Charter for Children’s Play
Children play best:
When adults are watchful but not intrusive, when safe ground lends
courage to their discoveries and adventures.
When their trust in life is whole, when they welcome the unknown and
are fearless.
When the world is shared with them. When there are palces and spaces
they can make their own.
When their games are free from adult agendas and when their
transformations require no end-products.
When they are free to become gatherers, makers, and world creators in
their own time and in their own ways.
When they can play with others and make relationships.
When they can play alone, be solitary and private.
When they can become new selves through their play with others and in
their own imaginings
When they can reveal themselves, their joys, sufferings, and concerns,
without fear of ridicule, and when mystery and imagination are not denied by
fact.
from ‘The Genius of Play’, by Sally Jenkins (page 129, 2001, Hawthorn
Press: London)
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