Scan barcode
craftygoat's review against another edition
3.0
I'd read an article some time back about Hanegi Playpark (probably The Atlantic's excerpt of this book, though I didn't realize it at the time), and I was intrigued. So despite my general dislike of memoir-style books, I requested this from the library. The parts about "Savage Park" are interesting, and I felt that Fusselman had some nice musings on play. Her resources section seems extensive, and I intend to look into some of those sources for more in-depth material on adventure playgrounds. But I was so-so on the rest. The stream-of-consciousness style, jumping around in space and time, seemed unnecessary. Maybe I just didn't "get it," but the part about "space" seemed to be a topic for a different book. She focused on herself, her friend, and the play facilitator, and I suppose that's one perspective. But what about the people playing at the park? What were they doing, experiencing, learning...?
My fave parts:
"And yet, bulldozing a space, padding and disinfecting it, and then congratulating ourselves on how we can sit back with our handhelds and leave our babies and children alone to "explore" is just one approach. It has its drawback, however, including the fact that babies and children, who quickly become young adults, do not learn how to take risks in space, something that ultimately makes then less safe in space, not more. Allowing babies, children and young adults to spend as much time as possible with the lowest level of interference in the highest-quality environment we can provide for them -- that is, an environment that we have not engineered ourselves and do not completely control, an environment we don't fully understand, an environment that includes devils and angels and accidents and trees and swings and lunch -- this is another approach. It also has drawbacks, the major ones being the pain of our own uncertainty and vulnerability, the process of making peace with the unknown, and the requirement that a non interfering adult Be Here Now." (p.86)
"To play, you do not need a particular object or game or even a playground; you need only an assent, a grateful and glad yes. Granting this yes, to and for ourselves, in every environment, even awful ones, is one of the most liberating things humans can do." (p. 96)
It was a quick read, a good start-of-summer reminder about the importance of unstructured & empowering creative play, and a nice jumping off point for more in-depth resources, so it wasn't a waste of time. I'd just hoped for more substance.
My fave parts:
"And yet, bulldozing a space, padding and disinfecting it, and then congratulating ourselves on how we can sit back with our handhelds and leave our babies and children alone to "explore" is just one approach. It has its drawback, however, including the fact that babies and children, who quickly become young adults, do not learn how to take risks in space, something that ultimately makes then less safe in space, not more. Allowing babies, children and young adults to spend as much time as possible with the lowest level of interference in the highest-quality environment we can provide for them -- that is, an environment that we have not engineered ourselves and do not completely control, an environment we don't fully understand, an environment that includes devils and angels and accidents and trees and swings and lunch -- this is another approach. It also has drawbacks, the major ones being the pain of our own uncertainty and vulnerability, the process of making peace with the unknown, and the requirement that a non interfering adult Be Here Now." (p.86)
"To play, you do not need a particular object or game or even a playground; you need only an assent, a grateful and glad yes. Granting this yes, to and for ourselves, in every environment, even awful ones, is one of the most liberating things humans can do." (p. 96)
It was a quick read, a good start-of-summer reminder about the importance of unstructured & empowering creative play, and a nice jumping off point for more in-depth resources, so it wasn't a waste of time. I'd just hoped for more substance.
lauraross's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to love this book, but I'm not sure I ever fully understood the points the author was trying to make about space and objects. It's a very unusual book- I suppose I should have focused more on the "A Meditation" part of the title. I read this because it was referenced in "Ordinary Insanity" (one of my favorites!) and I thought it was going to be a more straightforward look at the American fear of death through the lens of Savage Park. Her meditations on death are definitely beautiful at times, but I still found myself struggling to see the bigger picture quite often. Nevertheless, I still recommend giving this book a read if the topic interests you.
coffeechug's review against another edition
I needed to step away from reading books on education and productivity. With my latest batch of books from the library(currently have 56 checked out) I read Savage Park by Amy Fusselman. I read it without checking out the back cover or trying to remember why I checked it out in the first place. I just dove in.
I am glad I did because the book was a departure from my usual readings. This book is part journal/memoir with a dash of manifesto on play, combined with storytelling, and ideas on importance of space, play, finding ourselves, and more. I don’t really know how to describe it any other way.
What really connected me to this book is that ironically while I was reading about the ideas in the book my son and neighborhood kids took on the task of building a tree fort. As much as I wanted to say no, tell them to be safe, no tools, don’t climb too high, and all the other adult limitations set upon kids today I chose not to. I kept to the integrity of what I was reading in the book to see how things played out. I never gave advice, I did not tell them no(when I wanted to so many times), and just let them figure things out. I was so impressed that after about 30 hours of work they had assembled a fort that they could call their own with some impressive troubleshooting ideas.
