I had a birthday last week. I had balloons, courtesy of a five-year-old companion, ice cream sundaes, and many greetings from friends. I even had presents. These included a small plastic glow-in-the-dark cat and two puppets, one a giant clam, complete with pearl, and the other a little girl who looks as if she could … Continue reading
Tagged with play …
Of Cat Castles and Conferences: Why I Need to Play
In a recent conversation with a friend, we ended up talking about play. She mentioned that she was going to go home and play—by reading a work-related book. Now, I really do enjoy my work, but to me, reading work-related books is work. It is not play, even when I find the books fascinating. Stuart … Continue reading
When Do We Play?
Play is important. Why else would it be so consistent across the human and animal worlds? When we had kittens in our house, the two of them found the world a continual source of adventure. They stalked one another with delight, dove into our shoes just for the sake of popping back out, and chased … Continue reading
Take Time for Play
This month (perhaps while you were taking a few well-earned days off) the National Public Radio (NPR) series Playing to Learn presented a fascinating look into the relationship between play and learning. At this time of year when so many of us put summer relaxation behind and get back to the “serious business” of teaching, … Continue reading