Developing the Whole Child - Horticultural Therapy

8/4/2019 Developing the Whole Child - Horticultural Therapy

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CHAPTER 8 Moving

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Part II:D evelop ing the W ho le C hild


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Chapter 8 MOVING

Moving stimulates thekinesthetic, proprioceptive,and vestibular senses. It is acritical part of normal childdevelopment. Given access,opportunity, and adultencouragement, childrenwill naturally explore theirsurroundings.The need formovement provides a ratio-nale for creating qualityenvironments capable ofsustaining positive learningand physical and mentalgrowth. This is particularlyimportant in highly industri-alized societies where chil-dren's opportunities formovement are becom ingrestricted by televisionviewing and issues of safetyand liability.

Too m any ch ildren today have stopped m oving. Inin du stria lize d c ou ntrie s an d in a fflu en t, m id dle -class com m unities ac ross the w orld , children arespen ding too m uch of their tim e indoors w ith te levisio n,co mpu ters, and video gam es, rather than exercising theirb od ie s in o utd oo r, fre e-p la y a ctiv ity . In th e U n ite d S ta te s,w here these trends a re the m ost advanced, ch ildhoodobesity has becom e a m ajor hea lth issue . I

T he increase in sedentary , indo or activities hasbeen driven in part by a decrease in opportun ities forou tdoor play The grow th of pub lic vio lence has m adeparents fea rfu l abou t le tting their child ren out to play onth eir ow n. In the m ajority of fam ilies w ith children, theparents w ork and are not a t hom e w hen children retu rnfrom school. A pprehension about soc ia l r isks in the ou t-door env ironm ent has encouraged m any parents toen roll their children in afterschool prog ram s, su ch asm usic, gym nastic s , ecolo gy , coo king , and art T he bestp ro gra ms o ffer an array o f c rea tiv e, n on fo rm al ac tiv itie sto serv e ch ild ren 's v aried in te rests; m an y p ro gra ms,how ever, do not prov ide this level of qua lity For the m il-lion s of children w hose parents cannot a fford after-school ca re, w atching televisio n has becom e th eir prim a-r y le is ur e a ctiv it y

Indoor program s have begun to replace ou tdoorinform al play in the le isu re tim e of m any m iddle-c lasschildren . M any pro gram s, of course , inco rpora te p hysi-cal education (though ra rely ou tdoors). B ut few pro-g ram s focus o n free play as a m ain activity , la rgelybecause it is hard to "sell," a t least in the U nited S ta tes.In other countr ies , such as the U nited K ingdom , theN etherlands, and G erm any , an im pressiv e ran ge ofleisu re p ro gra ms a re o ffere d b y n on pro fit o rg an iz atio ns,labor unions, and housin g assoc ia tions, often w ith go v-ernm ent partnership . Such program s have ex isted for a tleast three decades. In a h andfu l of countries, pub licpolicy in the nonform al educa tion sector addressed theneed for com m un ity -based leisu re program s m uch earli-er; in Sw eden and D enm ark , for exam ple , efforts beganin the 1940s w ith the developm ent of urban playparka nd a dv en tu re p la yg ro un d p ro gram s.

Inm uch of the w orld , in ma rg in al c ommu n it ie sla ck in g th e lu xu rie s o f in du stria l d ev elo pm en t, c hild re n

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le ad liv es d ep riv ed o f m a te ria l c om f o rt. H ow e ve r, a s lo ngas th ere is en ou gh to ea t, th ey a re c on sta ntly o n th emo v e in o u td oo r p la y . T he ir le ve l o f p hy sic al g ra ce a nda g il it y a r e s tr ik in g t o t he v is ito r f rom t he d e ve lo p edw o rld , w h er e c hild re n's m o v em e n t o u td oo rs h as f alle nb elow th e th re sh old r eq u ir ed f or g oo d h ea lth -e ve nth ou g h g eo gr ap hic mo v eme n t h as in cr ea se d v ia c ar s a nds c ho o l b u s es .

T h e n e ga ti ve c o ns eq u e nc es f or c h ild r en 's h e alt ha re d ra m an c.' T he p ro je cte d im p ac t in a dd ed h ea lth -c are c os ts o ve r th e lif etim e s o f t he se c hild re n is a ne nt ir ely a v oid a b le b u r de n. P h y sic a l e du c a tio n s h ou ld b ep art o f t he a nsw er, b ut it d isap pea red lo ng a go fro m th ecurriculum in ma n y s ch oo l d is tr ic ts in th e U n ite dS ta te s- a s ho ck in g f ac t to e du c ato rs v is itin g f r oma bro ad . T he m o st e xtre m e s ig na l o f th is tr en d h as b ee nth e a b an do nme n t o f r ec es s in s om e s ch oo l d is tr ic ts ,w h ic h d ep riv e c hild re n o f th eir o nly o pp or tu n ity to le t o ffste am d urin g th e sc ho ol d ay .3

Wash i ng t on Schoo l d e fi n it el y s ti ll h ad r e c es s ! B yth e tim e th e Y ard w as fully developed, it p ro vid ed s uc h ar an g e o f a tt ra c tiv e t hr ee -d ime n s io n al s p ac es a n d p h y sic a ls up po rts f or c re ativ e b o dy mo v eme n t th at it wa s impos si-b le fo r c hild re n n ot to m o ve. T his is h ow a n e ffe ctiv elyd es ig ned m o vem en t sp ac e sh ou ld w ork -n ot se t a pa rtf ro m o th er s ettin gs b ut d es ig ned a s a c ata ly st i n th ee n ti re e nv ir onmen t, i rr e si st ib l y mo t i va ti n g ch il dr e n t om o ve a nd e xe rc is e th eir b od ie s in m y ria d w a ys .BODY LANGUAGE

Wi th e ac h in cr em e n t o f d ev elo pm e n t, a n in cr ea sin gn umbe r o f c h il dr en , r eg a rd le ss o f a b ili ty , wo u ld p ra c ti cemo v in g th eir b o die s th ro u gh s pa ce . W i th g ra ce a nd a gili-t y, t he y e x er ci se d th e ir mu s c le s, l ig ame n ts , a n d limb s-b a la n cin g , c h as in g , c limb in g , c r aw l in g , d o dg in g , h a ng -i ng , h o pp in g , j ump i ng , l ea p in g , r oc k in g , r o ll in g , r u n-n i ng , s li d ing , s p inn ing , s qu irm i ng , sw i ngi ng, t umb l ing ,tw i rlin g, tw i stin g-w ith ou t a s in gle in str uc tio n f rom aphys ic a l e duc at io n t ea ch er .

