Gathered in Play: Play as the Common Space during the Covid-19 Lockdown in Serbia

Abstract

The paper presents how the play of preschool children and their families was supported in Serbia during the COVID-19 lockdown. Firstly, we outline the approach to play nurtured on the Department of Preschool Pedagogy in Serbia and how play, understood in this way, might be important for resilience on an individual and social level. Further, we will focus on the joint action of teachers from the Department of Preschool Pedagogy and students on the undergraduate course Childs Play and Creativity in creating a resource, „The Treasury for Common Play of Children and Adults“, during COVID-19 lockdown. „The Treasury“ is an illustrated publication with suggestions of different playfull situations and activities that children and parents can realise at home in the situation of isolation. It was promoted to the families in cooperation with policymakers and preschool teachers. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis on 24 written feedbacks of the families from the territory of Belgrade on using „The Treasury“, we tried to understand the nature and quality of the common play experiences of parents and children during home isolation. We interpreted the research findings focusing on openness towards the world, creative potential and relational nature. Based on the research findings, as well as our participation in working with students, educational policymakers and practitioners, at the end of this paper we propose two recommendations for improving educational practice: cultivating play in a joint, systemic effort and establishing educational practice on creative potential.