Thus to the human ego speaks
In mighty revelation,
Unfolding its inherent powers,
The joy of growth throughout the world:
I carry into you my life
From its enchanted bondage
And so attain my truest goal.
Rudolf Steiner
Last weekend I “met” with kindergarten and childcare colleagues from across Victoria, using Zoom to replace the face-to-face meeting that we usually have once each term. Some of the kindergartens have had children return in the past fortnight for the first time since August, and their universal observation was of the children’s great joy and delight in being able to play with one another. Even the young babies and toddlers attending childcare in inner Melbourne greeted each other and their carers with pleasure, attempting to share toys and food and to rebuild connections they had missed. We are social beings from infancy, and learn to know ourselves through our impact upon others, and theirs upon us.
Play is an extraordinary social teacher, and the urge to dramatize and share what one can imagine drives learning in the child from around three and a half. Complex group games that merge, develop, shift, and change throughout the morning session bring solitary players and groups together in service of a wonderful, ever-changing shared imagination, requiring flexibility and problem-solving that takes each individual child beyond their typical abilities. It brings enormous pleasure to the players, and to those of us privileged to see them play.