T his w as a fa r c ry fro m th e o ld sc ho oly ard , w hereg irls h un g a ro un d a dm irin g th e b oy s' p ro w es s a t playingb all o r fe lt e xc lu de d b ec au se th ey w e re n ot a ttr ac te d b yth e c row d ed p la y e qu ipm e nt; a nd w h er e n on ath le tic

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The diversity of challenging environments stimulated a divel'5ityof movement. Especially for children with disabilities, the Yardprovided a sense of freedom unavailable in less diverse playspaces.

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TRADITIONAL GAMESEach recess, patches ofasphalt rang with the ancientchants and game cries heardaround the world."Green light!" a girl yells, herback turned towards a line ofchildren a few yards away. Theline advances, each playermoving as fast as possiblewhile retaining an ability tofreeze suddenly."Red light!" She whips around,facing the group, and sendsanyone who is still movingback to the baseline. Sherepeats the calls until she istagged by a player, who thenbecomes the new "light!'"Simon says" was played onany handy spot of asphaltwith much giggling as thechildren contorted them-selves into the most impossi-ble positions. There were alsothe raucous back-and-forthdashing of "red rover" andthe circular "duck, duck,goose" played around thegiant compass circle.

Children enjoyed many varia-tions of traditional catchingand jump rope games.Chinese jump rope was par-ticularly popular.To play, chil-dren tied a large number ofrubber bands together tomake a string long enough toloop around the legs of twochildren standing six to eightfeet (1.8 to 2.4 m) apart.Three or four then jumpedback and forth, inside andoutside the loop, as it wasslowly raised inch by inch.Players dropped out whenthey tripped on the "rope."The last player remaining wasthe winner.Mostly girls played hopscotchon the three or four hop-scotch designs painted along

Chapter 8 MOVI NG

the edges of the asphalt.Sometimes they chalkedtheir own designs. In the oldForum in Rome, there arestill hopscotch diagramsscratched in the pavement.The Romans supposedlylearned it from the ancientGreeks and then introducedit to the British, who took itto America. Different designsand versions of the game arefound in many countries,including Burma,lndia,Japan,China, Russia, and Scotland.

ch ild re n w ere rid ic uled an d o strac iz ed fo r n ot p artic ip at-ing in the unchang ing rou tines o f b a ll cou rts , gam e lines ,an d m eta l b ars .

T he Y ard celeb ra ted the exuberan t fun and exc ite-m en t o f c rea tive m ovem en t and expanded beyond theo pp ortu nitie s p ro vid ed b y s ta nd ard p la y e qu ip m en t.

A s n ew elem en ts w ere ad de d, ch ild ren in ven tedgam es w ith m ore flex ib le sets o f ru le s, T hese gam ess om e tim e s se rv ed a s a n e xte ns io n o f e xistin g tra ditio ns,som etim es reflec ted the im pac t o f m ains tream m ass cu l-tu re o f te lev ision and film , and som etim es resu lted inin tr ig uin g, im a gin ativ e a ctio n g am e s th at d efie d c ate go -rization.

P hy sic al d iv ersity s tim u la te d a b ro ad er v arie ty o fac tiv ity . I rad ir ion al g am es th at w ere th e b ase o f th e ch il-d ren 's cu ltu re in th e Y ard b ecam e in creasin gly v arieda nd in terw ov en w ith n ew ac tiv ities th at f lo urish ed inresp on se to th e e xp an din g ch oices in th e lan dscap e, A sthe range of phy s ic a l cha llenges b roadened , m ore ch il-d ren w ere ab le to partic ipa te and feel b e tte r abou t them -se lv es re ga rd le ss o f th eir a bility , M o ve m en t h elp ed c hil-d re n a cq uire p hy sic al c om p ete nc e a nd s elf-c on fid en ceth ro ug h in te ra ctio n w ith th eir s ur ro un din gs .

"YOU'RE IT!"C hase gam es w ere excellen t ex am ples o f how the

d iv ersif ie d la nd sc ap e e xp an de d th e p la y re pe rto ire ."L ast one in the dirt area is 'it:" shou ts R acheL "W e playa

lo t of tag back there because it has lo ts of th ings to run around andit's so ft w hen y ou fall d ow n:' sh e n otes, ref lec tin g th e c hild ren 'spre ference for p lay ing chase ga mes in the N atu ra l R esou rc e A rea ,T he c hild ren fo un d th e sp ac e m ore in te restin g a nd c ha llen gin g.

" Yo u h av e to know the bases," Joel expla ins. "U sua lly w e taketim e ou t to decide on them . T hey cou ld be the logs, parts of the ra il-ings, certa in ro cks, the picnic ta bles, the b ridge , the G azeb o, ra il-road ties-the re 's lo ts of po ssib ilities , "

"W hen w e play tag in the m eadow , you have to talk to ar oc k," s ay s D ev in , "If you don 't, you 're o ut of th e gam e, T hey 're'ta lk ing rocks .' Y ou can say th ings lik e, 'H ow are y ou doin g? "Ia nts om e t ea ?'''

"W e play 'M arc o P olo ' a round the w eeping w illo w tree," say sH ar ri et. " On e p er so n's ' i t ' and the othe rs have their eyes c losed andthey say 'M arco ' and you have to say 'P olo ' so they can hear w hereyou a re, T he tree [W illow Island] is base, except y ou have to b ecare fu l n ot to fall in th e w a te r."

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T he c hildren w ho pu t the h igh es t prem iu m on ru n-nin g c om p lained tha t there w as no t eno ug h ro om in th eN a tu ra l R e so u rc e A r ea . T h e u ne nc umb e re d e xp an se s o fth e M a in Y a rd , t ho u gh , e as ily a llo w ed th em to p la y ta g ing ro up s o f si x o r s ev en . T he re w e re s till m a ny p la ces toh id e: in th e fa r c om e rs, b eh in d th e s tru ctu re s, in th ew ee ds a nd b us he s a ro un d th e ed ge s. T he se c hild rene nj oy e d t he s pr ea d -o u t f ee lin g .

