The Preschool 1 at RisingOaks Early Learning Saint John Paul II explored some risky play and went sledding on the hill behind our playground! We first went out, bringing our sleds, and found a little bit of snow of and a little bit of mud. “We can slide down on the snow into the mud!” George exclaimed excitedly. The preschoolers chose their sleds, and carried them up to the top of the hill. Some preschoolers jumped right in, and went off down the hill, and others were carful to decide what they deemed as safe. The preschoolers chose weather they wanted to sit on their sleds, lay down on their sleds or go down the hill with an educator or peer. After some consideration lots of preschoolers decided to try going down the hill…and they loved it! They slid down the hill on their sleds, with big smiles on their faces. As the preschoolers were sledding, they were working collaboratively. The preschoolers took turns taking the sleds up to the top of the hill, pushing each other down when they asked for it, waiting their turns, and problem solving when issues arose. Some problems the preschoolers encountered were; trying to carry the sleds up to the top of the hill, finding the right spots to walk where they weren’t in the path of children going down the hill and how to get their sled to go down the hill when they weren’t quite close enough to the slope. The preschoolers worked together to solve all these problems, and create patterns where they could all have fun and participate together! Risky play allows the preschoolers to evaluate what they perceive as safe, and act upon that. Risky play creates opportunities for children to act in different ways than they typically do, and within those opportunities are activities that challenge children and push them out of their comfort zones. Risky play helps children develop a sense of resiliency, self-esteem and confidence. What a fun experience sledding with Preschool 1.
