to mix it without seeking my approval. It certainly ended in a mess at times (then I would say "I wonder how you'll clean that up :)"), but it showed me how creative she can be all on her own.
Invitations to PlaySimilarly, you can be in charge of the tools and the prompt with toys. Sometimes kids just need a new outlook or story to run with in order to get things started because play is hard. It is important work, but it takes practice, skill, and imagination. So we can just give it a little nudge sometimes. Which one looks more enticing?The first one is completely open. There are toys situated below, but it leaves EVERYTHING as an option. That can be overwhelming. It can be daunting. It took me 5 minutes to set up the second scene. I said to P " Oh no! The baby foxes have been separated from their mother and father. Who is going to help them get home? How are they going to get there?" She immediately started pulling out more toys saying "there's the evil trolls on the river! and the magical unicorn will be protecting the secret gem! what if there are other forest creatures ready to help?" She spent 45 minutes helping the foxes get home. Your open ended play tool kit:You don't need to spend $100 on a wood rainbow to have an enticing playroom. Here are some super cheap ideas to start the open ended play in your home.
Final tip: remember from above that presentation matters! Consider an organizer to show all these loose parts in an enticing fashion. Baskets, plastic or paper plates, or clear jars work for displaying too! Put something like this on the table and give them a prompt like:
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Emily BarstadMaster's in Family Education Archives
March 2020
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