"We u se th e [ Big T oy ] b ar re ls a s b as e," e xp la in s D ev in . " Yo uc an o nly s ta y th er e fo r fiv e c o un ts , th en y ou h av e to g et o ff .S om etim es w hen th e c ha sers a re a bou t to g et y ou ... w hen they 'rea bo ut to kill y ou , y ou 're sc ared. T he fu n p art is th e ru nning. I ru nl ik e c r azy .Iu s t l ik e r u nn in g . Iik e the air to get a t m e and w hen]d on 't g et ta gg ed ] fe el p ro ud . Iu n eve ry da y. M y da d's a ru nne r. W ego up in the park and run first thing in t h e morn ing ."

"In 'T V tag ' y ou squat dow n and say the nam e of a T V show,"s ay s o ne g irl, " bu t yo u c an 't s ay it agaill in the sam e gam e and IIyo ud on 't sa y a n am e , y ou 'll b e ' i t . ' In ' freeze l ag ' y ou h av e to s t ay s ti llw heny ou 'r e ta gg ed , a nd y ou c an o nly g el u nta gg ed if o ne o f th e p la ye rstou ches y ou . 'T un nel ta g' is w here y ou m ak e y ou r legs lik e a tu nneland the only w ay y ou can get free is if s ome on e g oe s th ro ug h th em . "

" Fr ee ze ta g,' 'm a sh ed p ota to es ,' a nd 'b ottle o f p o is on ' a rew h at w e u su al ly p la y, " s ay s G e or ge . " H ey J ef fr ey , y o u b e 'it '; w e 'r ep la yin g p ois on , H a, h a, y ou 'v e g ot th e p ois on . D o a ny th in g y ou lik eexcept with a 'p ,' lik e 'p op co rn ' o r 'p ota to es ."

T he b ars w ere the sc ene of m an y ta g an d ch asinggames .

" Fo r mo nk ey ta g," M u ff in e xp la in s, ''w e h av e 'tim e b ox es '[ fo rm e d b y th e m o nk ey b ars 1 , w he re th e p er so n w ho 's 'it' c an 'tc atc h y ou . If a p ers on to uc he s y ou , y ou 're 'it.' My f rie nd a nd I tr ic keach other. E very tim e] go into a b ox, she goes ou t; then , w hen I goo ut, sh e g oe s in ."

J en ny a nd A m y ru n over fro m the rin gs a nd c lim b the m on-k ey b ars . L ar ry is th er e a nd s ay s, " Le t's p la y 'h ot la va . '"

B oth g irls w atc h h im d an gle , th re ate nin g to d ro p. T he y b othd an gl e a nd d ro p.

" H ot l av a! " th ey y el l i n u nis on .Larry m ov es o ver to th e rings a nd h angs u pside do wn."M omm y, oh M omm y!" h e y ells. "I ju st tu rned in to th e ho t

l ava mons te r !"H e tr ie s to c atc h J en ny . S he r un s a wa y.H e c a tc h es A m y . J enny t ri es to s ave h er .T hey try not to to uc h the gro und ("hot la va ") a nd g et b ac k

o n th e b ars. Larry ca t che s J enny ."I'm go ing to ta ke y ou to m y h ot la va h ou se," he sa ys.S he ru ns a wa y a nd s ta rts c ha sin g h im , h its h im p la yfu lly ,

s co ld s h im , a nd te lls h im to go u nder th e la dder b ar. A nother b oyj oin s in . T he g am e tu rn s in to " bo ys a ga in st g ir ls ." T he g ir ls g ra ba no th er b oy , g et h im d ow n on the grou nd, c ou nt to tw enty , a ndd an ce a ro un d y ell in g.

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Settings were designed to stimulate hopping. balancing, run-ning. jumping, and walking.They offered children a variety ofways to experience the Yard environment through movement.A"magic circle" of rocks motivated a special form of tag (top)while the railroad ties encouraged balancing games (bottom).

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IO L i f s i d e .

o n i t .b~ w o o d e n s c u l p + u V " " e

S o m e t i m e s I p / D , Y + 0 9BALLTAG"Ball tag," a free-form chasinggame with many variations,was played all over the Yard.Lamonte explains thecounting-out routine to avoidbeing "it." "I'll say,'Put yourfoot in the middle.' Then I'llsay'eeny, meeny, miny,mo' or'eeny, meeny,gitchalini, ba ballnl, and out goes you!'Thenwe'll start playing,but Iwon'tgo on base-I'll say,'Na, na,'na!' And they'll throw the ballat me, but " I I dodge out ofthe wayand it'll hit the guybehind."He runs across the asphalt,gets hit with the ball, laughs,picks it up,and starts to chasethe thrower, who runs behindthe spools. Lamonte getstired, sits on the ball,andbounces up and down. Hisfriend clambers across thespools behind him and giveshim a raspberry.Lamonte leaps into action.Both race off across theasphalt around one of thebasketball poles. Lamontehurls the balland hits hisfriend in the back. A boy andgirlwho had been sitting onthe bench join in.The girlgrabs the ball.The boysdance

Chapter B MOVING

around her,smiling and hav-ing fun.She throws the ball atone of the boys,who c::atc::hesit,tucks it under his arm, andpullsout a set of StarWarscards!They huddle aroundthe boy,admiring the cardsand passing them from handto hand.Peter explains how they playball tag on the playstructure,making use of the structure'sthird dimension."The guy who's'it' has theball down below in the sand,"he explains."The rest of usclimb around on the struc-ture and try to keep frombeing hit. Sometimes we'll .jump off into the sand ifwethink we can dodge the bali."

"H e's a girl-you 're on our team now ."Jenny leases L arry , ca llin g him a b aby . H e chases her , leases

her; sh e k eeps teasing in re tu rn . T hey all laugh . T he rec ess b ell sig-na ls th e en d of the ir o th erw ise endless ch asing "fugue" tha t p lays it sfin a l bars as they continue running around each o ther on the w ayb ac k to c la ss.

