Why Play Works by Jill Vialet

Author:Jill Vialet [Vialet, Jill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119775508
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Small Start:

Mapping the Yard is a pretty straightforward exercise that can have surprising results because it compels us to thoughtfully consider things that are right in front of us but are still often overlooked. The exercise begins, as you might imagine, by taking a blank piece of paper and drawing out the schoolyard—or the space you use for play—as it currently exists. Right from the start, people's hesitancy about communicating visually is often an issue. I want to reassure you, and whomever you are doing this exercise with, that your maps don't have to look perfect—or even good for that matter. Providing pencils, rulers, and working erasers can help. Once an outline of the space is created, make at least one copy to save for later.

Using one of the copies, the goal is to indicate the patterns of activity that exist in your space on the map. We recommend using colored pencils or crayons and making notes indicating where, what, when, and how kids and adults use the space. Is there Four Square? A basketball court? Do kids play different games on the basketball courts during different periods? Are there pinch points impinging on the flow of students—coming out of the cafeteria doors, for example—or dead zones where nothing ever happens? Note if there are areas of concern—places on the playground that aren't easily visible or where the ball frequently gets kicked over a fence or onto a roof. The idea is to get as much detail as possible onto the map to help see what's really happening and to inspire ideas in response to what works and what doesn't.

After these descriptions of what's happening have been created, take the copy of the blank outline and imagine the range and flow of activities you'd like to see. Sometimes it helps to have multiple copies of the blank outline and to offer up different scenarios, such as design a schoolyard if money were no object or if it were always sunny. It's even worthwhile to design the worst possible schoolyard, if only to call out the attributes that you really, really want to avoid.

We start this mapping process out individually—our staff members usually do it on their own—and then invite others to join, grown‐ups and kids. One way to ease people into the experience is to share your blank outline of the existing outside space as a collective jumping off place. We've found that when school staff members share their interpretations of the current state of things and offer their ideas for improving the schoolyard, it can be a revelatory experience in the ways that their perceptions differ but also in the insight that nothing about these patterns of use has to be permanent.

Once you have mapped your space, you can more intentionally explore the potential for play and design the way people move through, behave in, and engage with the areas you have to use. Bringing just a little bit of structure to this aspect of how students interact on

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