Nursery World - It takes all types

In the first of a new series on 'play theory', playwork co-ordinator Philip Waters explores the different types of children's play and how to offer a child a freely-chosen play environent Not too long ago I observed some children playing in a muddy hole pretending to be archaeologists. Each child seemed to have a particular role; some were busy digging at the soft earth with their spoons until they would find something of interest, while others washed the artefacts and delivered them to the 'museum' - which in this case was a parachute tied to a tree branch.

Not too long ago I observed some children playing in a muddy hole pretending to be archaeologists. Each child seemed to have a particular role; some were busy digging at the soft earth with their spoons until they would find something of interest, while others washed the artefacts and delivered them to the 'museum' - which in this case was a parachute tied to a tree branch.

Once in the museum, another group of children began to label the found items, which included old bones, toys and broken pottery, and place them on a display table. Another group of children charged entrance fees and issued tickets to visitors, while others acted as museum curators. All in all, every child seemed to be playing their part in this playful episode, an episode that went on for an entire afternoon and was spontaneous; it was neither initiated by an adult, nor intended as part of the planning for that day.

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