Experts advocate ‘risky play’ for children

Our preschool STEM specialist, Robyn Stone, posted this blog entry for preschool families. However, the philosophy of risky play rings true for what we hope all of our students will do: try new things, take some risks and discover great strength in themselves. – Brian Yager, head of school

By Robyn Stone

“Look! I did it,” shouted Harker preschooler Sydney Todasco, age 4, as she balanced on a tree stump, arms akimbo, face beaming. She had finally succeeded in hopping from one tree stump to the next –despite uneven spacing between the stumps and difficulty balancing on wobbling ones. In her previous attempt to do this, Sydney slipped and fell. Presenting me with a bloody scrape, she said, “I am brave.” And she was. Her pride in this bravery stemmed from a sense of purpose. After being patched up, Sydney went right back to the tree stump circle. She persevered in her practice to accomplish a goal she set for herself.

On the Farm (Harker Preschool’s installation of small animals and a garden), Harker Preschool students have the opportunity to engage in outdoor experiences like digging in the dirt, hauling logs in wheelbarrows, feeding live animals, tasting plants and hopping on tree stumps. Engaging in these activities heighten a child’s awareness of their five senses – seeing, smelling, touching, tasting and hearing. Outdoors, children are simultaneously doing deep cognitive work – taking in and processing sensory information – and heavy gross motor work – building coordination between large muscle groups.

Outdoor play is vital piece of child development. Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods,” fears that children are increasingly suffering from what he calls “nature deficit disorder.” “Our society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature,” he writes. “Rapidly advancing technologies are blurring the lines between humans, other animals, and machines … as the young spend less and less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically, and this reduces the richness of human experience.”

Too often, children are over-protected for fear of bumps and scratches, and prevented from climbing trees, splashing through streams and building forts. With the rough-cut logs for making structures and the uneven tree stump circle, we have created an opportunity for “risky play” for our preschoolers. Psychology Today (April 7, 2014) describes “risky play” as play that “combines the joy of freedom with just the right measure of fear to produce the exhilarating blend known as thrill.” 

Indeed, scientists have studied the evolutionary value of risky play – examining other mammals from rats to sheep. Researchers now understand that risky play is a critical piece of emotional regulation. Young children learn how to regulate fear and anger through self-directed, risky outdoor play. Practicing on the tree stumps – falling down and getting back up – Sydney learned how to manage her feelings.

Bumps and scratches heal, as did Sydney’s leg scrape. According to psychologist and child development expert Wendy Mogel, author of “The Blessing of a Skinned Knee,” there is much to be learned about self-reliance, compassion and ethics, from boo-boos, too. Mogel writes, “I meet many parents who are trying so hard to be perfect parents, to make everything just right for their children, that they’re draining away their pleasure in parenting.” She hopes parents simply let their toddlers splash in puddles without first wrapping them head-to-toe in Gore-Tex or turning the experience into a lesson on aquatic micro-organisms.

When my son was a toddler, we spent our days at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Marin County. In their wonderful outdoor exhibits, we played hide-and-seek in a living tree structure, climbed a giant spider’s web, boarded a wrecked ship and shoveled rocks under a mini Golden Gate Bridge. We spent long mornings digging in the sand with driftwood at Rodeo Beach. We rushed outdoors on rainy days to splash in puddles and rescue worms. Even in a townhouse with a little brick patio, we adopted the whole neighborhood as our backyard. We waded through the salt marsh flats of Mill Valley, discovered crabs, hopped on logs, swung from vines and generally just enjoyed being outdoors together.

Sausalito is a big drive from the South Bay, but I am so happy to share that the San Jose Children’s Discovery Museum (CDM) is building a new outdoor exhibit full of risky play opportunities – from climbing trees to splashing in a stream! Opening Oct. 29, Bill’s Backyard: Bridge to Nature, CDM’s new outdoor learning environment, invites children to connect with nature in a welcoming and safe setting. CDM hopes the new space inspires children to spend time outside climbing, building, digging and getting dirty while exploring the natural elements.

Bill’s Backyard aims to provide an innovative solution to the limited opportunities for urban and suburban families to explore nature. It is a bridge to nature that:

• gives children a chance to explore nature environments in a safe setting;
• demonstrates environmentally friendly backyard features;
• inspires families to venture out to explore parks, trails and wilderness areas; and
• makes it possible for us all to gain deeper understanding of the world around us.

According to CDM, “Our densely urban environment and fast paced lifestyles make it a challenge for children to get outdoors and play. Yet the costs of alienation from nature – known as nature deficit disorder – are far-reaching. “How the young respond to nature, and how they raise their own children, will shape the configurations and conditions of our cities, homes – our daily lives,” notes children-and-nature authority Richard Louv. “Living through drought, solving the challenges of climate change, sustainable energy use – these are issues that are with our communities now and in the future.”

Let your child explore in your neighborhood open spaces or just your own backyard. Or visit CDM’s new Bill’s Backyard exhibit and let your young children experience the thrill of risky outdoor play! To learn more about “nature deficit disorder” and possible cures, read Louv’s book.

STEM Buddies meet, preschoolers learn about bubbles and cohesion

Harker’s WiSTEM Club (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) visited with STEM Buddies at Harker Preschool last week, and both the preschoolers and high schoolers had a great time! The program, started in 2014, passes along the joy of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to the schools littlest students using fun, interactive learning. 

“It’s amazing to direct and train so many upper school students, who are not only passionate about their individual pursuits of STEM, but also willing to help spread their love and passion for STEM to the preschoolers,” said Constance Horng, grade 11, one of the organizers of this year’s event. “STEM Buddies is an event aimed at engaging youth and the larger Harker community in STEM, and being able to help fulfill this mission by organizing this event is extremely rewarding.”

Co-organizer Morgan Douglas, grade 12, also enjoys planning the event. “I take great interest in accounting for developmental stages while designing activities,” she noted. “I’ve attended STEM Buddies events at both the preschool and the lower school, and have been struck by the huge developmental gap between these two groups; they really are very developmentally distinct. In the past, we’ve found that many activities that lower schoolers have found greatly exciting have been completely inaccessible to preschoolers.”

To design successful activities, the group stayed in close contact with Robyn Stone, STEM specialist at the preschool, who helped them understand the preschoolers’ abilities. They also considered which activities were successful and unsuccessful in previous years.

Beyond the science, the visits are just plain fun. “The most outstanding part of the event was definitely being able to see the smiles of amazement on the preschoolers’ faces when they watched or replicated our demonstrations and experiments,” said Horng. “The preschoolers were interested in learning the scientific concepts behind cool, engaging experiments.”

Douglas also thrived on the feedback. “I was trying to explain molecular cohesion to a group of preschoolers in very simple terms – the bubble stays together because the little parts that it’s made of hold onto each other very tightly,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting my audience to reach a huge enlightening, but was really delighted when one preschooler excitedly repeated the idea back to me in his own words, and then for five minutes ran around outside telling all the adults what he had learned about cohesion.

“The preschoolers really enjoyed interacting directly with the activities. They are naturally curious, and so were determined to pop the bubbles, to make their own shaving cream artwork, and to create their own waves by rubbing our Chinese spouting bowl. If they saw a WiSTEM member doing it – many of them would want to do it themselves,” she noted.

To learn more about the STEM Buddies program check out this 2015 Harker Quarterly article on the subject.

Teens and Preschoolers Bond Over STEM Learning in Unique Buddies Program