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Findings stress the dynamic value of child-initiated outdoor play for communication and movement skills, while highlighting complex conditions that enable and extend children’s play. The discussion links results to play theory and policy tensions in institutionalized leisure.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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three themes describe children’s physically active outdoor play in after-school programs?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study identifies three themes: “playing with friends,” “no one decides,” and “I can do it.” These reflect how children experience play in the program context.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why do the authors consider child initiation important in after-school outdoor play?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The findings highlight the dynamic importance of play—particularly child initiation and peer play—because it fosters fun, playful interaction, and supports communication and movement capabilities.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How do educators’ beliefs and curriculum tensions affect play in early childhood education?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The text notes that, despite play’s intrinsic value, tensions persist because educators may believe children should develop cognitive, social, and motor skills through play, creating debate over teacher-led versus free play.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},591938,1792211002,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & 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Physically Active Play in After-School Programs  \n•  \nSiv Lund, Kirsti Riiser, and Knut Løndal  \nThe authors investigated the outdoor physical play of Norwegian first gradersin after-school programs using a study that viewed play from the children’s perspective. The authors identified three themes ofthe physically active play they observed—“playing with friends,” “no one decides,” and “I can do it.”  \nTheir findings highlight the dynamic importance of such play, especially of child initiation in play and of playing with other children. The physical outdoor play fostered fun and playful interaction, leading both to improved communication and movement capabilities. The authors discuss their findings in relation to Scott Eberle’s theoretical understanding of play, findings that indicate the complex conditions that support and extend children’s play in after-school programs and the need to recognize them. Key words: after school programs; child’s perspective; physically active play; outdoor play  \nIntroduction  \nAccording to the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (2021), children should have the time and the opportunity to participate in outdoor play daily while attending Norwegian after-school programs (ASPs) . The Norwegian national framework for ASPs claims that play engages and inspires children and contributes to their holistic development and learning. The framework emphasizes that activities in ASPs should take the perspective of children and highlights play as a central aspect of this plan.  \nPellegrini and Smith (1998) point out that children’s play often has a vigorous physical component and that children’s physical activity can often be seen as playful. They note that physically active play “may be social or solitary, but the distinguishing behavior features are a playful context, combined with moderate to vigorous physical activity, such that metabolic activity is well above resting  \n35  \nAmerican Journal of Play, volume 15, number 1 © 2023 The Strong Contact Siv Lund at [sivlu@oslomet.no](sivlu@oslomet.no)  \nmetabolic rate” (577) . According to Smith (2009), physical play is relatively neglected by educators. Although play is generally valued in early childhood education, tensions continue concerning incorporating play into early childhood education curricula (Kuschner 2012). The Norwegian framework for ASPs serves as an example of such tensions. The plan holds that ASPs should facilitate play engaging children in activities and inspiring them toward activities. The framework states that ASPs shall allow for all children to participate in outdoor, physically active play during ASP time, preferably every day.  \nTheorists, regardless of their professional background, agree that play has a central role in children’s lives (Sutton-Smith 2009) . There seems to be extensive agreement that play is a typical way of being for children and that it represents an important cultural phenomenon among them (Lillemyr 2020). This is echoed by the United Nations’ (2013) Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 31 that highlights “the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts”(n.p.). However, researchers have expressed concern that institutionalization of children’s time can hamper their opportunities to participate in free, spontaneous play and leisure activities (Frost 2010; Løndal 2011; Smith 2005; Sundsdal and Øksnes 2015; Sutton-Smith 2008) .  \nAlthough most theories about play emphasize its intrinsic value, there seems to be an underlying belief among educators that children should develop cognitive, social, and motor skills through play (Sutton-Smith 2009) . According to Swedish researchers Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson and Niklas Pramling (2013),“free play as a contrast to teacher-led activity has long been an issue of debate in early childh","cbCaiuhGmZuRhdA8","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuhGmZuRhdA8","pdf",173082,25,"English","# Introduction\n## Policy expectations for outdoor play in after-school programs\n## Theoretical perspectives on play and institutional tensions\n## Emphasis on children’s voices in research\n## Prior research on extended education and ASP activities\n## Study aim and focus on physically active play experiences","[{\"question\":\"What three themes describe children’s physically active outdoor play in after-school programs?\",\"answer\":\"The study identifies three themes: “playing with friends,” “no one decides,” and “I can do it.” These reflect how children experience play in the program context.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do the authors consider child initiation important in after-school outdoor play?\",\"answer\":\"The findings highlight the dynamic importance of play—particularly child initiation and peer play—because it fosters fun, playful interaction, and supports communication and movement capabilities.\"},{\"question\":\"How do educators’ beliefs and curriculum tensions affect play in early childhood education?\",\"answer\":\"The text notes that, despite play’s intrinsic value, tensions persist because educators may believe children should develop cognitive, social, and motor skills through play, creating debate over teacher-led versus free play.\"}]","Children’s Experiences with Outdoor, Physically Active Play in After-School Programs | PDF",1792073518,63]