SPY IN G , H ID IN G , S E EK IN G"T here 's a boy w e spy on ," says C hristine, "10 see w ha t he 's

doing , in case he 's m ak ing up a p lan . 1 s py on him, th en h e c ha sesm e to get a ll the new s he can abou t the girls ."

"I sp y a ll over the place," say s K ent. " I j us t f ol lo w p eo pl ew dthou t them know ing, S om etim es I creep up on them , jum p ou t ofth e bu shes, and su rprise them . M e and m y friends ju st go in th epa ssagew ay be tw een the bu shes, w ith a ll ou r anny stu ff, o r w e m akestu ff ou t o f w hat's a round-like a stick w ith a knob for a trigger canbe a gun."

"W e c am ou fla ge o urselv es b y stic kin g lea ves in our hair w henw e play 'a rm y," says Ma r k . " W e h ol d b ra nc he s in our hands ands ti ck l ea ve s in o ur s ho es .

"W e p lay 'secret agents ," says K evin . "I b ring badges fromth e a ir force and police sets I have at hom e. I gel the chiefs badgeand then w e spy around look ing for crooks, a round the pondsm ostly , 'cause there 's no good plac es to hide ou t on the M ain Y ard ,"

"T he p on d sec tio n is th e hardes t p lace to fin d peo ple," sa ysE dith . "T here 's a space betw een tw o trees w here m y friends can 'tf ind m e; o r I h ide in the bu shes in the com er, and w hen m y friendcom es up 1 go to another p lace. I know all m y friends ' h id ing placesa nd a lw ay s c atc h th em ."

"W here are you?" som ebody yells ." Ov er h er e in o ur h an go ut," sh ou ts A lic e.Wi th ou t th e c omp le x, in te rc on ne cte d la nd sc ap e o f

th e Y a rd , n on e o f th is c re ativ e p ee k- a- bo o mo v eme nta nd s oc ia l in te ra ctio n w o u ld h av e b ee n p os sib le . T im ea nd tim e a gain , w hen ask ed w ha t they lik ed ab ou t th eY a rd , th e c hild re n m e n tio ne d " lo ts o f p la ce s to h id e,"" sp y in g o n p eo ple ," a nd " pla yin g h id e- an d- go -s ee k," a sw e ll a s f av or ite h id in g s po ts s uc h is " b eh in d th e we e pi ngwi l low," "in th e re dw o od s," " in th e b am b oo ," "u nd erth e e uc aly ptu s," " ar ou n d th e p on ds " a nd , m o st f re qu en tly ,"in t he bu s h es ."

On e v er si on o f h id e- an d -g o -s ee k wa s b e au tif u ll ya da pted to th e m e ad ow , A ll t he " hid ers " la y in th e lo ng,g ra ss, T he " see ke r" s to od o n o ne sp ot try in g to id en tif yth e c hild re n ly in g a ro un d h er .

"I feel exc ited w hen I'm hiding from other peop le, because Idon 't w an t them to find m e," say s A nna. " It's scary , lik e a bank rob -ber's c om ing to the do or."

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J UMP I NGJu m pin g w a s m o stly a n in teg ra l p ar t o f c ha sin g,

h id in g , s ee k in g , a n d s py in g a c ti vi ti es , e x ce pt f or th eo cc asio na l c hild w h o lo ved ju m pin g f or its o w n s ak e.

"I jum p from the b ridge, the slide, and the fire pole in to thes an d," s ay s M ic ha el. "I feel ex cited w hen I jum p. It 's k in d o f s ca ryuntil you 're in th e ai r . It m akes m e th ink o f astronau ts . I w ant to bean astronau t or a pa rachu tist w hen Irow up."

A group o f boys are jum ping over one of th e ra ilings by themeadow , T h e y ta ke a running start and m onito r ea ch other's perfo r-m ance. T hey try going over sidew ays hold ing on w ith both hand sand retu rn by slid ing unde r, and try various other w ay s of going overand u nder. O ne of them sta rts lea pfrogg ing ov er a nearby freestand-i ng p o st .

G irls p la ye d c lim b in g a nd b ala nc in g g am e s o n th eth re e la ye rs o f r ailr oa d tie s e nc lo sin g th e m e etin g a re a.O n th e top lay er o f ties, th ey w alk ed a ro un d an d h opp edd ow n in to th e en clo se d sp ac e. T hey h eld c on te sts, ju m p-in g o ut in to th e s pa ce s urr ou nd in g th e tie s, b eg in nin g a tth e lo w es t lev el a nd th en g oin g h ig he r a nd h ig her , m a k-ing a m ark on the ground fo r each advance in d is tance .

C hild ren a ls o s aw h ow f ar they c ou ld tr av el b y t ak -ing ru nnin g lea ps o ff a sh ee t o f p ly w oo d su pp orted o no ne end b y a lo g. T he ho m em ad e sp rin gb oard o ffered amos t s a ti sf y ing j ump .TW IRL ING

Wha t b allg am e s w e re to b oy s, th e b ar s- es pe cia llythe tw irlin g b ars-w ere to girls . D espite th e v ast arra y o fa d di tio n al o p po rtu n iti es a v ai la b le in th e Ya r d, th e b a rsr em a in ed th e g irls ' h av en , a p la ce w h er e th ey c ou lde sc ap e in to th eir o w n s ub cu ltu re , a s in eve ry schoo lya rdin th e la nd .

"It's o ur w hole life ," expla in Ju lie andJenny . "W e play onothe r th ings, too , bu t w e lik e the bars best. W e learn a ll sorts o fth ings." O ne of them carefu lly balances the sm all of her b ack acrossth e w aist -h ig h hor izonta l bar. S he g rips it o n e ither sid e w ith bo thelb ow s and s low ly tilts her body ba ckw ard s until it i s a lm o st v er ti ca l.S uddenly she d rops frontw ards, b reak ing h er fa ll by b ending h erknees u p agains t her chest ju st be fore her fee t h it th e rubbe r m at.

"T hat's a b ackw ards jum p," she say s. "It's one of the firstt hi ng s y o u l ea rn ."

"T here 's a frontw ard s jum p too ," chim es in her friend . "It'sharder than backw ards. Y ou have to balance on your stom ach and itca n really hurt." T h e y Imth cu p o ne leg over th e bar and b egintw irlin g fa st. F irst o ne w ay , th en th e o th er, w ith rem ar ka ble a gility . Itis a v ir tu os o p er fo rm a nc e.

