Editing my observational essay
aasaad
ObservationalArgument.docx
ENG 111
Ali J Asaad
Observational Argument
Assignment
The Playground Park
Stuart Brown once said, “Those who play rarely become brittle in the face of stress or lose the healing capacity of humor.” Why do children play? The little child who likes to play still lives inside each adult, regardless of age. In my observation I observed adults and children at play and I saw this idea of adults being children a new; the child inside them is still alive. People who write about play support this idea as a lot of writers and dictionaries were trying to give a real definition about play and its importance for people.
It’s Saturday 23 September 2018 the date of observation, although it was a rainy day it was a good reason to record the consistency of play with people. Children were my target for my playing topic, I don’t think that on that day I will be doing any kind of outdoor activities even if i like it or no, but I decided to go and observe who is going to play at that day which will help me in getting a wide image about why they really want to play even in that weather condition. Shelby farms where I was on that day it was not empty I was shocked by the amount of people there as if there is no rain, or maybe they like to practice their own freedom of play under the rain. I asked my friend to bring his little brother and he told the weather is not good, but I forced him to ask his brother if he want to go out and play although he knows that it’s not a good day to play outside. My friend’s little brother his name is Tim, he is youngest child in his family with his oldest brother and a younger sister. Overall, he is a healthy and happy child in his family with no problem started preparing himself without even saying yes or no, he was excited about the thing of going out and doing something that he even doesn’t know where to go but he just wants to go out without thinking about the weather the time or even the place. It was a good option for me to get Tim with us to go out and observe what he will be doing on that unplanned day of going out. At Shelby farm Tim was looking and observing the other kids playing and running around in the rain they were running around the trees and looking and the sky and laughing I tried to record that moment in my mind to relate it back to my childhood so that I can understand the feelings of these kids when they are playing and running around the nature.
When Tim saw them, he looked at me and his brother and smile as if he is taking our permission to go and play with them, when my friend smiles back to him that was enough to let him go and do whatever he wants to do. He started running around and looking towards us, he was smiling and trying to share with us his feelings to help him get enrolled with the other children who were playing at the park.
It’s 12 at the noon, the sun showed up at that time and people start coming bringing their kids to give them a chance to make some outdoor activities, and what I like that parents bring their kids to observe them what they are doing and give them freedom to do whatever they want to do although some parents observe their kids and they might discover something about their kids that they didn’t know about it before which is surprisingly amazing for the parents when they know that.
Kids where smiling entering the park and I can record that smile and the feeling of that smile and its interaction with what they are feeling, and the way parents are trying to make their best to put them in the place where they want them to be happy. I can observe a lot of known activities in that park someone is playing soccer some one in playing volley ball someone is reading a book someone is just hanging and chilling looking to the sky others might be under a try playing cards which not a suitable play but yeah, I found a lot of weird things and weird activities. Painting, riding a bike, playing with pets and much more activities I can’t describe it because someone might feel it I saw a lot of people hanging standing talking or observing the nature I can’t describe such play things people might do.
Child A was sitting on the green field with his legs crossed and both his arms crossed. His mother told him that he can go and play with the kids and take part in the play area with other kids. He quickly gets up stand and walk towards the playing area where all of the kids are playing, where there was a paint activity set up by group of college students helping these kids enjoying their time and teaching them how to paint in a freeway without any limitation it’s a free paint they have the ability to paint or not and to do whatever they want some kids take a place and start drawing randomly, some took the paper and do a paper plane others took the paper and start ripping it, other children make a paper ball and throw it on each other. One of A’s friend comes closer to child A and ask him to play with him. Child A gets excited and they start to play. When they finished from playing around they went back to their parents and they were trying something to do for fun, they asked their parents and they suggest them that they can draw each other. Therefore, child A picks a paint and tries to draw his friend. They start making fun of each other and try to draw something different with a lot of creative things that are not included in that place like an airplane or a sunny weather when it was a bit cloudy, I saw creativity in every movement those children were trying to do it’s a creativity without thinking I call it involuntary. They are not thinking about a way to create things they just do something that no one can do it the way they are doing it. They used to talk to any children without thinking about why they are now here and why they are talking and playing together.
