10 Ways to Play
We’ve been cooking up some fun at Lignin Stories, preparing two special classes during which we are going to share some storytelling and play ideas with you.
Did you know that the one thing that all mammals, from you to dogs to dolphins, have in common is play?
Take a look at these other interesting facts about play:
Playfulness has been the basis of major scientific discoveries. Albert Einstein formulated his special theory of relativity after imagining himself chasing a beam of light.
The history of human flight is grounded in play, beginning with the Chinese top, a toy propeller on a stick invented around 400 B.C. The same type of top was later a favorite boyhood plaything of British inventor George Cayley, and inspired his pioneering 19th-century flying machines.
Teens have no problem hitting 10,000 hours of playing time, at least when it comes to video games. That’s the average time gamers spend by the age of 21. (PS It is said that 10,000 hours is the amount of time needed to achieve mastery in anything!)
Young dolphins’ spontaneous games, such as blowing bubbles for fun, might be related to learning more practical applications: Dolphins sometimes use “bubble curtains” to trap fish when hunting.
Washington State University neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp believes diminishing classroom playtime could be responsible for the recent rise of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Children will play whether they live in a suburb or a war zone. The urge is so strong that children even played in concentration camps during the Holocaust.*
Bottom line? Play is such a core part of us it deserves our attention!
That is why on the 12th and the 19th May I will be giving two free classes on how you can combine stories and play in order to achieve the best benefits for your children.
During the classes you will receive:
- Clarity on the different types of play that exist
- Clarity on the type of play that your child enjoys and learns from most instinctively but which you may have forgotten how to have fun with, because most adults are boring... sorry, truth hurts ;)
- Simple stories and story activities for each type of play
- An opportunity to receive direct coaching from me!
Join us and invite a friend too!
As the examples above show, play is not only a fun activity that you can engage in with your children, but it also offers us a valuable resource through which to improve our parenting skills.
I like to think of it as +EBI, which stands for:
+ (my parenting is good BUT it could be) E (even) B (better) I (if) I knew many more ways of playing with my children!
Join us in our Facebook group The Story Solution for Parents on Tuesday 12th May 2020 to benefit from some super useful information and resources!
