Learning to Play
Play is an important part in learning to exist in a complex environment. Babies and children learn to move through a desire for something. Their need or their want leads them, through trial and error, to move in the direction of the object of their desire. Babies move many times in the same direction, slowly building the necessary connections in their brain and muscular system until one day often to their surprise (and delight) they are able to reach, grasp or roll to the object. As we grow older and learn to respond or react to our environment our curiousity and openness can diminish. For many adults repetition of actions or activities can seem without purpose, mundane or boring. This is in contrast to the young child, where each repetition is novel and serves to refine their coordination to achieve their ‘end’ through more and more complex movement. My memories of being a child are of being an observer – of watching my siblings play. I also remember being more interested in