Play has often been reserved for children and considered something superficial once our lives are filled with grown-up concerns. As an elementary school teacher, I arranged my science lessons as play-based investigations. The students would have fun exploring stable structures and quickly learn how to create a secure base with the materials. However, play is not just for kids. It’s an essential part of our learning and emotional wellness for the rest of our lives.*
Process Over Product
Recently, I’ve returned to playing with paints in my spare time: creating prints and dabbling with water colours. The key to playing is not to worry about the end result. That’s not the important part. It’s all about the process. I learned this from my kindergarten students.
When I asked my kindergarten students to tell me about their artwork, they would say something completely different about it from one day to the next. “It’s Mom.” “It’s the popsicle I had.” I realized that the final product meant very little to them. They’d often forgotten what they had created. It was the act of creating that was important: the play.
Different Play Personalities
There are different types of play personalities. You may be a collection of several types. I’m a creative, a Kinesthete (moving your body in dance or yoga), a storyteller and a sometimes, joker. You might be a collector, an explorer, a competitor or a director. **
Plan Time To Play
As with all things in a busy day, play doesn’t just happen unless you are intentional about it. You can plan a session (exploring a new place, adding to your collection), or be spontaneous and dance when the music starts. You just need to be open to doing it.
With A Playful Attitude Come Health Benefits
With play, comes more creativity, lower stress and a more positive outlook on life. A playful attitude even helps us learn difficult concepts more quickly.
Something that looks like a difficult task — writing a book or working on a complex jigsaw puzzle — might be play. If the person doing it is engaged and feeling content with the challenge, then it is play; if the person is feeling bored, irritated, or burdened by the task then it is not play.”***
Play allows us to find respite from stressful, product-oriented work and to recharge with joy and lightness.
Who couldn’t do with more play in their life?
To find your play personality click here for a simple quiz.
**For a full list of play personalities click here.
***https://www.nifplay.org/play-for-you/make-play-part-of-an-adult-life/
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