Inspiration by the Sounds of Nature

“Everywhere where children live, either in the village or in the town, it can also be heard and seen how they play and enjoy themselves. The children play is such a natural thing and need for a child as breathing.” (Pospíšilová 2000). Impulses to children play are found in various environments: first in the family circle, closest friends and home, later in school, hobbies etc.

A great number of children games are kept through the folk tradition and rich records in the collection fund. These manifestations show a remarkable richness of forms and educational use at the same time. They might be differentiated according to various points of view, e. g. year season, nationality, sex, movement, stage properties etc. Traditional children plays kept by spontaneous transmitting in the family or thanks to institutionalized education, are completed by new playful manifestations of children, influenced by the conditions of social life. The nature brings, despite the space and time, the significant stimuli to children plays with its rich forms of phenomena.

The educational significance of children plays is verified by many generations. It is known that it has belonged to spontaneous activities of children since a long time ago, in which different sides of their personalities develop in an entertaining and natural way. The requirement for play use, resp. aspect of playfulness in educational work penetrates all progressive pedagogical systems, starting with recommendations by Jan Ámos Komenský. Let us e. g. remember Komenský’s idea that by playing children are taught to lead the mind to gentleness, movements to skilfulness and body to health (Mišurec 2007).  Thus the children plays area is a significant means of physical, spiritual, rational, aesthetic, work and moral education and at the same time an important stimulus of will to other activities. In school education, plays make the educational process more pleasant and varied and they help pupils to relax. The offer many impulses to creative manifestations of children, in various forms and areas given by syncretism of the children play.

References

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  • Mišurec, Z. (2007). Dětské hry [Children Play]. In S. Brouček & R. Jeřábek (eds.). Lidová kultura: národopisná encyklopedie Čech, Moravy a Slezska. 2. svazek. Praha: Mladá fronta, pp. 132–133.
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