1.0 | Flight: An Introduction

The Joy of Dizzy Play

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The Joy of Dizzy Play

Curriculum Meaning MakingThe following is a question—answer recap of a professional dialogue between educators about this story.

What guides you to allow time and space for children’s dizzy play?Paulina reflects, “I was helping another child. If you just expect others to sit and wait, that isn’t good for them. They are doing something that isn’t having them sit for others. When I was ready to help them, they were ready for me to do that.” She also recognized that the boys had a safe space to engage with dizzy play making it possible for the activity while others were preparing to go outside.

What do you understand about these children, this space, and the time of day for this play to have value?Paulina also expressed that “dizzy play” was a new term for her. She hadn’t understood the importance of dizzy play previously, yet she could identify with the typical activity of children in groups.

Aushon, Ali, and Drake begin a game of chase as the group begins to dress for outside time. Paulina is close by helping another child to dress and affords the boys an opportunity to explore this “dizzy play.”

It lasts for only a few minutes. The game seems to have the rule of following the person in front, up the step, down the step, and around; up the step, down the step, and around again.

Dizzy play offers children an experience that can be described as losing and regaining control. It can also be used to express a burst of energy, to test their own boundaries, and to experience joy with others.

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Paulina recalled, “I always go back to the idea of noise. With a past group of toddlers who were “noisy,” we began to reframe the idea of noise as sound. We, the educators, began to look at it differently and then the learning happened. For three to four months, the children were involved with exploring and making sounds and it influenced our whole year. Our frustration went down and the learning went up.”

Curriculum ConnectionsMaking links to holistic goals.

Play and Playfulness

Dizzy Play

Children take pleasure in being on the edge through

engaging in rough and tumble play

experiencing exhilarating physical release

playing at games of disruption and restoring order

Children take pleasure in sharing the joy of laughter through

clowning and physical humour

making nonsense

The Joy of Dizzy Play

Curriculum ReflectionsConsidering implications for further learning and practice.

How do you value and respond to rowdy, physical, dizzy play?

What is your comfort level and how does this affect the allowances you make for the children’s rowdy, physical play?

How do you ensure safety and allow for children to experience exhilarating physical release?

Think about times when children’s joy has been infectious, for example, sliding down hills, dancing barefoot, or singing at the top of one’s lungs.

4 flight | Curriculum Learning Stories | flightframework.com

AcknowledgmentsSincere appreciation is extended to the educators, children, and families who contributed to the collection of curriculum sample learning stories. Your willingness to engage with us in this curriculum development work has helped to bring curriculum to life and illustrate a practice of relationships. The children’s play and exploration has helped us to document and make visible educator decision-making for others to see.

Copyright © 2014

Library and Archives Canada

ISBN 978-0-9939286-0-4

Flight: Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework by Makovichuk, L., Hewes, J., Lirette, P., & Thomas, N., is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on the work found at flightframework.ca.

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The curriculum framework goals within this framework have been reprinted with permission from the New Brunswick Curriculum Framework for Early Learning and Care—English (2008). The copyright for these goals resides with the University of New Brunswick Early Childhood Centre and the Government of New Brunswick, Department of Social Development. They therefore reside outside of this Creative Commons license.

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