As a kid, I spent many hours on my bike exploring and playing in our suburb. Looking back, I’m not sure if it was survival for my mum as she raised my four sisters and I, or an intentional decision to get me out of the house and playing in the great outdoors. I suspect a little of both. I loved it.

I remember one of my friends got a fancy model aeroplane for his birthday with every detail imaginable from engines to armoury, cockpit to landing gear. It captured my imagination. I asked my mum if I could have one and she said we couldn’t afford it, but that there were boxes, sticky tape, string, and craft things in the shed. I went to work and built my own that I could tie to the clothesline and spin, and depending on how I set the wing flaps, it would fly up, down or level. I spent hours doing that over days and weeks.

The undirected play was a special time for me. I don’t know about you, but I think we are having to work harder in our current social climate to make time for our kids to play. We have all sorts of activities planned for our kids, and along with the demands of schooling and family, playtime is often diminished and pushed aside. Opportunities for play are something we are trying really hard to integrate into our grounds and program at school. Below is an article offering some insights and practical suggestions on how we can focus on helping our children play.

“For anyone driving around their neighbourhoods after school or during the holidays, it might seem as though playtime has vanished from our children’s lives. Many parents and grandparents nostalgically recall games of cricket on the street with all the neighbourhood kids or fighting for space on the monkey bars on the local playground. But now the playgrounds regularly stand mostly empty, the streets devoid of children. We have clearly moved past the golden age of outdoor play of the 1960s. But is play time dead?

Maybe not.

Data shows that many parents no longer feel comfortable letting their kids play outside unsupervised, but this doesn’t mean that children aren’t playing at all. It’s just that play has undergone a shift.

Humans are naturally drawn to play. It’s a vital part of our human experience. Play time begins at birth when babies play with their hands and feet and discover how their bodies work. From there they move through solitary play at 2 years, and then begin playing with other children at around 4 years old. Much play in the early years is not about bonding. In fact, it often occurs with limited interaction – and it’s known as parallel play. As children grow older, play may look less like a game of superheroes, and more like playing board games or video games. It may look like trying out new tricks on a skateboard, strumming a guitar, or experimenting with new painting techniques. Even as adults, we may say that we’re “playing around with the data”, or “toying with an idea”. Play is simply defined as any activity that is intrinsically motivated and done for enjoyment. Many things fall under the umbrella of play.

So maybe play time isn’t dead. But the kinds of play that we associate with childhood are in decline.

While it is hard to quantify how much play has declined over the last few decades, 85% of mothers agree with the statement that their children play outside less than they themselves did as children. And in the 15 years leading up to 1997, the time children spent playing decreased by 25%. While we don’t know how much it has decreased since then, we do know that opportunities for play are shrinking.

Many kids go to school for 6 hours a day, then spend their afternoons and evenings bouncing around various highly structured (and often expensive) extra-curricular activities. While we may enrol our children in these activities with the best of intentions, they are being told what to do and how to do it for large parts of each and every day. They’re missing out on engaging in intrinsically motivated activities that are done just for enjoyment. Even if they enjoy these activities, competition and excellence often supplant connection and mastery as the reason for the activity.

Why does this matter?

Over the same period that opportunities for free play have declined, we’ve seen a corresponding increase in childhood and adolescent psychopathology. Children today are more anxious, more depressed, and more narcissistic than they were 50 years ago.

While we can’t say conclusively that decreased play has caused this increase in mental health challenges in our children, we do know that play time encourages children to develop their interests, practice making decisions and solving problems, learn to regulate their emotions, assess and respond to risk, develop socially, and most importantly, facilitates access to joy. All of which contribute to good mental health and wellbeing.

So how can we encourage our kids to play more? Here are three goals for what you can aim for:

1. Have one moment of roughhousing/physical play each day

Roughhousing not only helps kids to be physically active (and builds strength), it also encourages emotional intelligence, boosts confidence, and teaches boundaries. For pre-schoolers, you might play a game of airplane and fly them around the room. With your school-aged kids, you might engage them in a game of wrestling (make sure you lose spectacularly, your kids will think it’s hilarious!). And with your teens you could challenge them to a game of touch rugby. The idea is to get the heart rate up and get them laughing.

2. Allow at least 45 minutes of uninterrupted free play each day

You might have noticed that when your kids enter a new space, they are often quietly exploring at the start, and then arguments start to break out. Ignore your instinct to intervene. If you allow them to argue, just for a bit, you’ll notice that they’re trying to define the rules for play. Soon enough they’ll be happily playing together and will have learnt about cooperation and compromise along the way. To enable these 45 minutes of free play, leave out some open-ended toys for your pre-schooler to find, re-think enrolling your school kid in an afternoon activity to give them more free time in the afternoon so they can ride to a friend’s place or the skate park, and encourage your teen to have at least one homework free night a week so they can hang out with real people.

3. Spend two hours outside daily

While this may seem like a huge challenge, over 80% of teens and 60% of kids exceed the screen time recommendation of two hours per day. If we could replace that time (or at least some of it) with outdoor time, they will be reaping huge intellectual, social, physical, and emotional benefits. Nature is fuel for the soul, and it provides a platform for relationship building and physical activity.

In closing

While these goals may seem lofty and unattainable, remember that “If you’re trying and failing, you’re still getting one step closer to success than if you’re doing nothing.” (Jeanette Coron). Any play time is better than none at all.” (Coulson, 2022)

Justin Coulson expands on his thoughts in this video if you would like to know more. https://vimeo.com/729851191/b6b4811ce7

Have a great week playing with your kids,

Mark B

Hi PPN Family,

We have been having a great time with our WOW (Week of Worship) Week so far with our guest speaker Pastor Will Moala. The theme this year is “Charged,” and the main idea is that Jesus charges us with his love (2 Corinthians 5:14) so that we are able to serve God and bless others.

