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Date: 5/18/2007 12:56:00 PM
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Author:
Barbara Atkinson, managing Editor
(Batkinson@excelligence.com)
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Subject:How do you handle tumbly boys in your spaces?
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We have an article coming up in June on Gender Play and I'm interested in hearing *your* thoughts!
An excerpt:
"Set and enforce limits that keep children safe and reflect the values of your classroom, such as no wrestling or pretend gun play. But also recognize that some physical contact can be useful. Gurian contends that many boys nurture each other in ways that look aggressive, like bumping into each other, and that it’s important to allow that behavior in some way. Boys needs to learn to modulate their physical contact with each other and learn each other’s limits, but if there is a strict 'no touching' policy, they may not get the chance to do that."
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Date: 5/22/2007 6:07:00 AM
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Author:
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Subject:tumbly boys
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You can provide opportunity for the boys to tumble on mats etc, during gross motor time. As for wrestling and gun play, that is NOT allowed in my classroom. especially gun play. With all the guns being brought into schools I believe it is a good idea not to allow that kind of play they see it enough. We do have to help the boys with this kind of behavior or it does get out of hand. What are they learning by wrestling with each other.
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Date: 7/20/2007 12:00:00 PM
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Author:
Judy
(brunerjs@medt.com)
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Subject:rumbly boys
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What do you do to get it across that this rough play is not allowed? I have some boys that are just not getting this!!!
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Date: 8/3/2007 9:08:00 AM
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Author:
Rae Pica
(raepica@movingandlearning.com)
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Subject:Rough & tumble play
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Judy, to us adults, rough play signals aggression or danger. But to children -- especially boys -- rough and tumble play is a significant part of childhood. It's about testing themselves and feeling competent. If you enter "rough and tumble play" into your search engine, you'll find some interesting information about it!
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Date: 8/5/2007 9:15:00 PM
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Author:
Ziva Mann
(ziva.mann@gmail.com)
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Subject:what do they learn?
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Boys learn from rough play just as they learn table manners - they learn what is okay, what crosses the boundaries of acceptable, and what is plain fun. It's just that they're doing it with their bodies, rather than their words, which makes it hard for the watching adult to distinguish between fun and worrisome.
My approach is to let the boys wrestle, but to be near and to watch their faces. There's a tipping point during physical play, when one of the two (or more) children's face changes, showing that they're no longer having fun. That's the point when I get ready to step in, the no longer happy child will usually speak up, and if the boys don't respond I remind them to listen to their friend.
It's a method that demands a lot of my time and energy - I have to drop everything to do this - but the alternative seems to be to try and squash that energy. I suspect I'd just find the attempt frustrating, and so would the boys.
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Date: 8/3/2007 12:08:00 PM
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Author:
Lynell
(lsed214@aol.com)
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Subject:tumble bumbled kids
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Well I think when you have kids that have that kind of energy when you have little space to work with we all have to improvise some kind of way. Look up games that they can play together to use their minds to work along together not against each other. You can find a large puzzles on the floor that they can help each other out or even a small projects at the table that deals with pooring placing things in or even mixing colors in the water and see how it turns out. Those are my two cents for today. I hope things work out for you.
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Date: 8/3/2007 1:54:00 PM
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Author:
anonymous
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Subject:tumbly boys
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I watched a collegue set aside a corner of a large mat in the gym as a wrestling corner. She stood closely by and set rules with the children about "wrestling" with a partner. She was the mother of five boys and had plenty of experience with this type of activity. The goal was for one child to attempt to knock down his/her (yes, girls wanted to partake) partner. Pushing was only allowed from the neck to the waist. It worked wonderfully.
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Date: 8/3/2007 9:55:00 PM
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Author:
'saac's mama
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Subject:I quite agree with the last few posters ...
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I quite agree with the last few posters that wrestling can be a healthy, fun way for kids to play together. Experiencing their bodies, learning limits (yes, they will impose limits on themselves--watch two children of unequal size/ability wrestle and you will inevitably see the bigger/stronger/older one hold back and make sure the little one's OK), getting close to their friends are some of the good things little ones do with 'rough' play.
I'm mystified by the connection the first few posters made between wrestling and guns. One is a way to connect with friends and challenge your own body. The other is a way to disconnect, discharge hostility with no chance of a response or compromise (watch how upset little shooters get when their victims won't 'die'). Guns have no purpose other than killing (well, wounding to the point of incapacitation, I guess). Touching has all kinds of other positives.
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Date: 10/3/2007 11:50:00 AM
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Author:
Linda Arocho
(HappyHands12302@aol.com)
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Subject:Liability
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Sorry, but without a ring and all the proper gear (cups included) no child in my care will ever wrestle another child. It's just too much a liability. Let them wrestle with siblings, parents, or with anyone who isn't on my property. I can't imagine sending home the Incident Report that says Little Billy got a bloody nose today under supervised wrestling match. Becuase I'm sorry - no matter how well you watch a child, accidents happen. I don't believe in upping the odds of an accident.
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