Immersive play based learning and Endless creative opportunities

TEach what can't be taught

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Nudel Kart gives children the tools they need to thrive in the 21st Century such as social skills, creativity and problem solving.

The amount of unstructured (real) play that children are now engaging in has decreased over time and is having an impact on child development and their future potential. For example, the ability to engage with others and believe in themselves, to communicate, focus, imagine, cooperate, negotiate and to develop their own identity and self-belief (Grey, 2013). All of these skills are developed through play. Importantly, play is recognised as a ‘universal’ right by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Article 31 of the CRC states that all children have the right to, ‘rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the Arts’. (CRC, 2013) From its inception, Nüdel Kart was designed to support all of the above.

Play Based Learning

“Do not…keep children to their studies by compulsion but by play”
– Plato, Greek philosopher 427–347 BC

“Children must be the starting point. You cannot teach self directed learning. Through play children want to learn, and the Nüdel Kart enables children to learn in infinite ways.”
– Marcus Veerman, Founder and CEO

LET THEM PLAY: ALL CHILDREN NEED PLAY TO LEARN

play to thrive

Children have an unstoppable urge to explore, experiment, imagine and play. Play is fundamental to the healthy development and wellbeing of individuals and communities. It helps children to learn about the world around them and their place in it. When they are in a ‘play space’, they are engaged, curious and experimental. Play helps children to process what’s happening in their world.
(Lester, S. and Russell, W., 2010)

Play comes naturally

Play is a process that is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated. Children don’t need to be taught to pick up a stick and make it a magic wand or a walking stick or anything else.
(Real Play Coalition, 2018)

Unlocking Potential

When playing, children can be anyone or anything. They are problem solvers and problem posers. Play unlocks the imagination, stimulates and quenches curiosity and reveals talents. For those who have experienced trauma, they can relax, be safe and have fun while developing crucial life skills for the 21st century.
(World Economic Forum, 2018)

HOW IT CAN WORK WITH CURRICULUM

Some examples below of extension ideas using the Nüdel Kart

AN OBSTACLE COURSE

Age Group: 4-6 yr old
Subjects: Health and Physical Education
Extension Ideas: Play games outside that require children to go under and over objects. Explore songs such as ‘We’re Going on a Lion Hunt’ or books of the same theme such as ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’.

Be a Superhero

Age Group: 6-8 yr olds
Subjects: Humanities – Civics and citizenship
Extension Ideas: If you could do something to help others, what would you do? Record your ideas onto a digital device. Listen to everyone’s ideas and celebrate them.

BUILD A SHELTER

Age Group: 8-12 yr olds
Subjects: Civics and citizenship, Design and Technologies, Health and Physical Education
Extension Ideas: Inquiry into shelter and social justice. Discuss issues of relocation and the impact on wellbeing. Design a flat-pack disaster shelter that is weatherproof, can collect water and has a place for growing some food.

Loose Parts Play

Loose Parts is simply a name for stimulating materials that children can use to learn how the world works. Unlike “normal” playgrounds or most toys, loose parts are open ended and reusable in an infinite number of ways depending on the child’s needs for development.

It is precisely because of their open-endedness that loose parts engage the highest forms of thinking and interaction such as creativity, problem solving, social skills and emotional intelligence.

Loose parts play and Nüdel Kart support STEAM learning through authentic engagement in real world challenges.

They are also excellent for psycho-social support to children from traumatised and disadvantaged backgrounds and can be tailored to the various contexts that it is used in.