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"It's scary w hen you first sta rt; y ou r legs have to get used toi t," J ul ie c omm e nt s. "It fee ls like you 're on a F e rr is w h ee l, spinningth rough the a ir. It fee ls lik e y ou 're fa llin g, b ut y ou 're n ot rea lly "

C le ar ly , th e b ar s w e re a g re at s tim u la nt f or k in es -th etic a nd v es tib u la r p er ce ptio n, s o im p o rta nt f or c hilddevelopment . 4

" I get excited w hen I learn new things," sa ys her friend . "Ilik e to ge t d i z z y ; i t' s p a rt of th e f un ."

She hangs upside dow n, ha ir b rush ing the m at, and w atchesJack ie and B eth as they each cup a leg ove r th e other ba r and rockb ack an d forth .

"Y ou have to do tha t be fore you can tw irl," com men ts A lice."It gets yo ur legs used to it."

"W hen you can tw irl w ith only one hand, it's c a lled 'onehand ," says Bosrn i , "and w hen you can do it w ith no hands, it'sc alled 'c ris s-c ross .' Y ou can pu t yo ur finge rs throu gh y our beltloo ps, or if you have an elastic to p, you stick your f ingers in there,to keep you r hands ou t o f th e w ay . W e d on 't k now how to do tha tyet, bu t w e're going to lea rn from our cou sin ."

"S eesa w, seesaw .. _ teete r to tter, tee ter to tter ... " th e girlschan t. T hey are now inter laced and balanced on the b ar in such aw ay that they can rock back and forth as one . T hey ca ll it " seesaw"and m ention a vers ion w here you can tw irl a ll the w ay a roundtogether-bu t they can 't do it yet.

T wo girls c halleng e each o ther to a "chick en fig ht." T heyhang from the bars, tw ist the ir legs together, and try to pu ll eacho th er d ow n. "W h oev er lets g o firs t lo ses," th ey ex pla in .

A b oy jo in s in . "I lik e t o s ee e ve ry th in g u ps id e down ," heex pla ins. "Y ou see p eople w alk ing on the sky an d you see peop lew alk in g sid ew ay s--it's fu n. It m akes you laugh and fa ll off and hitthe m at." T he three sta rt coun ting to see w ho can stay up the longest.A lice goes to one of the vertic a l po les of th e high bars, hangson with one hand, and spins around w ith her o ther ann ex tended .

" I feel d i z z y , " sh e sh ou ts. "I feel lik e so me on e is push ing m eroun d an d round ." N ow sh e sw ings a round both poles, a lterna tely ,u s ing one hand and then the other in a figu re eight.

O ne of th e girls pu ts her legs through the ring s, hangs upsid edo wn, co nfiden tly llips o ver, and drops to th e groun d. "T he ring sare good," she says, "rause you can get a good g rip . I never have towor r y a b ou t f al li ng down when 1 hang upsid e dow n ... I g et m o reb loo d in my head so Ia n conc entra te on th ings," she giggles.

SW ING ING" 1 c lo se my e ye s an d feel I'm g oi ng faster an d faster an d

high er an d higher. W ben Ihrow m y head b ack it feels lik e I 'm noton any th ing , I'm fa lling from the sky and then you s w i n g back andyo ur stom ach feels nerv ous like you 're on a ro ller coaster. It's sortof a n eat feeling . It's w eird , like you 're g oing to fa ll b u t you don 't. Ican 't get tha t feeling any o ther w ay ."

Th e g ir l's d es cr ip ti on wa s a won d er fu ll y a rti cu la ter ef er en ce to k in es th etic p er ce ptio n a nd th e r ela te d

NATURAL LEARNING


9/12

PLAYING BALLTraditional games like kick-ball remained a favorite pas-time for many children andillustrated societal influencesand values related to ballplayand sports. Children adaptedthe games to fit their moreimmediate need for move-ment rather than for compe-tition.Most kick-about games werecalled "soccer" even thoughthey bore little resemblanceto the formal sport. Accord-ing to the players, an advan-tage of soccer was that "youcan play it anytime you've gota ball."Kickball was by far the mostpopular team game in theYard because it had a simpleformat, was easy to organizeon short notice, and onlyrequired modest levels ofskill. Because of high demand,two kickball squares wereprovided: a smaller one nextto the McKinley Avenue fenceand a larger one in the mainballplaying zone next to theball wall."I love to run the bases ... 1imagine Iam running 'roundthe whole block," a playerconfides. "I feel like a winner."

Chapter 8 MOVING

Basketball was a differentscene, much less formal thankickball because a team wasnot needed to play.With allball play, different boundarieswere established daily. Forexample, the games wouldsometimes reflect the formalnature of a particular "sport"and, at other times, the chil-dren would pursue the simpleenjoyment of movement."We practice for real gamesthat we play on weekends;' aboy comments. "I won a tro-phy and it's on top of our TVat home." He admits laterthat he likes the "feeling ofgetting tackled and thenescaping."

v es tib u la r s en sa tio n, r ec or de d b y th e m e ch an is m s o f th einn er ear a s the b od y m ov es th ro ugh sp ac e.

T h e s en sa tio n o f f ly in g a n d f allin g, th e f ee lin g o fwe ig h tl es sn e ss , a n d th e ima ge ry o f o v er com i ng g ra v it ym a k e s w in gs t h e mo st p op ula r ite m o n mo st p la yg ro un ds .In th e Y a rd th ey p ro vid ed y et a no th er o pp or tu nity f orm a ste rin g a s kill, f or a cq u ir in g a s en se o f c omp e te nc ea n d s elf -e st eem th ro u gh mo t or a c tiv ity .

" It 's sca ry w hen y ou 're little and y ou 've b een sw inging on thelittle swings," say s J ean ine. "A nd a ll o f a su dden y ou tr y to sw ing onthe b ig ones and then you fa ll, b u t you say I'm gonna try again'cause I w anna k eep on try ing 'til I ge t it r igh t! T hen w hen y ou tr y itaga in and y ou can do it, then y ou feel rea lly good inside ."

