May 12, 2022
Radical in its simplicity, Let Grow’s Play Club allows kids to learn through multi-age, unstructured play with minimal interference from adults. This approach to learning is implemented in schools and community groups across the United Stated – and it’s coming to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane June 26. Let’s break down what this looks like:
Multi-age
Throughout the last 8 months of Children’s Chapel, we have seen the benefits of kids playing with other kids who aren’t their age peers: maturity and empathy develop naturally, and unlikely friendships form over shared interests. I can’t imagine doing Children’s Chapel any other way! Just like Children’s Chapel, Sunday Play Club will be open to anyone 4 years or older.
Unstructured
Religious Education at UUCS has already taken a modular, inquiry-driven approach in favor of a structured curriculum with prescribed outcomes, but Play Club puts all of the decision making in the hands of the children. Left to their own devices, children will be more innovative than grown-ups ever could be, and they will be motivated to solve their own problems to keep the play going. We will provide the space (the church’s backyard, barring truly extreme weather) and a few “loose parts” (think traffic cones and hula hoops), but the kids’ creativity and innate desire for community will do the rest.
Minimal Interference
An adult or two will be present at Play Club but they are not the recess monitors that may come to mind. They are there for actual emergencies (not the conflicts kids can solve on their own) and to support the children in upholding these three simple rules:
- Play Respectfully: Do not deliberately hit or physically hurt another child.
- Get permission to leave the grounds.
- Listen to the adults, who will only intervene when they must.
(Just last week, late-night television host and comedian Trevor Noah compared playground supervision to being at the luggage carousel: check out the clip here.)
We would love for you to see Play Club first-hand as a volunteer supervisor! Sign up here, and enjoy a morning chat with an old or new friend.
Why are we starting a Play Club?
Yes, it’s summer, and kids are in summer vacay mode. And there’s no air conditioning in the RE wing, so we might as well enjoy the outdoors. But we aren’t taking a break from learning – we’re just providing an optimal environment for more authentic learning.
Dr. Peter Gray, a child psychologist and one of the founders of Let Grow, said that even outside of schools, our society has a schoolish view of child development. You can learn a lot from Dr. Gray though his Ted Talk about the decline of play. This summer, we are intentionally resisting that schoolish approach and letting kids live our UU values through play.
And what exactly is Let Grow?
Let Grow is a nonprofit involved with school programs, research, writing, public speaking and legislative advocacy. Their mission is to “give parents, educators, and communities the tools and confidence to step back, so kids can step up.” They want to make it “easy, normal and legal to give kids the independence they need to grow into capable, confident, and happy adults.”
I first learned about Let Grow from our Board President, Lynn Jinishian. As I checked out their website, I wasn’t too surprised to see Jonathan Haidt as one of their founders. Todd has referenced Haidt’s book, The Coddling of the American Mind, in several sermons, and it makes sense that we would want to raise children in a fashion that helps them become resilient, independent adults who know how to do democracy. You can read more about Haidt’s motivation to start Let Grow in this Reason article he co-authored with Let Grow President Lenore Skenazy.
It really is a small world. Last week I had the opportunity to Zoom with the Let Grow Executive Director, Andrea Keith. Before we even began, she shared that in the early 2000’s she attended UUCS! I didn’t have to explain our UU values. She knew them already, and she knew that Play Club would encourage them.
Will you join me in getting out of the way so that our kids can play? Sign up here to be a volunteer supervisor!