IMG_2724 IMG_2725 IMG_2726 IMG_2727 IMG_2728 IMG_2729
Going back to the book I had to write down some passages that just really hit home.
“Why do we ever stop saying “Hi!” to everything? How is the understanding that the entire world is worthy of conscious consideration ever lost?”
This quote really resonates with me. My three year old will talk to anyone and anything. She does not care and is always so happy. I have written before on that it drives me nuts when you say good morning or hello to someone in the hallway and they walk by and don’t say anything back. How can you look at someone, recognize they are talking to you and not respond? It drives me crazy.
Another passage that really smacked me in the face was the idea of distraction. In the book the author discusses the sad situation of the labels and warnings needed for bathing infants in bathtubs and story of a mother who believed that a bath seat would protect her baby in the water while she was distracted.
“…a parent can become distracted, and a child should not have to pay with her or his life as a result.”
I am reminded of myself and how easily I get distracted. The anxiety I feel when I don’t get all these things done that I think are essential. When I calm my brain down and really process what is important in life I laugh. This blog is not essential. My nerdy videos are not essential, social media is not essential, yet I often am distracted by these thoughts in my daily life or when I should be playing with my kids more.
PLAY
My topic of love. I blog about play. I have a Play and Tinkering G+ group. I am fascinated by play and continue to push for more play in schools. The book opened up my eyes to so many things. If we take a US focus, play is often described as an activity. The book references Roger Caillois when he says something that I LOVE! “The structure sof play and reality are often identical, but the respective activities that they subsume are not reducible to each other in time or place.” Basically, play is a reality twin of reality!
How powerful is that statement? Yet it is perfect.
“Play is not something that we do; it is something that we are.” This statement is something that we forget as adults. We try to schedule “play dates” or “play time” or we have now moved to an oversaturated society where everything is scheduled with perfectly created uniforms, schedules, rules, and adults involved at every nook and cranny. We have basically eliminated play from the lifestyles of children.
The book continues to take a look at how every playground in America is the same due to all the rules and restrictions. When compared to the Hanegi Playpark where kids just make with tools and scraps found laying around it is quite sad. As Susan Solomon states in her book American Playgrounds, “Existing American playgrounds are a disaster.”
Finally, I love this final quote worth sharing
“To play, you do not need a particular object or game or even a playground, you need only an assent, a grateful and glad yes.”
Kids need space. They need to be able to leave the reality of worksheets, sitting in desks all day, being forcefed useless knowledge and information and given time to explore, to learn, to grow in their own terms. We need adults to step back and give them the space needed to find themselves. I am not suggesting we let them be all the time and ignore them, but how often do we let them find their own path? We allow them to be distracted with devices and video games just as we do ourselves, but that is not what we are talking about.
If I can go back to my son. I wanted to intervene. But for three days my son did not touch his iPad. He is an iPad junkie and I partly to blame for allowing it to happen. He will waste a day away if I let him. For three days he spent 10-12 hours each day in this fort building, fixing, learning how to use tools, and just playing. It was wonderful.
IMG_2730
I would encourage you to read this book. If nothing else it tells a remarkable story of people who grapple with space, family, friends, growing up, and most important what it means to be human. At a deeper level I hope you rethink your ideas on play.
Last, next time kids want to play please give them the space to do so and maybe they will create their own fort or something even better.
I am glad I did because the book was a departure from my usual readings. This book is part journal/memoir with a dash of manifesto on play, combined with storytelling, and ideas on importance of space, play, finding ourselves, and more. I don’t really know how to describe it any other way.
What really connected me to this book is that ironically while I was reading about the ideas in the book my son and neighborhood kids took on the task of building a tree fort. As much as I wanted to say no, tell them to be safe, no tools, don’t climb too high, and all the other adult limitations set upon kids today I chose not to. I kept to the integrity of what I was reading in the book to see how things played out. I never gave advice, I did not tell them no(when I wanted to so many times), and just let them figure things out. I was so impressed that after about 30 hours of work they had assembled a fort that they could call their own with some impressive troubleshooting ideas.
IMG_2724 IMG_2725 IMG_2726 IMG_2727 IMG_2728 IMG_2729
Going back to the book I had to write down some passages that just really hit home.
“Why do we ever stop saying “Hi!” to everything? How is the understanding that the entire world is worthy of conscious consideration ever lost?”
