Unprescribed Play There is defiance in unprescribed play. It rejects pre-determined ways to be, to play, and to move. In play, a slide is not defined by
where they make the rules. Predictability
manufacturing standards, a U-shape,
is not all that fun! Adventure is found in
or a sit-down bar. A slide is a feeling—
the unusual and the unknown.
a sensation in your belly. A child’s arms are holding on and then letting go. Arms rise up, contact is precarious, and movement may be rapid. There is a feeling of surrendering to gravity, to friction, and to excitement. It is a moment of suspension before wanting to climb back up to go again and again!
to write a rulebook. If a child looks at any playground and immediately “gets it”, then it is probably too directive. It may quickly become boring. If a playground has something that is maybe a bit odd or unpredictable, then maybe the play space has created an affordance for
Playgrounds should be places where
open-ended free play. That is where
children create their own stories: where
kids thrive: in the freedom of non-
they decide where to go and how to play
prescriptive play.
in, around, over, and on a structure—
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As playground designers, our job is not