" B ail- ou ts " o r " pa ra ch u te s" w e re th e mo st a ctiv ec h al le ng e s p re se nt ed b y th e sw in g s. C h il dr en p ump ed. th em s elv es a s h ig h a s th ey c ou ld a nd la un ch ed th em -se lv es a t th e z en ith o f th e f or w ard s tr ok e. T he m o st s kill-fu l h eld c on te sts to s ee w h o c ou ld b ail o ut th e fa rth est.S om e wo u ld " ba il o ut b ac kw a rd s," tw i stin g th eir b od ie sin m id air so th ey f ac ed d ow nw ard s a nd w ere th er efo retr av elin g b a ckw a rd s. B a il- ou ts w e re th e c lo se st th at a nyc hild c ou ld c om e to fly in g.

"W e p lay 'S up erm an .' W e rea lly fly"F o rtu na te ly , b y d es ig n, th e a re a w a s la rg e e no ug h

to a cc ommo d ate th e s an dy la nd in gs o f th es e f an ta syflights.S om e c hild re n w e nt to th e s w in gs w h en th ey h adno one to p lay w ith o r w hen they jus t w an ted to be byth em s elv es to e njo y th e f ee lin g o f f re ed om a nd v es tib u la rs t imulat ion.

" It 's lik e H y in g i n a s pa ce sh ip , without an yo ne b os sin g y ou ...soa ring in the sky , f ind ing w here y ou w an t to go and land ing there.Y ou H y so h igh the w ho le w orld is ju st a do t in the u niverse ."

SLIDINGS l id ing , l ik e sw i ngi ng , i s a tt ra c ti ve t o ch il dr e n

because it a ls o o ff er s v es tib u la r s timu l atio n a n d in te ra c -t io n w i th g r avi ty .

L aree and Jason ru n up the slide , s it a t the lop , shov ing eacho the r w hile try in g to sta y in p la ce. E ve ntu ally , L aree slid es d ow n,stands at the b ottom and catches Ja son . T hey b oth ru n-c lim b to theto p a ga in .

"I lik e the s lide," say s J ason , "b ecau se I'm sort o f sca red togo dow n the fire po le . W e pre tend w e're be ing chased and have to

9S


10/12

g o d ow n th e s lid e r ea l f as t. It's r ea lly fu n, e sp ec ia lly n ow I c an r unrig ht u p to th e to p. N ot e v ery on e c an d o th at."

L aree ru ns u p the s lid e a nd show s off b y s lid ing dow nw hile s ta nding . H e then gra bs Jason 's feet a nd pu lls h im d ow n tot he b o tt om .

" So m e p eo ple s lid e d ow n h ea d f ir st," s ay s J as on . " So m ep eo ple g o r ollin g d ow n, so m e p eo ple g o d ow n re gu la r. S om e p eo -p le h it th eir h ea ds o n th e slid e; so m etim es it h urts, so m etim e s th eyj u st J a u gh . "

Ki m c om es b y, s ta rts to ru n u p, h esita tes , a nd tries to c ra wlu p. S he e ve ntu ally u se s th e la dd er a nd s lid es d ow n h an d in handwi th Iaree , A c ir cu la r f lo w o f m o vem en t is a pp ar en t: d ow n th e s lid e,u p th e la dd er, th en d ow n a ga in . S ev en o r e ig ht c hild re n g o d ow n ato nc e, a nd p ile u p o n to p o f o ne a no th er a t th e b otto m , la ug hin g.

1 \v o b o y s s ta rt p la y in g w i th t he ir S tr et ch Mo n st er s o n th es lid e, p ro pp in g th em u p a lo ng th e e dg e, s ittin g th em o n th e to p, le t-tin g th em s lid e d ow n, c atc hin g th em a t th e b otto m . T he y p ic k u ph an dfu ls o f s a nd , th ro w it a t th e s lid e, a nd w a tc h it tric kle d ow n.

"H e lp ! H e lp ! An a va la nc he !" o ne o f th em s ho uts , a s th ey h oldt he ir t oy s in th e s trea m o f s an d, le t th em g o, a nd w atc h th em tu m bleto th e g ro un d a nd b ec om e b urie d in th e p re te nd s no w .

BALANCINGB ala nc in g a ctiv ity w a s m u ch m o re c ommo n in th e

Y ard th an ju m pin g. W h ile ju m pin g w a s d on e in th e th rillo f th e m om en t, b ala nc in g w as a m o re so cia l a ctiv ity ,d ema n din g mo r e s k ill ( ag ai n in vo lv in g th e v es tib u la rs en se ), s tim u la tin g mo re d ram a, a nd c on se rv in g th ep o te ntia l e ne rg y o f a n e le va te d p os itio n .

" Ho t la va !" s cr eam s L a re e, a p ar tic ip an t in th e m o st p op ula rb ala nc in g g am e. " Th e s an d is h ot la va ," h e e xp la in s. " Yo u c an tra v-e l a ll a ro un d th e stru ctu re a nd if y ou to uc h th e g ro un d y ou 're th en ew h ot la va m o ns te r. O th er c hild re n c all it 's an d m o nste r' o r'q u i ck s and . " ,

"W e try to g et o n th e tip s o f t he ro ck s in th e s tr ea m ," s ay sJ o el , "w i th o u t f a ll in g in th e w a te r. Y o u h a ve to b e c ar ef ul b ec au sey ou d on 't k no w if th ey 'r e s lip pe ry . W e g et o ur fee t a b it w et b ut o urte ac he r d oe sn 't r ea lly m i nd 'c au se w e d ry o ff r ea l fast ."

" I lik e to r un a cr os s th e s te pp in g s to ne s in th e c om er," s ay sS ab in e. "Y ou 're o n th e ro ck s a nd th ere 's w ate r a ll a ro un d y ou . It'sl ik e yo u 'r e 00 an i sl a nd ."

"00,00, 00."A li ne o f c h il dr en s tr ad d le t he c o nc re te -b lo c ke dg in g o f th e O r ch ar d W a y sid e, p re te nd in g th ey a re o n a tr ain tr ip .

C h ild re n u se th e N a tu ra l R e so ur ce A re a r ailin gs to wa lka lo ng , try in g to k eep th eir b ala nc e. T he y " fig ht" o n th em to se e w hoc an s ta y o n th e lo ng es t.

