RIE Principle #3: Time for uninterrupted play
We embed RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers®) into our Preschool rhythm and Educational program. We believe that the more caregivers know about RIE, the better they will be able to connect with their children while creating and maintaining strong boundaries.
We dove into the first and second RIE principles of basic trust and environments. Now, we get to breakdown the third principle,
“Time for uninterrupted play.” (Resources for Infant Educarers®)
The RIE approach involves the following 7 basic principles:
- Basic trust in the child to be an initiator, an explorer, and a self-learner
- An environment for the child that is physically safe, cognitively challenging, and emotionally nurturing.
- Time for uninterrupted play.
- Infant – Infant Interaction – freedom to explore and interact with other infants.
- Involvement of the child in all care activities to allow the child to become an active participant rather than a passive recipient.
- Sensitive observation of the child in order to understand his or her needs.
- Consistency, clearly defined limits and expectations to develop discipline.
Our staff RIE Leader Rosie, shared the following reflection with our Educator team on this third principle:
“Our role is to give children plenty of time for uninterrupted play. Instead of trying to teach children new skills (from our own agenda) while they play and explore, we appreciate what children are actually doing and learning for themselves. While playing, children work through conflicts with objects, other children and adults. Play provides an outlet for curiosity, information about the physical world, and a safe way to deal with anxiety and social relationships. In the long run, play serves children’s inner needs, hopes and aspirations.
Of course there are times when you must interrupt play (diapering, meal times, rest times etc) and when this is the case, we can look at a child’s attention at play and decide when we can step in. The variations of attention at play are:
- Divided, scattered, free-floating attention: This happens when the child is preoccupied with something or expecting something (perhaps lunch time is approaching, or they are observing what other children around them are doing)
- Sustained attention: This is when a child carries on with an activity for a long time while letting themselves be interrupted by events, which they then either allow or don’t include in his actions (for example allowing a peer to join in, or noticing a ball rolling into their space and then using it in their play). Often this is a period where a child might reproduce a sequence in events or experience, which he has already mastered, where they can improve the precision of their movements.
- Focused attention: The child’s attention is concentrated, they seem to be discovering new facts and want to achieve something new. They are completely absorbed in their actions and their mental efforts are perceptible. They are experimenting, integrating new knowledge and organising new skills and abilities.
- Relaxation/rest: The child’s interactions with the world around them are mixed with states of relaxation or rest. They appear to be doing nothing, and are no longer paying attention to any one thing. Sometimes this can also look like moving just for the sake of moving.
The less we interrupt, the more easily children develop a long attention span. If children are well cared for, if they can do what they happen to be interested in at that time, and if nobody interrupts them, they have much longer attention spans than we give them credit for. Children who have learned to rely on being stimulated, manipulated and entertained by adults may lose their capacities to be absorbed in independent, exploratory activities.
Jean Piaget said it beautifully,
“When you teach a child something, you take away forever his chance of discovering it for himself” – Jean Piaget
And as Magda said,
“Do less, observe more, enjoy most” – Magda Gerber
“We all have this very well-meaning desire to be as helpful to infants as we possibly can, but if we help too much, then they don’t get the joy and excitement of discovery. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget was famous for saying, “whenever you teach a child something, you forever destroy her opportunity to discover it for herself.” So we want them to have those moments of, “I did this! I discovered this!”
You may think they’re doing nothing, but they’re having an internal experience…
Just imagine if you were writing an email to a work colleague and you were trying to word it just right, and somebody came up and just started talking to you at random while you were really thinking, what word is the best word to use here?… You would not appreciate that – it’s okay to talk to babies when they’re playing. If they look at you and ask for a comment, that’s one thing, but to interrupt without an invitation is not the same. So observing them while they play and letting them know how much we value what they’re doing by allowing them to do it in a peaceful, unhurried way, that’s how we can really help them.”
- Create optimal conditions: “in which infants and toddlers can explore, experiment, mess around, test hypotheses, and learn by trial and error, not by actively “teaching” (Hammond, 2019). This goes back to our post on the RIE principle around creating an optimal learning environment.
- Sensitively observe, but do not interject/interrupt: This intersects with the 6th RIE principle of sensitive observation. As Hammond states, “observing quietly while very young children pursue their interests builds attachment. When they look up and see that you are there and paying attention, they feel securely held in your awareness. You are not doing nothing after all. You are showing your love by allowing them to unfold in their own way and in their own time.”
- Allow ample time for play: Avoid over-scheduling your child or only offering brief moments for play. If you have had anxiety around large blocks of unscheduled time for your child, this may take practice – start with 30-45 minutes and gradually increase. Maria Montessori recommends a 3 hour ‘work cycle’ as optimal for learning – note that Montessori practitioners use the term “work” when they are discussing the child’s free play time (American Montessori Society). Notice points of the day that are well suited to uninterrupted play – or if it is happening, try to avoid interrupting or consider modifying your schedule to allow more opportunities for your child to learn in this beneficial way.
- Reduce screen time and avoid loud music – opt for calm / instrumental / classical music and avoid screen time if not necessary (for example, turn off the TV if it’s playing in the background) to set the stage for their uninterrupted play time and allow for their focused concentration on the play at hand.
- Get outside! Those ‘3 hours’ that Maria Montessori suggests may seem daunting, but becomes easy when you’re outside at a park, the beach, by the lake, a playground or any nature reserve. Remember to NOT join in on the playground equipment or start digging a hole at the beach, but park yourself on a mat an appropriate distance away, where your child knows you are watching and supporting them from a ‘home base’.
Thank you for reading and look out for our next blog on the fourth principle, “Infant – Infant Interaction – freedom to explore and interact with other infants” – which we will extend upon to include the social interaction between older children.
Sources:
- Educaring® Approach – Resources for Infant Educarers®. (2022, December 5). Resources for Infant Educarers® -. https://rie.org/educaring-approach/
- Gerber, M. (2022, July 26). Magda Gerber’s Basic RIE Principles. Magda Gerber Legacy. https://magdagerber.org/magdas-writings/magda-gerbers-basic-rie-basic-principles
- RIE Basic Principles. https://rie.org/educaring/rie-basic-principles/
- https://ruthannehammond.com/2019/11/25/rie-101-1-trust-play-observation/
- https://amshq.org/Educators/Membership/Member-Resources/The-Montessori-Uninterrupted-Work-Period
- https://www.janetlansbury.com/2016/03/3-rie-parenting-basics/