13 June 2016

Do You Make Time for Play?

This post was first published on my blog, Stories of an Unschooling Family: The Raw Files. I really loved the idea of having a behind-the-scenes place where I could play around with ideas and words. Unfortunately, I never found time to write on this blog. So I decided to import the Raw Files posts into this blog. I will just have to play around with words and ideas here on my main unschooling blog instead!


I was very excited when I created this blog. You might remember.  I said, “I’m going to play around with words and experiment with ideas,” as I explained why I needed yet another blog. I also said, “Who knows where these posts will lead? They might turn into blog posts or podcasts or videos.” But my recent posts haven’t turned into anything. It’s hard to turn nothing into something.

Perhaps I don’t need this blog. Maybe it was just one of those wild ideas which only  looked good as I hit the ‘create new blog’ button. Have I really got time to write here? Maybe I should delete this blog. I could say, “That was a mistake,” and move on quickly. Except I can’t. Because I do need it. Why? It’s all got to do with play.

I need to play. (We all do.) And I haven’t been playing. “I’ve got too many other things to do,” I say. But I could make time for play. I could make it a priority.

Sometimes we push play to the bottom of the pile. It comes after everything else. We work first, play later. But what happens if we never get to the end of the work? We’ll never play. And play is important. It relieves stress. It keeps life fun. It gives us the freedom to experiment without worrying about the result.

Unlike work, we don’t have to produce anything valuable from play. But many times play does lead to wonderful things. It can put a spark back into our work.

I haven’t written many blog posts recently, on my main unschooling blog, as well as here. I have loads of ideas and have tried many times to turn them into something worth reading. But despite a lot of effort, my words remain heavy and uninteresting. Have I forgotten how to write? Sometimes it seems that way but no. I think the problem is I’ve just forgotten to make time for play. So I’ve done something about that.

READ  Our Writing Unrules for Unschoolers

I’ve been reading books, taking photos, going for walks, drawing and painting faces and today, I even took out my long-neglected knitting. Yes, I’ve been playing. And I’ve been having fun. I’ve stopped worrying about my inability to write. I’m no longer searching my mind over and over again for a podcasting idea. I’m not asking, “What could I possibly make a video about?” I’m not thinking, “Maybe it’s time to stop sharing the unschooling message. There are loads of other people doing that.” (This is true.) “It’s time for me to move on.”

You see, perhaps I still have something worth saying. But I don’t necessarily have to say it today. I’ve stopped putting pressure on myself. The appropriate words will come when I’m ready. In the meantime, I’m playing because wonderful things happen when we play. I’m sure my mind will soon be filled with new and wonderful ideas. In fact, I think they may already be on their way. For a start, I might have an idea for a podcast.

Could I talk about play, how it’s essential, not only for children but for adults as well? I’ve already scribbled down a few notes. It might be a topic worth exploring. What do you think?

Well, it seems I have finally written a blog post. Maybe not a good one, but that doesn’t matter. This is the Raw Files. It’s my place for playing around with words and ideas. Something better may come out of this post. I’m hoping it will be a podcast. A podcast about the importance of play.

I wonder what you think about play. Do you encourage your kids to play? All day, if they want to? Do you play as well?

Blog post written. Podcast planned. I’m off to play.

Sue Elvis

I'm an Australian blogger, podcaster, and Youtuber. I write and speak about unschooling, parenting and family life. I'm also the author of the unschooling books 'Curious Unschoolers', 'Radical Unschool Love' and ‘The Unschool Challenge’. You'll find them on Amazon!

7 Comments

    • Nancy,

      Thank you! I'm so pleased you stopped by. It's lovely to know I can meet you here in my 'backroom' every now and then to mull over some thoughts. I wonder if you've been playing around with words recently?

  1. Yes! I've found if I don't leave time for myself to play, I don't have the creativity to home school the way I hope to!

    I really enjoy the Raw Files. Is the number at the top the time it took you to write the post? You must be a fast typist!

    • Wendy,

      You understand! Maybe a lot of people think play is an optional extra when in fact it's essential if we want to keep on creating and enjoying our work.

      I'm so glad you like reading the posts on this blog. I thought I was thinking out loud to myself, but I discover you and Nancy are listening! The numbers at the top of the post? I think that must have been the time I published this post. 15:37 Yes, I published it halfway through Sunday afternoon. Strange how there's a time and no date. I will have to look at my settings!

      Thank you so much for stopping by. I enjoyed your visit!

  2. Help! I've been away from reading blogs for a while, and when I came back to catch up, I'm locked out of yours! What happened? Is Stories of an Unschooling Family shut down? I started to sign up for the newsletter at one point but I missed the confirmation e mail… 🙁

    • Hi Wendy,

      I'm sorry I'm slow in replying to your comment. It's been a busy week. No, I haven't shut down my unschooling blog though I felt like doing that several times last week. I moved the blog from Blogger to WordPress. I thought this would be a quick and easy process. Oh my, I was wrong! It didn't take that long to transfer all my content, but all my posts arrived with their formatting in a mess. I've spent the last week trying to put back paragraphs, add missing videos, remove my email address from comments…. I've had to do this by changing the HTML which is a slow way to do things.

      I wanted to get all my posts sorted out before republishing my blog, but last night I decided that it might take me weeks to fix all the problems. So I've put my blog back online. Some posts are okay but others are hard to read. I guess I'll be spending lots of time reformatting again this week.

      The blog is at its usual address because I transferred my domain name with the content. It's lovely that you noticed it had gone. If you'd like to try signing up for the newsletter again I'll watch out for your name and make sure you receive the latest edition.

      I hope all is well with you. Thank you so much for stopping by to find out where I was.

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