Despite the disappearance of recess from the daily school schedule of our children, nearly everyone agrees that play is an essential part of a child’s life. In fact, the cultural historian, Johan Huizinga goes much further when he writes: “You can deny, if you like, nearly all abstractions: justice, beauty, truth, goodness, mind, God. You can deny seriousness, but not play.”
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Hobby-Horses-a-brief-brief-history.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 12/12/2005 Hobby Horses Transcript One of the most ancient of all children’s toys — and a familiar resident under the Christmas tree for centuries — is the hobby horse. It’s a simple stick with a horse’s head and reigns attached, and, with it, you […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Rediscovering-Recess.mp3 Author Lauren Brosnihan Air Date 11/8/2005 Rediscovering Recess Transcript When you ask a child what their favorite subject in school is, the answer is often, “Recess.” As far back as 1884, in a paper delivered before the Department of Superintendents of the National Education Association, the philosopher and educator, […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Games-for-the-Car-the-Cabin-the-Tent.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 6/24/2005 Games for the Car, the Cabin, the Tent Transcript If you’re packing the car for vacation, you might want to include one of the many new books of games and puzzles to bounce along the interstate with your family, or to fill those […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Toy-Theaters.mp3 Author Laurie Taylor Air Date 12/30/2004 Toy Theaters Transcript More than a century before there were video games, there were toy theaters — small stages made from paper where children and adults could act out plays of their own invention, or dramas based on existing plays that were published […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/National-Game-and-Puzzle-Week.mp3 Author Cathlena Martin and Laurie Taylor Air Date 11/23/2004 Mystery Games Transcript If you and your family are into mysteries, especially on chilly late fall or winter evenings, you might want to look at some old and new games to add some quality family time to those evenings. While […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Creating-Play-Spaces-in-the-Woods.mp3 Author Linda Lamme Air Date 6/22/2004 Creating Play Spaces in the Woods Transcript Near my house is a woods that is rapidly becoming housing, but before they bulldoze the area, I went to visit a huge tree fort that was built a number of years ago high in an […]
We’re talking marbles, and I’ve been studying up on them again in a terrific little volume called The Klutz Book of Marbles.
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Sidewalk-Chalk.mp3 Author Julie Sinn Air Date 3/29/2004 Sidewalk Chalk Transcript When my friend Angela needed some free time to clean up her apartment, wash a few loads of laundry, or plan a surprise birthday party, I would round up her daughter Alex and a well-used bucket of sidewalk chalk for […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Mancala-Playing-an-Ancient-Game-in-the-Present.mp3 Author Julie Sinn Air Date 2/18/2004 Mancala Transcript I’ve always looked for different games to play with my friend Angela’s daughter, Alex. When Alex was six years old, her favorite was Mancala, an ancient Egyptian counting game for two players. Unlike Hi Ho Cherri-o or Candyland, Mancala challenges players […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Electronic-Toys.mp3 Author Koren Stembridge Air Date 1/15/2004 Electronic Toys Transcript Two and a half years ago, when our son J.J. was about 5 months old a well-meaning friend brought us an electronic “Kick and Play” as a gift. We loaded in the batteries, and placed our sweet son underneath the […]