What have I learnt?
From the multitude of different types of play, it is important that I figure out which ones would be most closely related to getting kids active and making sure that they can move whilst they play. The obvious would seem to be locomotor play. However, I think it is possible to structure some of these themes in ways that can get kids moving.
Looking even deeper in to these types of play I found a toolkit by Play Scotland, which can be accessed
here. It's a play types toolkit designed for schools and education professionals and it is very helpful at splitting up the types of play in to four categories:
Learning about the physical world (creative play, exploratory play, mastery play & object play)
Learning about myself and how to be in the world (communication play, dramatic play & socio-dramatic play, Role play & social play)
Learning about my body and limits (rough and tumble play and locomotor play)
Learning about what it is to be human (deep play, fantasy & imaginative play, recapitulative play and symbolic play)
I would like to try and think of different combinations that include at least one element from each category within my experience to give a well - rounded physical, learning, developmental and creative experience.
What's next?
I want to look at different methods in which we play both traditionally and digitally that fit within the above categories. It would also be great to speak to some industry professionals so I am going to do some further research to look in to companies within the field of playground, toy and video game development.
I also think it is important to investigate further in to what personality types or playing styles suit the types of play best. This will help me to gain a deeper understanding of my potential users and will help me to develop personas and empathy maps. The PDF above from Play Scotland includes a few case studies which are quite insightful to see the observations of different play techniques which I will look in to further.
I am also quite keen to get myself organised, to be able to manage my project effectively. I know that as an ambitious person I can sometimes be unrealistic with the amount of time I dedicate to each task. But I want to ensure I give myself the appropriate time and flexibility for any challenges. So creating myself a project management plan and roadmap is on the to do list!