The Fern Club Philosophy of Play
Play… where do we begin?
A topic which has been talked about, ripped apart, put back together and discussed a lot in present times. As a new parent myself I often ask myself “what kind of parent do I want to be?” and each time, I always come back to the same answer, “a playful one”. For those who really know me, they’ll see the silly, daft, goofy Lorna; laughing and generally trying to live in a positive way. I was once told at the end of job interview that I could “stop smiling now”, and it made me smile even more! I hope that as I’m bringing up my son I can instil those same positive playful values. Even now when I play, I learn. That’s what I hope The Fern Club can bring to you and your little ones too.
For a child, play really is their job. From a developmental perspective the benefits are so far reaching a blog post doesn’t really do it justice; you really need a whole book! I’ll list a few of my favourite benefits.
Play can help a child make sense of the world around them. It helps to manage fears and work out troubling situations.
Play can:
- help a child make sense of the world around them. It helps to manage fears, work out troubling situations
- assist a child's understanding to deal with conflict and how to resolve it; building resiliency
- develop language; no two families are the same, when a child plays with a peer, they begin to learn new language concepts.
- encourage healthy active bodies (did you know that a child's stamina is akin to an elite athlete?! Amazing!)
- increase creativity through necessity when a child experiences boredom.
At The Fern Club, children (and parents) are encouraged to play. Really simple. When children play they gain confidence in themselves, they find their comfort zones and relax, a great starting point for opening the discussion for new topics of learning.