This quote really resonates with me. My three year old will talk to anyone and anything. She does not care and is always so happy. I have written before on that it drives me nuts when you say good morning or hello to someone in the hallway and they walk by and don’t say anything back. How can you look at someone, recognize they are talking to you and not respond? It drives me crazy.
Another passage that really smacked me in the face was the idea of distraction. In the book the author discusses the sad situation of the labels and warnings needed for bathing infants in bathtubs and story of a mother who believed that a bath seat would protect her baby in the water while she was distracted.
“…a parent can become distracted, and a child should not have to pay with her or his life as a result.”
I am reminded of myself and how easily I get distracted. The anxiety I feel when I don’t get all these things done that I think are essential. When I calm my brain down and really process what is important in life I laugh. This blog is not essential. My nerdy videos are not essential, social media is not essential, yet I often am distracted by these thoughts in my daily life or when I should be playing with my kids more.
PLAY
My topic of love. I blog about play. I have a Play and Tinkering G+ group. I am fascinated by play and continue to push for more play in schools. The book opened up my eyes to so many things. If we take a US focus, play is often described as an activity. The book references Roger Caillois when he says something that I LOVE! “The structure sof play and reality are often identical, but the respective activities that they subsume are not reducible to each other in time or place.” Basically, play is a reality twin of reality!
How powerful is that statement? Yet it is perfect.
“Play is not something that we do; it is something that we are.” This statement is something that we forget as adults. We try to schedule “play dates” or “play time” or we have now moved to an oversaturated society where everything is scheduled with perfectly created uniforms, schedules, rules, and adults involved at every nook and cranny. We have basically eliminated play from the lifestyles of children.
The book continues to take a look at how every playground in America is the same due to all the rules and restrictions. When compared to the Hanegi Playpark where kids just make with tools and scraps found laying around it is quite sad. As Susan Solomon states in her book American Playgrounds, “Existing American playgrounds are a disaster.”
Finally, I love this final quote worth sharing
“To play, you do not need a particular object or game or even a playground, you need only an assent, a grateful and glad yes.”
Kids need space. They need to be able to leave the reality of worksheets, sitting in desks all day, being forcefed useless knowledge and information and given time to explore, to learn, to grow in their own terms. We need adults to step back and give them the space needed to find themselves. I am not suggesting we let them be all the time and ignore them, but how often do we let them find their own path? We allow them to be distracted with devices and video games just as we do ourselves, but that is not what we are talking about.
If I can go back to my son. I wanted to intervene. But for three days my son did not touch his iPad. He is an iPad junkie and I partly to blame for allowing it to happen. He will waste a day away if I let him. For three days he spent 10-12 hours each day in this fort building, fixing, learning how to use tools, and just playing. It was wonderful.
IMG_2730
I would encourage you to read this book. If nothing else it tells a remarkable story of people who grapple with space, family, friends, growing up, and most important what it means to be human. At a deeper level I hope you rethink your ideas on play.
Last, next time kids want to play please give them the space to do so and maybe they will create their own fort or something even better.
lauren_endnotes's review against another edition
3.0
There's a great idea here - but it needed honing.
I was right there with Fusselman in Part I as she visited Tokyo, waxed on space, play, and fear... but then she kind of lost me when part II unrolled.
I was right there with Fusselman in Part I as she visited Tokyo, waxed on space, play, and fear... but then she kind of lost me when part II unrolled.
alicenl's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
melissa_lound's review
4.0
I went into this thinking it was going to be along the lines of that Atlantic article a few years back, about the adventure playgrounds. It sort of is...but really I guess it's not. At first I was sort of disappointed: she almost glosses over the parts about the Japanese playground and the wild, dangerous adventure it represents. She and her family visit and accept the playground in an almost anticlimactic fashion. I expected a treatise on how American parents over-shelter their kids, and how revelatory the experience of visiting the adventure playground was for her, but really the playground was just a jumping off point for a very lovely examination of play, and how mindlessly yet anxiously we move through most of our days. I really enjoyed Amy Fusselman's other books, and her writing and persona here are no less winning. Overall, once I moved past my own assumptions about this book, I found it to be a very enjoyable and thoughtful read.
ginabeirne's review
4.0
Very interesting. The concept of a "savage park" would never fly in the U.S. because of liability issues, etc. Interesting to see that the Ithaca Children's Garden and its Hands-on-Nature Anarchy Zone (love that name!) just up the road from my city is listed in the resources in the back of the book.
More...