Affordances continued

Ethically in playing a game of memory many good and bad aspects that either are a burden or a joy to me are highlighted.  The good: taking time out of a busy day is calming, relaxing and is a good stress release for me.  Also, the enhancing and developing friendships, sense of achievement, and enjoyment of interacting with my daughter; brings me joy.  The bad: having limited time in a day to play, loosing, and having not memorised where the cards were is a burden to me. 

Linking with memories and history

Discussed within Huizinga’s (1949) study of play in culture, Huizinga (1949) found that play was an active process throughout cultures, and an important product of social formation.  As I have mentioned in an earlier blog posting, I have very fond memories of playing cards with my family when I was younger. Cards were a way of bringing us together as a family, and spending time with each other. My dad growing up played cards with his sister and father.  I now come to realise how the history and memories of growing up for my dad was transferred onto me, and now I have done the same with my daughter. 

Practical considerations

What do you need to do this activity? A deck of cards is needed to play a game of memory.  Physically, the use of hands or sight is useful in a game of memory. Sight as you need to be able to see the cards on the floor to memorise what is where.  Hands, to be used to turn the cards over; although not essential as you could verbalise your moves with the help of others to turn your cards over.  Environmentally, you need space to spread the playing cards out.

References

Huizinga, J. (1949). Homo ludens: a study of the play element in culture. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (Original work published 1944.).
 
Santrock, J. (1998). Child development (8th ed.). United States of America: McGraw – Hill Companies