THEPLAYGROUND

FIRST QUESTIONS/THOUGHTS THAT CAME TO ME:

- Playgrounds are meeting places for neighbourhoods, not only for children.
- Playing is part of the human nature.
- In the book "De meeste mensen deugen" it's described how different kind of playgrounds affect children.
- What is considered when designing a playground? What is it based on that children enjoy current playgrounds?
- Do fancy play tools actually excite children or could these tools also be old wood, tires etc.
- What kind of hierarchy rules in a playground?
-What kind of behavior is stimulated by children with a certain division of a playground?
- Is playing being stimulated in humans their development or limited?
- What other roles plays a playground in a neighbourhood?
- How do animals play? What's the reason for playing?

FIRST VISIT 8-1-20

OBSERVATIONS/THOUGHTS:

I used the children I babysit for my research, it made taking pictures and video's at the playground easier and less strange. It immediately stood out to me that the kids create their own world once they enter the playground. Different parts of the playing device are used in different manners, they were climbing up the slide and sliding down the climbing ropes. Once we started playing hide and seek they were incorporating the whole area around the playground and I had to make an agreement with them to not go further then the sidewalk surrounding the playground and a part of the grass. There were no other children.

SECOND VISIT 12-10-20

OBSERVATIONS/THOUGHTS:

This time I visited the playground with Elise only, as Dave was feeling ill. I was wondering how this would influence my research. There were other children this time, three boys accompanied by two muslim ladies. I asked Elise in what ways she plays with the playset and the other objects in and around the playground. she was happy to tell me and show me around, it was very interesting to hear about the area from her point of view. I was also observing the other children playing at the playground, I didn't observe anything special really. Later when they were gone two boys arrived to the playground and used it to fly a little helicopter.

THIRD VISIT 14-1-20

OBSERVATIONS/THOUGHTS:

This third time I took both Elise and Dave to the playground as Dave was feeling better. It was past 7 already so it was getting dark, which was interesting for me because I wanted to know if there would be people at the playground in the evening. Who are the people who come here when all the kids are asleep? I didn't found out this time because there was no one there. The kids surprised me with more ways to move around the playground, like going down the slide together or backwards. We also played "Annemaria koekoek" a few times, and the person leading the game needed to be in one of the houses of the playset. This was a rule from Elise. A conclusion I can make is that children who get an impuls to play, like from a playset or other kids, can play anywhere. They create their own little world and without thinking they act it out. This is very fun to see and interesting, questions that came to me because of this are "What setting stimulates the creativity and playfulness of children the most?" "How can we make playing more important in our society?" After some research I learned that playing is more important than most think, so that is something I can research from now on.

Interview with Elise about the playground.

Video of me and the kids playing hide and seek.

Video of elise and me walking around the area, elise tells me about the area.

The playground is located in a weird area. It's not the safest place because it's next to a relatively big road but it does give off a safe "vibe" because of the pond and abundance of green. I knew about this place because my baby sit kids took me here before, they used to live around the corner so that's probably why they know it. It's very small and all the times I visited it it wasn't crowded at all. There were more times I was there alone with the children than that there were other children playing as well. The kids seem to enjoy it, I've taken them to a bigger playground with more playing "devices" and they seem to have a good time at both places. They love playing together and it doesn't really seem to matter where. They involve me in their playing and games which I enjoy as well, they make me laugh often and they seem to like me involved in their world.