Global School Play Day #GSPD

On Wednesday our class participated in the first annual Global School Play Day.

Global School Play Day Logo

What is Global School Play Day?

GSPD is an attempt to get kids away from video games, TV, and electronics in order for them to play. It emphasizes the need for students to have a chance to play without instructions or adult intervention. The students used creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking in order to play together as a class. The day is a reminder that students can learn many life skills just by being given the freedom to play and explore.

What did it look like in our class?

Filled with excitement, every student in our class showed up to school talking about what games they had brought and what they thought the day was going to be like. There were only two rules for the day:

  1. You may not play by yourself
  2. You may not tell someone that they are not allowed to play

Students quickly got to work setting up games and figuring out their own rules. There was a heated game of Apples to Apples, and the first decision was, “Should we play serious or silly?” This was decided by a majority vote and of course silly won out.

Other students pulled out scrabble boards. One group had a very competitive game going with advanced vocabulary. Another group did not know the rules, so they decided to just make their own rules as they went along. They still found great vocabulary words.

Some students played with our geometry blocks and were challenging each other with the designs and patterns they created. They wanted to make sure pictures were taken to preserve their works of art.

Many students brought in stuffed animals and these were scattered throughout the classroom as companions or part of the play.

My favorite quote of the day was, “This is the best Wednesday ever! Can we do it again?”

What are your thoughts on play? Please share with our class and spread the word.