The Children's Play Centre

Its Psychological Value and its Place in the Training of Teachers

D.E.M. Gardner

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000384680
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

First published in 1937, The Children's Play Centre is an account of Gardner's Play Centre and her work in assessing its value in the education of children and the training of teachers.

The book puts forward the value of play in the development of children and provides a detailed report of Gardner's experiment. It also explores the significance of the Play Centre to the technique of training students. It will have lasting relevance for those interested in the history of education and the psychology of education.

CHAPTER III

ACCOUNTS OF CERTAIN GROUP PLAY ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT A TERM

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter I have attempted to outline certain of those play activities which absorbed the attention of the same children for several weeks, or during an entire term. For the details I have drawn upon students’ notes.

Many other such activities are not recorded. Examples are: the furnishing and painting of the reading room, certain craft work, needlework, and the football and cricket teams which have a more or less permanent following, though they seldom occupy a whole evening.

Most of the more permanent groups are composed of children over eight years of age and engaged in imaginative activities. It is of some of these groups that the following short accounts are given, most of the children being either of Junior School age, 7+ to 11 years, or retarded Senior children.

It is noticeable that while the Juniors cannot do without a good deal of student leadership, and heartily approve of it, the Seniors struggle to do without it, while appreciating students’ companionship. They need more skilful handling in many ways, and as they are more critical of their own efforts ard easily discouraged, groups tend to disintegrate much more quickly than with the Juniors.

During the last weeks of the summer term 1935, they suddenly decided to form a secret society called ‘The Blue Triangle’, and asked a first-year student to be their secretary. It is essential that such an idea should come from them. Nothing initiated by students will satisfy them, however suitable, or however tactfully suggested, and yet they watch half enviously the achievements of the younger children, which they pretend are beneath their notice, except on state occasions, when they take a patronizing attitude of approval. They once suggested a ‘Roman play’, but were too shy to carry it through. On the whole, their activities are chiefly confined to football and cricket, which do not entirely satisfy many of them. Sometimes they engage in furniture painting, basket making and woodwork, bagatelle, and Lexicon. They spend a considerable time, however, in desultory wandering and loafing, and are much more inclined to quarrel and tease each other than are the younger children. Many of them were not with us until after the age of eleven or twelve, and those who came younger are certainly more co-operative. Once, they attempted rebellion by systematic running across the front lawn in defiance of the students, and when that had been overcome, they swung over to an attitude of extremely policeman-like authority to younger children who did it. On the whole, their attitude to the students is friendly and pleasant as long as the students are tactful. They are very quick to resent a high-handed attitude of authority, though they generally respond well to an outspoken protest if their behaviour is causing distress or annoyance to other people. They are also much more responsive to students who know them than to casual helpers.

Their attitude to younger children is generally kindly, especially after some time in Play Centre. They even submit cheerfully to using a solid rubber ball for cricket when the babies are on the field. They often allow younger children to join in their outdoor games, and applaud them generously if they score a goal. It is interesting to note the regularity with which these older boys attend, even though we often feel we cannot provide for them adequately. The toffee-apple making mentioned in Chapter II has been one of their most successful achievements.

The Senior girls have not formed any definite organization. Their attendance is more irregular than that of any other group of children, as their mothers so often need their help at home. When they come they often use Play Centre for rest and recreation, sometimes joining younger children in play with dolls or easy painting. They join the music and dancing groups, and very often take up needlework or art work for quite long periods. In the summer, many of them go in for tennis, skipping and jumping.

A. DRAMATIC PLAY OF A GROUP OF JUNIOR GIRLS

Introductory notes

During a students’ committee meeting in September 1933, the point was raised that it might be advisable to provide systematic help with dramatic activities. So many children were playing ‘mothers and fathers’, ‘policeman’, and games involving dramatic representation of life that this play seemed to be ready for further encouragement. A first-year student, interested in dramatic work, undertook to watch for signs of children wanting to act, and to be ready to give any help. We rather suspected that some of the eight, nine- and ten-year-olds were really wanting more imaginative material now than was provided by ‘mothers and fathers’, and games of that kind. We suggested that the student should be ready to tell stories which would be suitable for acting. We have since learnt that the most successful stimulus to most of our children is not stories, but material for dressing up. It was as a result of this student’s work, and the children’s delight in properties, that we afterwards provided coloured material (dyed Bolton sheeting), with which the children could drape themselves. A hanging cupboard for materials and costumes, and a property box, have ever since been part of our equipment.

As the account shows, the student, in her inexperience, inhibited the children at the end by taking too active a part as a leader. She discovered this herself, and, in her later leadership of Hugh’s gang, which she carried through all its phases (Red Indians, Richard and John, the Sheriff of Nottingham, dramatic play and charades), was on her guard against letting her ideas overpower theirs, and her group was always marked by its initiative and comparative independence, though she did not hesitate to supply them with imaginative food when their need for it was evident.

STUDENT’S ACCOUNT

Dramatic work at Play Centre

‘For the first two weeks I watched to see who wanted to act. Seemingly nobody. The children’s main reaction to Play Centre seemed to be an intense enjoyment of the ability to do what they liked, exactly when they liked, and a hearty indulgence in it.

‘I hung about hopefully; and got my reward when, meeting Beatrice with a story book which wasn’t interesting her much, I offered to tell her a story. She asked for “Cinderella”.

‘Next time, she ran to me the minute she arrived: “Are you going to tell me ‘Cinderella’? I’ll get some others.” She gathered in Winnie (9) and her sister Anne (8). I told them the story. Then we retired to the big room to act it. Beatrice then realized that her company wasn’t sufficient. Winnie and Anne were rather lacking in initiative, and she herself was shy. So she went and got Carrie (10), who, though rather self-conscious about the acting part, took the whole affair in hand.

