Drew Thoughts

Precious, precious are the moments when children become absorbed in the sacred pleasure of playing and creating with interesting three-dimensional materials and then reflect and share their thoughts and feelings as a story of what happened. The doing and making things during self active play!

On Friday July 12, 2019, Bayside Discovery Center 13 summer camp children and teachers came for a discovery workshop at the Reusable Resources Adventure Center. And an adventure it was! For 90 minutes a mixed age group of children engaged in free exploration and self active education. The 7 minute video makes me smile as it reveals the natural positive outcomes of children having opportunity to engage, construct and imagine, invent and discover, create, share and learn together,…using simple, open, ended materials,…precious, precious.

Ms. Aubrey Lembo, the Head Teacher, (in photo recording) observed the children and wrote the following reflection:

“The children are very engaged while playing and building with blocks. You can see the creativity flowing.“

“When you enter, you are surrounded by recycled materials. The possibilities are endless with what you can do or make with all these materials.“

“It think it is beneficial to the children in learning that a single item can have multiple uses.“

“This center is a blessing to children in that they are exposed to the benefits and knowledge of the recycling process.“

“The children love explaining how they built their towers or structures.“

“The children love turning things that they thought were trash into their new treasures.“

“The children get to touch and feel different textures and match different textures to those that will fit.“

“It is beautiful to witness all the smiles on the children’s faces as they create.“

Precious, precious are moments children become absorbed in the sacred pleasure of creating and reflecting on their thoughts and feelings associated with what they do and make during self active play!

This was an awesome experience for me. I loved being present, seeing 47 early childhood teachers so engrossed in a day of joyful play with paints! Relaxing and releasing the “art spirit”, members of the South Florida Association for the Education of Young Children (SFAEYC) came together to play, paint and share some of the paintings they made during my Play with Paints workshop. (https://youtu.be/VdRQV8dHKt0)

Each painting reflects personal meaning. Journal comments reveal the healing power of play with paints. Here is one that touches my heart.

“What a wonderful experience ‘playing with paints’ with Dr. Drew. It was an emotional time as my painting reflected the sunrise (life) of my mother (104.5 years) and the life of my sister who both passed away in July and March respectively of last year. Today is my sister’s birthday and she of my family members are traveling to the island of Eleuthera to scatter my mother’s ashes on her father’s grave and on the beach. My painting reflects the sunset of their lives on the beautiful ocean as it gently washes the waves onto the sandy beach”.

Marion County Public School Early Childhood Educators Engage in Play and Art-Making at Kinderoo Childrens’ Center, Ocala Florida

Self active play is a form of play education. As with other types of “education”, such as “mathematics education” or “science education”. “Play education” is the practice of teaching and learning about play and its many varied applications and benefits for human development.

Following play with paints teachers journaled about their experience:

Tina: I first thought I was going to make a painting of the ocean with crashing waves. I picked up the paint brush and my mind went to flowers. I painted wild flowers with the hot sun shining on them. It was a lovely journey.

In this three minute video you see the vitality of teachers as they relax, investigate and uncover different approaches to playing with tempera paints,…simply making marks, fiddling, letting go and enjoying the adventure of playing with paints and enjoying the process of spontaneously expressing themselves freely intuitively.

Emily: I really enjoyed painting. The music playing in the background made me feel relaxed. I notice after while my mind stopped thinking of other things and I started to sing along to the music in my head. Once that happened I started to get more creative and came up with more things to add. It was peaceful to just let my mind relax and focus on the freedom of expression in my painting.

Ceci: When collecting the paint and tools I began to think about Spring break. I got to thinking about our trip to the Keys! My favorite spots and most fondest memories there! I painted the sunrise in Islamorada. It reminds me of happy beach or fishing trips with my family. I painted 2 large pink octopus because it is my favorite sea creature and the pink octopus stands for the 1st trip my daughter took to the keys at two months old,…my hubs bought her an oversized octopus…she loves it still to this day!

On September 27, 2007 Brian Sutton Smith shared a paper at the Florida Association for the Education of Young Children titled: Play as the Survival Source of Optimism and Origination (The Double O). If there ever was a time for optimism and origination, creative optimism, it is now. Given play serves that purpose, as Brian Sutton Smith has suggested, may we summon positive role playing for positive change. A matter of survival.

Hands, Heart & Mind Exploring Self Active Play

It began with the willingness to play. Exploring objects together, arranging, organizing, expressing ideas, visual patterns and feelings with open ended materials. Little purple foam cylinders, gold plastic caps, bits of fabric, bra snaps and Dr. Drew’s Discovery Blocks. Transformation happens. Insight, personal skills and meaning arise during play with interesting materials. Curiosity is aroused. We are intent and focused.

Three-dimensional forms of beauty are aesthetic expressions that emerge spontaneously as we explore and create. These pleasing arrangements satisfy our desire for harmony and order through physical patterns. There is a simultaneous inner alignment, a feeling of accomplishment peace and healing.

Sarita received her Master Play Coach Certificate during the conference.

Actively investigating play and creativity using simple, open-ended materials affords the one who does, a unique opportunity to develop insight that enhances play knowledge and professional practice. When adults gather some unusual open-ended materials for a little self active play the mind shifts and gains a deeper understanding of play and how it advances healthy human development. We appreciate the surprise aesthetic expressions we render spontaneously through this form of play. This awareness renews the spirit and encourages us to persist and overcome resistance to positive action. This expressive process is a way of nurturing inner peace and emotional wellbeing.

View this 2 minute YouTube

of the 2019 NAEYC Annual Conference workshop, “From play to practice: Nurturing peace and emotional well-being in young children” presented Walter Drew, Jim Johnson, Michael Patte, Robin Ploof, Paola Lopez, Heather Ha and John Surr.

Hunkered down now in our room at the Fairfield Inn with “Butters”, Ben’s cockatiel, on my shoulder, Kitty on the bed beside me, Elijah sitting here with us too, Ben comfortable in his chair chatting and watching the US Open, the decisions you make determine the outcome of the game. It’s good to be together. Feel safe, ready for whatever. You have what you must do Dorian, Dorian as we watch your wet and windy dance meandering our way. Such a splendid contest, the play of natures presence as we feel nervously prepared. We await you here, please leave but only your light touch. We shall see knowing all is well as it must be.

Crystal is a conference participant who wrote in her journal,…“I loved the stones in my hand. They felt smooth and cool. They came from the shore that’s a five minute walk and I felt a connection to them. They are all different shapes and sizes. Their color is consistent with slight variations of a middle tone gray. I let the feel of the stone heal me through its simple splendor. I started to feel the other materials closest to me. I loved looking at and holding in my hand the pieces of driftwood and the pine cone. Lightly touching the pine cone against the direction of the petals produced a light, sharp noise.”

A moment ago I was thinking of the play talk I will be giving at the Florida One Goal Summer Conference in Tampa on July 17, 2019.

I said to myself,….”talk about how children feel when they encounter circumstances beyond their control and the role of play in relieving distress. Disinterest and doubt arise. In that space there is imposing darkness and fright. There is closing down, a withdrawal from engagement. Hands-on play and art making with intriguing materials are reliable antidotes.

Children and adults immersed in this form of play feel their power to exert influence in positive ways. We remind ourselves of that inner power, inner spirit, competence seen and felt in self active play.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton