Golden Afternoons of True Play

Everyday Wonder #4 - Sometimes you don't even need a bucket and spade...

The afternoon played out like a line from my favourite Alison Lester picture book, ‘At our beach at our magic beach…’

Last week, for a friend’s birthday, six families, all with kids under eight, headed down to a secret beach, newly discovered by one of the mums while on an adventure with her daughter.

We parked our bikes in the corner of the bay where sand and rocks met the sea and ladened with bags full of sarongs and picnic food we set off on the uneven rocky outcrop that jutted out of the hills above. The older kids took off, scrambling over the shoreline, the younger ones desperately trying to keep up the pace, and the little ones wanting to be carried over the seaweed-encrusted stones. The adults dispersed between them, ready to help if needed, but mostly engrossed in their conversations.

After 20 minutes of rock hopping and climbing up and down small slopes to get to the next beach, we finally arrived at our destination. A bay around 100M long, backed by steep jungle and enclosed at both ends by rocks tumbling down to meet the ocean. We set up our sarong picnic blankets under the only tree providing shade over the sand and watched as the children scattered. At first, the younger ones stayed closer or begged us to follow them to whatever interesting thing they had found, which we did, the grown-ups breaking off into groups, some to help with the great hermit crab race, others to swim or watch the little ones climb nimbly over rocks.

Eventually, however, the adults started to draw back together and the children stayed in their formed groups. There were no beach toys in sight, not even a ball for the kids to gather around and kick, but watching them together was a thing of beauty. I sat on the sand, catching snippets of conversation from the grown-ups around me. But most of my attention was secretly drawn towards watching these children from afar constructing their imaginary worlds. Creating rules, setting scenes and sorting out their problems once they were away from adult ears

This afternoon will always be golden in my memories. Even the brief downpour of rain did nothing to dampen anyone’s spirits. It was a testament to what I discussed in my last newsletter All you need is a bucket and spade, that simply being in nature is enough. And on this occasion, the children didn’t even need a bucket and spade!

Uninterrupted true play in nature is one of the most precious things I believe we can give our children. Trusting in them, in their imaginations to find beauty and adventure and excitement in the wild is a gift we can give them that costs us nothing, all we need to do is simply sit back and allow them the time and space to slip into their undisturbed worlds.

I would love to hear about your golden moments lately. Please share below the times you’ve had recently when you’ve got to sit back and watch your children engrossed in their own play.

Tansie

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