Play
elements of play
Wood blocks were used in different games, eg goal scoring and goal keeping a ping pong ball by blowing only. While members paired up in fours for this exciting game, a member was not in the mood to join in. But he played anyway, stacking the blocks to create a different playing field.
skiing team
The versatile blocks were meant to be played in any way imaginable. They could be skis, or skis on all fours as members tried different ways of playing them, on their own or together.
While members were trying on the skis, they spontaneously evolve into a skating team as the playful experiment of one spread to the whole group without a single word spoken.
- day 3 -
balloon team
The sense of playing in togetherness continued when blocks switched to balloons. A balloon was placed between two partners and they go take the balloon on a walk, trying to do so in different paces and ways. Soon, a circle was naturally formed, with each member delicately balancing a balloon on both sides. Not only did playing switched from solo to team, but also in the level of sophistication, as members began to dance Can Can while still balancing the balloons.
car wash
The balloon car wash escalated into a tunnel of challenge, as each member was uncertain what kind of treatment one was going to get. Will it be a gentle wash? A hard rub? Or simply a battlefield of balloons one has to crawl through with shreks of laughter?
- day 3 -
fun of immobility
However much excitement the playing may create, always end with a moment of quiet, Amir advised.
If we tell children not to move, there is tension. But with the game of holding a ping pong ball on your forehead, the children can feel the magic of the weight. And when it is taken off, the energy of the quiet stays.
Then comes the magic drops, first drop, second drop, third drop and wake up with full power, children.
play again
The first round of bean bag tossing was interlaced with exclamations of "sorry!" as members missed a catch or made a mistake. Then soon there were laughters instead of sorries, and the air in the room shifted. Walking around the room with bean bag on one's head again shifted the air, it started to settle. "Can we play again?" This time, members were wide awake and had a more relaxed facial expression with joyful expression. Playfulness set in. As the game progressed, one could feel and see that concentration and enjoyment was increasing. Playfulness settled to calmness as the bean bag once again is on top of one's head, every step fresh, every step new. Then members were invited to lie down, rain was dripping outside the windows from different directions.
- day 1 -