Expecting the Unexpected
At Madison Public Library, youth services librarians have embraced the importance of Play - especially child-led play - to build curiosity, skills, and the confidence needed to navigate the world. Children benefit from playing alone, with other children, and with the adults in their lives, but most importantly, playing is joyful!
Over the last few years, Madison Public Library has truly become a leading innovator in the intersection between libraries and child-led play including embracing the concept of Anji Play, an educational philosophy and approach created by Cheng Xueqin, in Anji County, China.
“Grounded in love, risk, joy, engagement, and reflection, AnjiPlay returns the right of True Play to every child.” True play is deep and uninterrupted engagement in the activity of one’s own choice. In Anji Play practices, educators serve almost entirely as observers.
By observing and recording play, by listening to the child’s reflection on their own experiences of play, and through reflection with peers and the community, the AnjiPlay educator constantly seeks a clearer understanding of the child, but also acknowledges that the child’s true abilities may remain unknown and uncertain. Through a commitment to discovering the true child in true play, AnjiPlay educators constantly learn and grow, and question their assumptions about children and education.
Learn more about Anji Play here.
One key component in True Play at the library, is to gently encourage adults to step back and observe, allowing the child to lead. To observe is to be amazed by your child, to learn about them, and to let them discover themselves.
This kind of observation is broad, open ended, and also extensive. And librarian Carissa Christner has been collecting observations for a long time. Her previous system? A running string of text messages on a shared chain with an Anji Play research partner.
But to be able to tell better stories, to recall Ah Ha moments of brilliance, unexpected uses of play materials, and realization moments from parents, she needed a better system.
Creating a more open-ended framework using the Anji Play principles allows for a way to organize, reflect and share the impacts of True Play, while still leaving space for the unexpected (it’s one of the most used tags!)