Some children plan on doing a specific activity that helped them in developing their skills for the activity they love. Children at that day were trying to enjoy each second through playing and feeling the way they want to feel. We all know about the kids when they want to leave a place that they love to stay in. At the end of the day and before the sunset parents were trying to grab their kids and try to get them back home I can see children were tired and their faces were red in color because of playing outdoor but even though they want to stay more. When child A’s mother tried to catch his hand and grab him toward the parking lot to get into the car that was the hardest part for the mother to get him out of the park, I compared the image of the children coming into the park and getting out of it, both ways were opposite the children were excited entering the park they know something funny will be inside but leaving the place where they enjoyed their time and had fun in it was the hardest part for them because they even don’t have any responsibility to think about that they need to go back home, relax, go to school or to get prepared to work I can see how tired they are and at the same time I can see their consistency to stay even when they are tired and can no more play but they are not tired of playing they want to stay in that place.
Each child has his own way to cry and to show that they want to stay, some children were able to convince their family to stay by promising them that they will be going in couple more minutes, but even if they promise their parents to stay they will end by not leaving in a way that the parents were expecting from them. I can see some of the parents holding their kids by their hands and forcing them to get into the car although they were crying, some parent loses their hope in convincing their children to leave and promising them that they will come back and play another day. This moment can show how kids are happy and enjoying their time practicing their own activities. How hard it is for someone to cry, people cry of something that is hard to leave or hard to lose, these children were losing their freedom to play they were forced to go to a place that they might not enjoy themselves in.
Although parents know the importance of play in a children’s life, play also plays an imperative role in children’s learning. Play helps them in developing a lot of areas creative, physical, imaginative, manipulative and social. Children were able to produce something new and they will be able to take risks. Therefore, play provides the sensible learning and improvement to the child. I think that it will be more helpful if parents take their children out for walks and talk to them about things they like to do and be their friends or their partners in that game.
Most of the children on that day were trying to show their parents their skills and activities they were doing, I can still remember their voices in my ear shouting MOM! DAD! LOOK!
That part was relative to me because people were trying to share what they were doing with their parents as if they are feeling proud of what they are doing, I can relate that those parents who were not playing with their children found difficulty in getting their kids out of the park, because that place was a place were they were meeting other kids and friends and that they are leaving the people they are having fun with, crying was reasonable because play was a thing that they want to do and that children are supposed to do only at that place and they were afraid of leaving it that they might not come back soon. But those who where playing with their parents they were like friends it was not a relation of a parent and kid, those parents didn’t find any difficulty in getting their children out because they were going out together they are friends and they will be spending good time together they will not be separated and that they can find any place to play in regardless of the people that were playing at that place.
By carrying this observation, I learnt how to get involved in activities with children and how to encourage them in what they are doing. My friend was trying to help his little brother to engage with most of the children at that place, and he found difficulty in getting enrolled with those children I can see how difficult it is to convince a child about funny things to do but leaving a children to play is the most important thing for them, they will be able to create their own play and their own games and enjoy their time the way they want to.
Play makes a difference as they grow and develop. In each level of growth there is a specific type of play. And through their growth children learn best through play. Dr. Stuart Brown in one of his books called “play: How it shapes the Brain, Opens the imagination and Invigorates the Soul.” He talked about play and how it affects people’s survival.
Play is more than just fun, it is practical, make people more adaptable and is important for our survival and its impact on brain. A great example about what we learn from the experts that discussed play in theirs writings and text that its not only for kids, as I observed on that day parents were playing with their kids, I was able to observe that they we happy playing with them and they were not playing just to help their kids enjoy their time and don’t feel bored there, but they where enjoying their time playing together and engaging in every small thing their kids do. Sometimes parent get involved in what their kids do, and they travel with them to this world of play and they forget everything about responsibilities and life stuff. They just want to play for now.