‘Carrie arranged the scene, with Beatrice as Cinderella, and Anne and Winnie as the Sisters. They stood and held hands, and hadn’t any idea of making up lines for themselves. So Carrie, in a hoarse whisper, told them what to say. They said it, parrot-fashion. Beatrice was self-conscious, but liked the story, and appreciated the downtroddenness of Cinderella. She supplied her own lines. The dialogue was very bare. “Cinderella, Cinderella, will you dress up for the dance?” “Yes.” And she waved her hands over them, dressing them, all three in silence, with no sense whatever of characterization.

‘Here I gave them a comb, the only prop I had with me, and the use they made of it showed me how essential real props are to Juniors, however much they make believe.

‘They got through the whole play in this very bald fashion, using the only prop whenever possible, Carrie placing all of them, and saying whole speeches herself, with very deep bows as the Prince. They played all round the room, changing the scene as the spirit moved them, with no consideration of the audience at all. They were quite realistic about undressing, going to bed, and dressing again next morning. This was repeated three times for the three nights, and caused the play to last a whole hour.

‘Next time I arrived armed with lengths of coloured material, pins, and the indispensable comb.

‘They were all four ready for me and with a new recruit, Agnes (9).

‘We did “Cinderella” again; this time they knew the shape of it, and the materials they draped themselves in added considerably to their enjoyment in themselves and their part. They enjoyed the dressing quite as much as the acting. For instance, when Cinderella was dressing the two sisters for the ball, she did it very carefully and slowly and no one showed the slightest impatience. It was as much part of the play as the dialogue. They made no attempt to talk or act while the dressing was going on. I realize now that they were not acting, but expressing themselves.

‘Carrie again managed the whole affair, fitting her five players to the eight parts. It took her some time to realize that some people would have to play two parts. She, although she was Prince, didn’t mind being his messenger, too. In that capacity she said nothing, but performed her deep and very stately bow.

‘This time they were conscious of the audience. They arranged a row of chairs, and carefully played to the row. Beatrice realized that it is better not to turn your back to the audience, and earnestly tried to make the company realize it. They still removed to the other side of the room to get to the Prince’s palace. The journey they must signify in some literal fashion.

‘Anne said that people should have tickets. I suggested a box-office, and she established herself in the high chair, deserting the stage for this new importance.

‘Next time they all turned up with bulging bags, full of clothes: sleeyeless frocks—clean ones—for Anne and Winnie, the Two Ugly Sisters; short trousers—boy’s—for the Prince, and so on.

‘They spent nearly all the time dressing and undressing, and seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. A fairy godmother arriving and observing their enjoyment supplied them with an aluminium (“silver”) tea-pot and cardboard goblets to use at the ball. And much time was spent solemnly “eating and drinking”. I had brought a gramophone so that they could dance to music. They could have gone on for hours … they never got past the “ball”.

‘Next time they did not bring clothes, but lemonade powder, so that they could have real drinks at the ball. I was beginning to recognize these Juniors’ passion for reality.

‘The lemonade and the gramophone were the centres of the evening.

‘By this time the dialogue was completely familiar. They always used the same—as little as possible—and made no attempt whatever to convey the story as a story, or the people as people. All they were interested in was their own enjoyment.

‘Being completely inexperienced, I began to fidget lest they were ceasing to get anywhere imaginatively, although I know now that if I’d waited they would have got somewhere in their own way. So next time I suggested that we should do something else, and they quite welcomed the suggestion.

‘I asked what they wanted, and they said the “Three Bears”. This was very jolly. They did it entirely their own way, Mother Bear sweeping up, and a very squeaky little Baby Bear interrupting her, and she scolding him—“How many times have I told you not to get up until I call you?”—and Father Bear snoring, and so on. All very domestic—exactly like their homes.

‘Next time they did it again (Anne was faithful to her ticket-office), and then they acted “Snow-white”. I don’t think this appealed to them as directly as the other two. Anyway, I am afraid I spoilt this little group by stopping the development of their Cinderella.’

Girls’ play—‘The Sleeping Beauty’

Nearly two years later, Carrie described to the other girls, as they were busy knitting and sewing, how she and several others had made up a play about Cinderella and acted it. Several of the other girls began to discuss plays and acting. They talked it over on several nights, and they decided ‘Sleeping Beauty’ would be a lovely story to act. Miss D. and I decided that we would re-read the story and make it into a play. Carrie was responsible for choosing the characters and the speeches, I was responsible for the making of costumes, and Miss D. supervised us all. The play was then started,

Miss Gardner gave Carrie a bundle of possible properties, which she handed on to the other members of the ‘sewing party’. After a rapid decision as to who should be who, we all dressed up with whatever was available.

We spent one whole evening painting feathers, which we thought might be suitable for fairies’ crowns. They occupied all our smaller girls, and many others who did not belong to us.

At this stage Carrie was taken ill, but she had sown a seed which continued to grow.

About two weeks later we started to act. We had planned the first scene to be the christening scene. The fairies all hid behind the piano, the King and Queen sat on chairs in front—the ‘King’s’ little brother refused to be parted from her, so we decided to make him a page. They needed at first to be told word for word everyth...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Foreword
• Table of Contents
• I. Beginning and General Development of the Play Centre
• II. Typical Evenings and Types of Play
• III. Accounts of Certain Group Play Activities Throughout a Term
• IV. Short Studies of Some Children
• V. Parents
• VI. The Students