A g ir l and b o y p la y f ol lo w -th e- le a de r, tr y in g t o k e ep t he ir b a l-a nc e b y g ra bb in g o n to th e b ra nc he s o f tr ee s n ex t to th e r ailin g.T h ey s to p a t o ne o f th e w e ep in g w illo w s, s w in g o n th e b ra nc he s,a n d d emo n st ra te d if fe re nt t ri ck s . A te a ch er r em a r ks t ha t t ig ht ro pe

96

WEEKEND PLAY ball came bouncing back.Another version of dodgeballwas played around the giantcompass.

On weekends, the Yard wasused for family activity. Thetop photo shows siblings play-ing in the community area. Afather and son use the "ballwall" (bottom). a twelvefoot-high (3.7 m), twentyfour-foot-wide (7.3 m) structurelocated south of the largerkickball square.Batterball. strike-out, work-up, kick-back, and dodgeballwere all played against thewall,The children reported that itwas easy to play dodgeballagainst the wall because noone had to chase after theball-after each throw, the

NATURAL LEARNING


11/12

After school, the Yard was a place to have fun. Children prac-ticed balancing skills (top) and roamed through the landscape(bottom).

Chapter B MOVING

w a lk er s u su ally h av e a b ala nc in g p ole . A m om en t la te r th e p airr etu rn s w ith a lo ng tr ee s ta ke f ro m th e p ottin g s he d. T he y tu m th eg am e in to a p er fo rm a nc e, w ith th e b oy a ctin g a s th e im p re sa rio .T he y b o th p ro ud ly sh ow h ow th ey c an w alk th e fu ll le ng th o f t hera il ing Wi thout fa l li ng .

T h e mo st a gile c hild re n c ou ld n av ig ate th e Y a rde ntir ely a bo ve g ro un d- alo ng th e MLKWa y p la ntin gs tr ip , f rom th e s choo l b uild in g to th e g ar de n compound .T hey s up po rted th em s elv es o n th e p ost a nd ra il fen cean d the ed ges of the sew er pipes. If ne ce ss a ry , t he y c lungto th e c ha in lin k fen ce o r even c limb e d t he Mon te re yp in e s, sw i ng ing be twe en them a nd th e a ca cia tr ee s.

Amy s ay s s he g oe s " tig htr op e w a lk in g" o n th e f en ce "all overth e la nd ." P ho eb e p er fo rm s c ar tw h ee ls o n th e g ra ss , c allin g h er se lfa " ca rt w he el is t. " J en n y j oi ns t he t wo g ir ls . T h ey g et o n t he r ai li nga n d s ta rt w a lk in g a lo n g it , h an gin g o n to e ac h o th er a nd th e p in eb r an c he s a b ov e .

T h e tig htr op e tr ic ks a re r ep ea te d o n th e r ailin g. J en ny te llsAm y ," L oo k h ow I p ra ctic ed to da y,M ommy."

ROAMINGNot a ll movemen t in th e Y ard w a s so a ctiv e.A lic e a nd h er f rie nd g o to th e e uc aly ptu s tr ee in th e n or th -

w es t c om er o f th e Y ard . T h ey b ou nc e o n t he l ow e st b r an c h, p ic k in ga nd s m ellin g le av es . T h ey w a lk to th e c ha pa rr al a nd s it o n th e f en ce ,a nd a fte r ta lk in g f or a w h ile , s lo w ly c l im b o ve r it. T h ey w a lk to th eto p o f th e hill a nd d ow n th e o th er s id e to th e b ea ch , w h ere th eyjum p th e c re ek .

O n e c hild r un s a w ay , fo llo w ed b y th e o th er , b ac k to th e c ha p-a rr al' O n e p ic ks a f lo w er a nd s ay s, " Ow , th at's m y to oth !" S h e p u tsh er h an ds to h er m o uth a nd p re te nd s to h av e a to oth ac he . They si to n th e lo g b y t he w oo de n b rid ge a nd ta lk w ith th eir a rm s a ro un de ac h o th er 's s ho uld er s. O n e p oin ts to a f lo w er a nd s ay s, "A n a n t j us tc ra wle d o ut ... it's a n a nt h ou se l"

They ta lk a bo ut h ow th ey w ish th ere w er e a b ig isla nd in th em id dle o f th e p on d. T h ey r etu rn to th e e uc aly ptu s a nd lo ok at a setof cards for a f e w momen ts . T h ey t he n walk to th e p in e tr ee s,re tu rn , a nd s it o n th e e uc aly ptu s b ra nc h o nc e m o re . T he y s ta nd u pa nd tr y to c le ar th e g ro u nd o f le av es w ith th eir f ee t. F in ally ,th eyc lim b th ro ug h th e f en ce in to o ne o fth e c or ra ls , p ic k p la nts , a nds hr ed th e le av es a s th ey w a lk th ro ug h th e m e ad ow , p as t th e G a ze boto th e c or ra l in th e fa r c om er.

" R oam in g a ro un d" w a s A lic e's p hr as e f or th isr ela xe d s tr ollin g th ro ug h th e la nd sc ap e, w h ic h s he s aidw a s lik e " bein g in y ou r o wn p la ce." O th er c hild re ncalled it " w alk in g a ro un d a nd ta lk in g," " lo ok in g a tthings; ' and "no ti c ing t h i n g s t h a t a re d i ffe ren t " A s childrenwandered, th e su r round ings s t imula t ed the i r imaginat ions .

97


12/12

A lice q uietly loo ked aro und as she roam ed , con centra t-in g, interm itten tly say ing so methin g u nd er h er b rea th ina p riv ate d ia lo gu e w ith h er e nv iro nm en t.

O ne girl c arries a b ou qu et o f g ra sse s. S he a nd h er frie nd g oa ro un d th e c or ra l, b eh in d th e p us sy w illo w s a nd s ilv er b ir ch es , p ic k-in g plants a lo ng t he w a y . T he yw a l k past t he r ail ro ad ti es t hr ou g h t hep in e tre es a nd d ow n to th e b ea ch , c on sta ntly a dd in g to th e b ou qu et.S he s ay s t h ey a re g oin g to g iv e i t to th eir te ac he r. T he y c on tin ue toa d d mo re g ra ss es an d f lo w er s, r etr ac in g th ei r s te ps u p a nd a ro un dth e ra ilroa d ties a nd re mrn mg to th e b ig ro ck . T hey le an o n th e ro cka s th ey a rr an ge th e b ou qu et T he b ell r in gs ; th e c hild re n r etu rn toc la s s, q u in te ss e nt ia l b e st f ri en d s q u ie tl y s h ar in g t he ir wo r ld .

