[Xmca-l] Re: Interesting "post-apocalyptic" playground

[Huw Lloyd]

On 26 April 2014 17:00, Greg Thompson <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com> wrote:

> I thought that this was a fascinating way of taking play beyond what we
> have imagined - allowing kids to play with fire, sharp sticks, and other
> "dangerous" objects:
>
> http://transom.org/2013/of-kith-and-kin/
>
> The link is about the making of a video about this playground, but there
> are great images and videos that describe the playground.
>
> Seems fascinating, no?
>
> What do you think? Does play need to be more structured than this? How does
> this fit with the CHAT view of play?
>
>
Hi Greg,

The chat concept of play activity attends to the development of agency in
role play which is thought to be a necessary precursor to learning activity
(correcting one's activity on the basis of discovering discrepancies) etc.
 Basically, without developing the motive (confidence in agency) there
would be less of a sense of any significant problem (no learning activity)
which is predicated on the students sense of being able to do things
(development of agency).

So, I think the sense of play here is somewhat different to "play activity"
in CHAT.  The kids are older and it seems much more about exposure to
exploring reality principles.  Of course, play is still present.

It's nice filming and music, and fun to watch.  It reminds me of long
camping trips.

Best,
Huw


> -greg
>
> --
> Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Anthropology
> 883 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
> Brigham Young University
> Provo, UT 84602
> http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson
>