Archiving, encouraging and inventing free play

• Main Author: Tiong, Jessie Michelle Xiang Yan
• Other Authors: Wang I-Hsuan Cindy
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Visual arts and music::Drawing, design and illustration
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/158696
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Free play is when children have full freedom to play in whatever way they want. Singaporean children in recent years (the 2020s) have fewer opportunities to engage in free play, resulting in the loss of the language of play and its benefits. This study aims to reinspire children to initiate and engage in free play. Specifically, through archiving the previous era of free play (the 2000s) and presenting to the children now. A key focus of this study was to appropriately capture the spirit of Singaporean children in their play. To archive the previous era of free play, free play games of the prior generation were recorded and analysed through surveys. These were then categorised by their various variables and factors and made into instructional visualisations. Workshops with children aged 4-8 were held to observe their reactions and responses to the free play games. Their unique responses and drawings informed the presentation of free play games throughout the project. The results from the archival practice and observations are documented in the form of an instructional activity book: The Playbook of Free Play.