"HORSE S"B etw e en s ec on d and th ird g rade, som e g irls

becam e very interested in horses. W e are unaw are o f ap sy ch olo gic al e xp la na tio n fo r th is , b ut it wa s c e rt ai nl ytru e for a g roup of W ash ing ton s tuden ts w hose lives for aw hile cen tered around horse toys, book s, and gam es.

"I'm U t tle B la c k, " e xp la in s L a re e, " an d L e la is B r ow n ie .C hristin e is th e rid er. W e p la y ev ery wh ere . W e p ut rop es a ro und .ourselves an d C hr is tin e h old s o n to th em a nd g oe s, ' Y ah ! Yah ! Yah! ' S h e s ay s, 'Ful l speed. ' I fee l tire d, b ut w e ha ve to d o it. H orse s a res la ve s. W h e n w e g et ti re d, we r es t in th e b am b oo b y th e p on d- it'so u r s ta b le ."

"It's k in da lik e a h ou se e xc ept y ou h av e h orse s in th ere .Christine is th e ow ne r. S he ta kes c are o f u s b y p uttin g h orsesh oes o na nd fe ed ing u s. W e c ru m ple u p dry r edw oo d le av es a nd p re te ndth ey 'r e o ats . S he g iv es u s lo ts o f e xe rc is e b y le ad in g u s a ro un d; th ensh e rid es u s in to th e city a cro ss th e a sph alt a nd w e go 'ro un d lo ok -in g fo r pe ople w e k no w."

"When I p la y h o rs e I f ee l r ea ll y b ig ," s ay s l e la . "I f e el f re el ik e a w il d A p pa lo os a. Ilw a ys h av e to b e th e b oy , u gh ! S om e tim e s Iget to b e a girl. W e h ave fights with a sta llio n a ga ins t a m a re, o r am a re a ga in st a m are , o r a sta llion a ga in st a s ta llio n. W e a ct lik ew e're te arin g th ing s u p, b ut n ot rea lly W he n w e p ut ju m p ro pesa ro un d o ur b ellie s a nd p re te nd to r id e e ac h o th er , it's r ea lly w e ir d.Y o ur tummy d oe sn 't f ee l t oo g oo d a ft er w ar ds ."

l ike a ll p la y a ctiv ity , h ors es w a s n ot u niv ers allypopula r .

" I lik e to p la y h or se s s om e tim e s," S ab in e c on fe ss es , " bu t I'mno t u s ua ll y in th e m oo d fo r ru nn ing a ro un d a nd g oing 'n eig h. ' "

THE PEDAGOGY OF MOVEMENTM o ve me nt in vite s so cia l in te ra ctio n a nd fo ste rs

e xp lo ra tio n, m u tu al u nd ers ta nd in g, a nd co m pa ssio nam ong child ren . E lem en ts can be designed to support

98

the p leasu re of b od ily m ovem en t th ro ug h space, o fferingv aria tio ns in hea t, ligh t, so und , co lor , tex tu re , sm ell, an dt em po ra l p a tt er n.

Sw ing ropes can be long, suspended fa r above theg ro un d, g iv in g a lo ng , in cre dib le "w ho osh "-m o vin gth rough a b ig space w ith each sw ing. T hey can a lso bes ho rt, a ffo rd in g a f a s t- m o v t n g , b ac k -a n d- fo rt h, r ou n d-an d-ro un d ride , a lw ay s co nn ecting th e rid er to gravity .

S lides can be h ig h, lo w, fast, s lo w, narro w, w ide,b um py , sm ooth, s traig ht, or curvy . C hild ren can slid e o n,o ve r, u nd er, th ro ug h, b etw ee n, b esid e, a bo ve , a lo ng sid e,and around. T hese are basic concep ts desc rib ing thech ild 's re la tion sh ip to p hysica l sp ace . E ach can be p rac -tic ed , d isc us sed , w ritte n a bo ut, c om p are d, e valu ate d,and exp lored . W hy do your pants get w arm w hen yous li de ? Wh a t i s " fr ic tio n "? W h a t is "energy "? H ow m an yc alo rie s is y ou r slid e w o rth ?

A s children c lim b, sw ing , ju mp , slide , run , m ov eup and dow n , a round and around , and to and fro , teach -er s ca n e xte nd th e lea rn in g p ro ce ss. W h at are " mu sc le s"?How do they w ork? W hat m uscles do vou u se fo r w ha t?,Do a ll crea tu res h ave m usc les? D o plants hav e m uscles?H ow about fish? W hy is it im portan t to exercise our m us-cles? W h v do they hu rt w hen w e exerc ise hard? W hat is,good hea lth? C an you ba lance on tha t p lank? W hat does"ba lance" m ean? H ow do you spell it? W h at o ther th ingsaround you are " in" o r "ou t" o f ba lance?

M ovem en t can prom pt questions o f percep tion oftim e and space-fas t and slow , near and fa r! H ow far doyou live from schoo l? H ow long does it tak e you to getthere? W ho prefers to w alk , to ride, w hy? D o you knowhow far som e b irds ca n f l y ? How fast so m e a nim a ls ca nrun ? W hat is the slow es t an im al y ou 'v e ev er seen? W hat'sthe fa rthest you 've ever been? R hy thm is the bea t o f life :th e h ea vin g o ce an , 24 hours to a day , 60 seconds to aminu te , 3, 7 people to a fam ily , 6 b ea ts to a bar , 2,000cars per hour, 22 in ch es o f ra in a y ea r, th e E a rth o rb itin gth e sun each y ear . T he po ssib ilities are en dless,

In r ec en t y ea rs , th e p riv ate s ec to r h as r esp on d ed

to th e m o ve me nt d epr iv atio n o f u rba n ch ild re n a nd

NA TU RA L LEA RN IN G

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