Does having fun matter? by Elizabeth Kennedy
It is a cold and miserable day, in the midst of a string of cold, wet, miserable days. So perhaps this is a good time to think why having fun might matter?. It can be easy to push fun down the to do list or not to place value in fun with so many pressures in life. However, should we be doing more to make sure we have fun day to day and should we be placing a higher value on fun in education?
What is fun?
The Oxford Dictionary defines fun as enjoyment, amusement, or light-hearted pleasure. Generally we think of fun as something we enjoy or which is entertaining. It can sometimes become interchangeable with play.
Why is fun important?
In my experience fun helps us to develop relationships with people – we feel more at ease when sharing a joke, or doing a fun activity with others. Doing something fun together gives us something we can easily talk about and enables us to learn more about each other and activities in an environment which is more relaxed and joyful.
Learning through play, fun or creative ways has been show to help improve memory and concentration. This could be partly because we are less stressed when we are enjoying what we are doing. Or maybe because when we are enjoying something we take more ownership of it and invest more into it.
In her book, Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning: Insights from a Neurologist and Classroom Teacher Judy Willis showed how fun experiences increase levels of dopamine, endorphins, and oxygen. These hormones are all important for successful learning.
Physical activities which are fun help to give a sense of release to pent up emotions and supports production of positive hormones. It seems to me that for people who need to move around regularly and often or learn better through multi-sensory discovery or take in information better when there is more than one input at a time, fun activities can be especially important to support learning.
Why does this matter for children’s education?
We learn through repetition, concentrating and interest and over time we build on what we have learnt before. This could be easier when a range of ways to access the information are offered and could be especially important if concentrating or doing one thing at a time is difficult. This is where fun and play can take such an important role.
For a child who doesn’t communicate easily, creating an environment which is relaxed, playful, creative and fun can enable the beginnings of communication where perhaps a more formal environment cannot.
How does Speech Bubbles support this?
Speech Bubbles sessions are fun, joyful and creative sessions which support children to learn communication skills through exploring physically, through using our imaginations and through fun.
Each week a safe space for 8-10 children at a time is created where ideas and emotions can be explored through fun, creative and physical activities.
““There has been a big change in H’s communication during her time in speech bubbles. She is more confident to speak up and share her ideas during the session. This has also been transferred into the classroom setting. H found it hard to read others expressions and emotions however due to the acting in the sessions this has changed and she will laugh out loud when she finds something funny for example.” ”
Having fun matters because we feel better for it. Fun is also a really important component to support children’s learning and development.