informal play environment

Who: After School Program
Where: Saint Joseph School Playground
Ages: 4-7
Gender: 2 Female, 7 Male
Demographics:
Materials Provided: Playground balls and frisbees
Time Observed: 3:10-3:40

At first, 7 of the children were playing on the snowhills. One 4-year-old and one 7-year-old played with the balls provided.

After 10 minutes:
-Two 5-year-old boys were the only ones playing with the slides on the snowhill.
-All balls and frisbees were abandoned
-Two 4-year-old boys were simply climbing the hills
-6-year-old boy was playing with snow in a puddle
-The rest were playing on the blacktop

After 20 minutes:
-The same 5-year-old boys were still playing with the slides
-The rest of the children joined the 6-year-old playing in the puddle. They were picking up chunks of snow and dropping it in the puddle. They would watch the snow melt and then repeat the activity.