Hoops

Elijah built a great basketball hoop this weekend, once he'd built it his work was done and it was left for the girls to shoot.

Jasmin wasn't satisfed that it was challenging enough so the games got increasingly harder and more interesting

 

Once they got bored of the balls they changed the game up and tried jumping through hoops to score instead!

Extreme Dodgeball: A Group Invention

Two teams on two opposite sides of the room. It began as boys vs girls.

The aim was to throw the balls as quickly as you could, hit a player of the opposite team and get rid of the balls in your half of the pitch.

Shelters were introduced as the game got more intense.

As were rackets to extend your reach and hit the balls away quicker.

 

The inventors of the game were also the players, and the rules and instuctions of the game were consistently tried out, tested and negotiated as the game grew in intensity. This was largely unspoken, and suprisingly uncontested, resulting in a true collaboration between all the players.

Rough and Tumble

 

The session began with all hands on deck to make a giant punch bag, which you can see one of our staff members sporting quite nicely in these photos! The children then played around with this, seeing who could do the most impressive kick or punch to the bag.

 

Then we made the cushions into a soft landing for stunts such as falling backward on a chair...

 

Then as a landing pad for wrestling moves...

 

...gymnastics: including a whole lot of jumps, cartwheels, spins, forward rolls and dramatic falls...

 

While there were a few moments where I held my breath and hid behind my hands, mostly I was impressed by the energy, creativity and enthusiasm the children brought to this. I was also confident in the childrens own ability to judge what they could or couldn't do We were also really pleased to see them considering their own and each others safety - testing things out and gradually and trying more daring moves as the afternoon progresssed.

 

Playing with Water

I'm glad children aren't bothered by the cold like a lot of adults are, if they were we wouldn't have seen such brilliant games using water today. I brought along a stack of plastic cups and put them amongst the rest of the objects in the shop, they were instantly built into pyramids and knocked down, then built into towers and knocked down and so on.

 

 

But then the focus soon became much more about the cups as containers - filling them up with water from bowls and watering cans, arranging them in different formations, then knocking them down and filling them back up again. Reon in particular was taken with this idea and spent a lot of time trying out different things.

 

 

Others then started to join in, sourcing anything that could be used as a water carrier.

 

And then new games were invented. Have a look at the video below to see Reon and Tyra's game (and who won!)

 

 

Others then used the cups as dominoes, exploring whether or not they would tip one another over. When that didn't happen, kicking them over was the next best solution!

 

It is really interesting when there is one clearly dominent interest amongst the group during a session. Then seeing how long it is explored for and how many different games and activities can come from the same idea is really enjoyable. Also how different children get involved and then change the game slightly, work together, take ideas off on their own. I love those times that when you leave children to play on their own, you can see them working through an idea or a problem that you can't understand but can clearly see that they are driven enough to keep exploring and keep creating.