Serving others can be hard at times, and it can also be very draining. Whether it is parents serving their children, or husbands and wives serving their spouses or partners, or teachers and school staff serving their students, when we are in the business of giving to others, it is absolutely crucial that we are also receiving.

This is why it is so important for us to spend time each day to reflect on the amazing love that God has for all of us. As God fills our hearts with his love, joy and peace, it will then overflow on to the people around us.

If you have been feeling a little bit flat lately, maybe it’s time to let Jesus recharge your heart.

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai

According to Aristotle, if you enjoy being alone you could either be a wild beast, or a god.

I think the ancient philosopher is on to something. What about you?

Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. - Aristotle

People make (some) people happy

Research psychologists have found that people who socialize more tend to be happier. This makes complete sense – relationships, friendships, connections and spending time with people we actually like add a joy to life that is difficult to replicate, even for the introverts amongst us.

Except, when it doesn’t. And perhaps, this was Aristotle’s point.

For one group of people, socializing with friends doesn’t increase the level of satisfaction and joy in your life at all. In fact, it can have the exact opposite effect.

Who are these people? Are they beasts, or gods?

Well, according to researchers they could be either. Whatever end of the beast/god spectrum these people sat, the common denominator was that they were all highly intelligent.

As they followed people between 18 and 28 years, researchers found that the more most people socialized, the happier they were. But not the people who were highly intelligent: the more these clever people socialized, the less happiness they experienced.

These findings kind of explain the bookish-academic and lone-wolf super-villain stereotypes – but it goes further than that.

In fact, there’s something all of us can learn.

With more of us working from home than ever, it’s become vital to recognise and capitalize on the power of solitude. In fact, when you have work to do, a task to complete or a passion to follow the ability to focus and exist in solitude is an advantage – whether you’re especially bright or not.

Successful solitude

The title of this piece comes from the Bible account of creation  – when God first created man, Adam, before creating his companion, Eve saying, ‘It is not good for man to be alone.’ (You can read the full account in the book of Genesis)

I don’t think it was God’s intention to suggest that we should never be alone, or that solitude is innately problematic.

Successful solitude is about creating a state of mind, or a space, in which we can focus our thoughts without distraction, and let the mind work through a problems on its own.

The sheer volume of communication, and 24/7 access to information and other people that defines modern life has made this more difficult than ever. In our hyper-distracted world being alone might just be what we all need.

When we are alone we allow ourselves to focus on what really matters, and in doing so discover the purpose and joy that life was designed for. Jedi Master Qui-Gonn Jinn got it right when he instructs young Anakin Skywalker, ‘Always remember: Your focus determines your destiny.’

5 Tips for staying focused

Mike Erwin, president of The Positivity Project and author of Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude provides some practical suggestions to stay focused and create powerful solitude in your life.

1. Build solitude into your schedule – Treat alone time as you would any meeting or appointment. If you don’t something else will fill the gaps. 15 minute pockets of solitude will leave mental space for your mind to do that hard thinking that is essential to good decision making.
2. Analyze where your time is best spent – Not everything that comes onto your schedule is vital. Prioritize time to reflect, avoid activities that under-utilized your energy and be rigorous about your priorities.
3. Starve your distractions – With the weight of the internet hanging over our heads its easy to fall into the dark hole that is ‘just one more click’. Acknowledge the way the internet lures you in and proactively log out of social media accounts and block certain websites during work hours or other time you have chosen to embrace solitude.
4. Learn how to be less busy – We fill our schedules with commitments, often prioritizing urgent tasks over important ones. Don’t let the pace of life get in the way of good opportunities to improve it through reading, listening and learning from others.
5. Create a ‘stop doing’ list – Time is limited, but your to-do list often seems never ending. Solitude gives you the space to reflect on where your time is best spent. Ask yourself, ‘What do I need to stop doing or say no to?’

Learn more about these tips at - https://hbr.org/2017/10/in-a-distracted-world-solitude-is-a-competitive-advantage

Casual Day Friday September 30

On the last day of each term, students may come to school in casual clothes only if they bring a gold coin donation. Please note that students need to remember as they choose which clothes they would like to wear for casual day that they need to dress appropriately. Their clothes should cover their bodies in the same way that their uniform does and their shoes should be appropriate for running and playing.

The money raised this way is allocated to either a sister school project or to the sponsorship of a student through Asian Aid.

This term’s funds will be set aside for Asian Aid.

We are currently sponsoring Sumit Boarder who has completed Year 12 this year and would like to go on with further studies, as well as Josan who is a new sponsor child for us. Josan is 5 years old and lives in Bangladesh.

We appreciate your continuing support of these precious students. If your family might like to sponsor your own child why not check out the Asian Aid website.

We also have a sponsorship container in the office, so if you have that extra change in your pocket, why not consider dropping it into that container.

Notification of Enrollment Changes

Please note that the school requires a terms notice when a family is leaving the school or a terms fees will apply.

Child Starting School in 2024

Will your child be starting school in 2024? Places are filling fast, enroll now to secure your child's future at Prescott Primary Northern.

Daily Health Check

Do's & Dont's of Dropping Your Kids to School

Each year, Prescott College has an end-of-year Fair. It's always a great day of frollicking in the sunshine; great tunes, food, and amusements. 

Have You Met The Team At My OSHC?

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Surf Lifesaving Club - Nippers

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