Playing with Objects

These activities happen daily at Northstar, still they surprise me with the absolute joy and wonder that kids experience during such activities. Some adults wonder what happens in school at Play Stage (2 years and above). I can only say what happens at Northstar. Still, I find it hard to truly make anyone feel what play means at this age (or any).

Simple acts of aimless play are children's right. I have seen how constrained kids are in their play within modern societies - social media addiction, risk-averse parents and society, lack of play spaces, disconnect from outdoor spaces and natural environment, etc.

Playing with objects and materials is one of the first things kids innately do, which then leads to more complex forms of play such as socio-dramatic play, pretend play, and formal games with rules.

Playing with objects is primary. Aimless, open, free.

I think about Chesterton's question, “How can we contrive to be at once astonished at the world and yet at home in it?”