Children's traditional games: didactic potential of a historical-design heritage in school contexts

In the introduction pages to popular children games, Pitrè describes play activities as a form of "creative pastimes" which serve to sharpen the mind and develop physical forces, anticipating, by over a century or so, the subsequent reflections on motor praxeology (Parlebas, 2010, pp. 131-148). Traditional games, expression of innocent amusements (Pitrè, 1888) help children to take part in the construction of their own story, highlighting the strong relationship between games and childhood developmental development, on which that of the communities from which it originates depends. In the course of the historical evolution of the school, the need to include both games from the past and the most current teaching methodologies in school curricula has been gradually formalized, recreating interactive and dynamic environments and game situations, not simply reproductive and executive, but propositive and creative (Almond, L. 1986). Traditional games offer an original interpretation of social human phenomena, confirming that "culture is first played" (Huizinga, 2002). This emphasis on playful memories of the past calls for an interesting reflection on popular heritage, starting with traditional games to be presented to children, right from the first schooling.