Wendy has summarised creativity, play and resilience wonderfully in response to an article in the SMH last Wednesday .
In preschool we provide for large tracts of time for free choice so that preschool children can play the games they choose. This is essential as they make sense of the world through play. Lots of time to play results in deep and satisfying play. The children test themselves in many areas when they play – physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively.
Our preschool children are extremely fortunate in having the whole, rich and ever-changing playground and all the materials within it to use to develop physical confidence, inspire their imaginations and form complex social groupings. They are also fortunate to have older children and adults to play with, plan with and help them make the resources they need for play.
We believe that even very young children need to take appropriate risks to develop their bodies, their spirits and their resilience. This lays the foundation for healthy risk-taking in the teenage and adult years. We believe that bumps, bruises and scratches are part of learning. They set up a store of resilience and rationality for later life, when the challenges have a huge impact.
