Tag Archives: adventure

Wild swimming, rope swinging heaven

Posted on July 3, 2012 | 14 comments

I hereby invite you to stop whatever it is that you’re doing, and enjoy 2’46” of pure, unadulterated fun. Here is a video of a group of teenage boys making the most of a forest lakeside spot in New South Wales.

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Posted in Nature, Outdoor play, Risk

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More ordinary magic

Posted on May 30, 2012 | 5 comments

Cyril sitting on a benchThis image is from an exhibition of photographs taken by children who attend C & K Kindergartens. It was on display at C & K’s annual conference in Brisbane last weekend. Here is what first Jake, then his parent, say about the photo.

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Posted in Child development, Risk

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Celebrating ordinary magic and everyday adventures

Posted on April 26, 2012 | 11 comments
'Witness Board' by Jane Millar

'Witness Board', Jane Millar

If we reflect on how we think about risk in our day-to-day lives, many would agree that we tend to focus too much on the negatives – the what ifs, the worst case scenarios, the horror stories – and not enough on the positives. We know that nothing grabs our attention quite like fear. (So does the media, of course.) This bias makes it very hard for us to take a balanced approach to risk. Here’s one reason why.

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Posted in Risk

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When did you last go to the edge of your comfort zone?

Posted on March 21, 2012 | 11 comments

Last week on Facebook, a friend posted a link to this youtube clip, of a nine- or ten-year-old girl doing her first proper ski jump. The clip, filmed from her point of view, is remarkable to watch.

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Posted in Child development, Education, Learning, Risk

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Who says kids don’t play in creeks and build dens any more?

Posted on January 17, 2012 | 7 comments

Of course some still do. Take the group of boys from Raleigh, North Carolina captured in this slide show.

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Posted in Nature, Outdoor play, Parenting, Risk

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A parent lets her kid go to the skatepark – and I’m proud

Posted on October 19, 2011 | 8 comments
Skaters in a skate park

Photo by Phil Doyle

This afternoon I spoke at an event called ‘Taking Play Seriously’ in Melbourne, with a mixed audience of professionals, volunteers and parents. It followed my talk last week here at the Playgroup Australia conference. In the Q & A afterwards, one attendee – a local government employee and mother of three – told the audience how she had heard me speak last Thursday. Then two days later, her 10-year-old son had asked her if he could go to the local skatepark on his own.

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Posted in Outdoor play, Parenting, Risk

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