Play Environments - Informal

On Saturday (3/14/09) I was able to observe children at a park in Green Bay close to my house. This park does have playground equipment, but I found it more interesting to monitor the children that were playing in the open field instead of the equipment. The ages ranged from five to nine and were both male and female. The demographics for this examination were mainly Caucasian with a few Hispanic children as well. 

I took my sister and two neighbors up to the park yesterday because it was a beautiful day out. Just to be safe, I decided they should also bring their snow pants in case they wanted to play in the snow versus on the equipment and it was definitely good that I did that! As soon as the children got there, there was also many other children playing in the open field of the baseball diamond. There was huge snow piles made from either the snow plow or man-made. Either way, the children utilized them to their fullest abilities. No one truly could have imagined that the children would use the snow hill instead of the equipment, but that is exactly what they did. They made forts, hills, caves, and different houses for them to live in and work together with. The smaller children would try to help the older children with the structures, but eventually gave up and played in the snow until it was finished. Once the structures were complete, they were able to take sides and have a huge snowball fight. I found it interesting that as more children came to the playground area, they would initially go to the equipment, but then eagerly head towards the open field. While I am almost positive the snow mounds were not intended for children usage, but merely to get the snow off of the parking lot, the children took it upon themselves and created what they envisioned in their heads.

I really enjoyed analyzing this area because it was something I never would have thought to classify as a play environment. I guess I always felt that if children were going to play, they needed materials to stimulate their minds and creativity. It was to my surprise that all they needed was their imaginations. Children of all socioeconomic statuses would be able to play in an open field. It does not require government funding or grants for the school in which they attend. In addition, cultural diversity could easily be widespread. It is an open park environment causing no discrimination against any culture. Using an open field with the mounds of snow we have accumulated over the past several months was beneficial to almost all children. The only aspect I truly could not fathom was children with disabilities. With the amount of snow and huge hills the children were creating, it would be close to impossible for children with disabilities to function with what the children had created. However, if they took the time to make their area far away enough to not get knocked over with snowballs, they could use the snow for stimulation, snow angels, or whatever else their hearts desired.