On Saturday and Sunday, April 24 & 25, 2021, my wife Kitty, our daughter Gita, and Kiwanis friend Cindy Forstall and I provided hands-on creative play and art making activities at the 36th Annual Melbourne Art Festival “Kids’ World”. For two days boys and girls of different ages, parents and grandparents, came by our tent and made shell necklaces, bracelets, and crowns with bulletin board edging and colorful ribbons.
In addition, we set up a construction zone outside the tent for “Free Play” with a variety of rigid foam pieces.
Here is a 51 second video that captures young children fully focused and engaged in pure “free play.”
When children or adults have freedom to engage in spontaneous, unstructured, voluntary, self-initiated “free play”, that process inspires them to use and develop their imaginations as they freely explore and experience the world around them. This developmentally appropriate form of self activity awakens creativity, empowers self discovery, and inspires optimism and healing.
Drew Thoughts 