Playing by the Rules

I am a rule follower. Anyone who knows me knows this. Therefore, I would be remiss if I didn't establish some ground rules for this project before its commencement. (And you've got to admit that there's something to be said for playing fair, right?)

I think the first thing to do is to really define what it actually means to play...it's all fine and good and easy to say I plan to play with my children for an hour a day, but what does that really mean?

The dictionary definition of play that suits my purposes best is "recreational activity; especially: the spontaneous activity of children."

Rule #1:
Each activity should be spontaneous and dictated by the children.


Hide-n-Seek

Professor Peter Gray of Boston College also suggests that "Play is activity in which means are more valued than ends. "

Rule #2
Avoid goal oriented activities. Play for the sake of the playing.
(Except, of course in the event of playing a game, when structure and goals are necessary.)

(Playing Uncle Wiggly with Grammy.)

Gray also claims that "Play involves an active, alert, but non-stressed frame of mind."

Rule #3
Do not be distracted by the stresses of work/life while playing.
(Easier said than done, I suspect.)

Musician and author Stephen Nachmanovitch says, "Improvisation, composition, writing, painting, theater, invention, all creative acts are forms of play, the starting place of creativity in the human growth cycle, and one of the great primal life functions."

Rule #4
Play may include any creative activity, though again, these activities will be chosen by the children and will not be goal-oriented.

Of course, I suspect there will be days that the imagination fails, that play doesn't come easily, and for those days, I will opt for Mark Twain's definition (which is slightly loosey-goosier): “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”

Rule #5 As long as we're not required to do it, and we're doing it together, we'll consider it play. (Except watching TV. That doesn't count.)

Lastly, there are inevitably going to be days when the girls and I are not together (visits to grandparents, sleepovers at friends' house, etc...) On those days, playing together will not be an option...but I will use that hour to think of new games, ideas, projects for future play times.

Phew. It feels good to have some rules, doesn't it? ;)