Synthetic wonderland
I was looking at the outside play area at work yesterday afternoon. It is a synthetic wonderland, full of plastic grass and plastic play. Everything is mans production.
The kids get told off for picking the leaves off the trees, which are, of course, planted behind a fence.
Thinking back to when i was a kid, one of my favourite things to do was to get done and dirty in...well dirt. Raking up the ground pretending to be farmers, picking flowers and weeds, picking the peaches pears and apples that we were so lucky to have on our property. Planting flowers, picking flowers, mowing the lawn, running bare footed (even when it resulted in rose thorns stuck well deep in the foot).
None of that is possible for many of the kids i work with. Whether it be they have no real yard to play in, to being a generation of cottenwool kids... or whatever the case...and they are definitly not getting it at childcare.
The fact that they get told off for doing 'normal' kids stuff, in exploring their environment is quite disheartning.
A big fake plastic wonderland.
I got home and got into the latest edition of Dumbo feather, pass it on, when i came across a couple of artists who are "putting the Jungle back into the Concrete."
Anna Hillman, and her Gurrilla Graphics, is simply bring forth the idea of experincing your environment
I think we are so busy in our lives, that we forget to just appericiate what natural beauty is surrounding us. We have forgotten the feel of dirt on our hands, the simple pleasures of a mudpie.....like when we were kids.
Trees by Simon Heijdens
Park(ing)! by Rebar group
The kids get told off for picking the leaves off the trees, which are, of course, planted behind a fence.
Thinking back to when i was a kid, one of my favourite things to do was to get done and dirty in...well dirt. Raking up the ground pretending to be farmers, picking flowers and weeds, picking the peaches pears and apples that we were so lucky to have on our property. Planting flowers, picking flowers, mowing the lawn, running bare footed (even when it resulted in rose thorns stuck well deep in the foot).
None of that is possible for many of the kids i work with. Whether it be they have no real yard to play in, to being a generation of cottenwool kids... or whatever the case...and they are definitly not getting it at childcare.
The fact that they get told off for doing 'normal' kids stuff, in exploring their environment is quite disheartning.
A big fake plastic wonderland.
I got home and got into the latest edition of Dumbo feather, pass it on, when i came across a couple of artists who are "putting the Jungle back into the Concrete."
Anna Hillman, and her Gurrilla Graphics, is simply bring forth the idea of experincing your environment
I think we are so busy in our lives, that we forget to just appericiate what natural beauty is surrounding us. We have forgotten the feel of dirt on our hands, the simple pleasures of a mudpie.....like when we were kids.
Trees by Simon Heijdens
Park(ing)! by Rebar group
posted by analise at 3:57 PM
1 Comments:
This is so true Ana... I feel so sad when I see cotton wool kids. I loved being out the back yard climbing trees, walking on the roof, playing with sharp sticks and slingshots in our games of tribal warfare, mucking around with fire, making stews with plants (thankfully we had enough sense not to eat it!)
I still love the feeling of dirt...
Post a Comment
<< Home