Cas Holman - Abstract Episode
Quotes and Ideas:
Don’t ask someone “how do you build a car” instead ask them “build a way to get to school”.
Build opportunities for play to arise.
Kids don’t always need colorful toys, they are actually sophisticated
“Easy” is boring- and by easy she means “doesn’t engage your thinking”
Historically toys were designed to keep kids occupied, but not to be engaged with.
Kids should be trusted with real materials, it is empowering
Toys that indicate how they should be used are not open ended enough and therefor are not empowering
Teachers should be brilliant observers
Kids should be asked “What were you curious about” rather than “what did you learn”
Lookup:
Rockwell Group - reinventing the playground
Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gris, Architecture Against Death
“The Case for Letting Kids Design Their Own Toys” - Fast Company
Anji Play - Mrs. Cheng
Keywords:
Freeplay
My Thoughts:
I saw this episode for the first time when it came out a couple of years ago. I found it so inspiring then, and I did again when I watched it last night. Cas’ open-ended ideas about play and playgrounds helped to inspire this project!
The things I am struck by this time are: How could Cas’ ideas of open-ended play, and agency for children be brought into outdoor (natural) environments. Some of her toys and playgrounds were being used outside, but they were in a courtyard, or on a roof. They were never out in varied landscapes, interacting with trees, meadows, fields etc. So are Cas’ designs meant for the child who doesn’t have access to that type of environment, or could her designs be brought into those spaces? Would they need to be designed differently to interact with that type of space?
Her comment about “real materials” is really interesting. That children should be given things that feel substantive and not dumbed down. That those “real” materials would inspire “real” thinking, solutions and creativity. Im really interested in this.
Cas called out some of the problems I’ve been noticing while doing my research: A lot of playgrounds and toys have “right” way to use them. There are certain rules about what should be done with the toys and what shouldn’t. I agree that this is a problem. Creating closed-loop-toys (and playgrounds) really feels like the antithesis of what we should be trying to do.
I love the emphasis that Cas places on collaborative play. Her toys are often large and heavy, needing a group of kids in order to build things. Conversation, and collaborative envisioning need to happen in order to form physical ideas. In this way, collaboration comes from an organic need, rather than a prescribe “need” which feels like a huge difference!
Anji play is something I need to look into! That is next on the list
