Covid-19 Pandemi Sürecinde Bir Köyde Yaşayan Altı Yaş Çocukların Oyun Yaşantıları

Purpose: The restrictions imposed in line with the measures taken with the Covid-19 pandemic have brought a new reality to the lives of children. Children have started to play outside the school, differentiate their play environments and playmates and spend less activity-based time. Correspondingly, play behaviors which are preschool children’s most important engagement have also changed. With the current study, it was attempted to determine pre-school children’s experiences of the play during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Method and Materials: The current study employed the phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods. The study group is comprised of 10 children aged 6 years attending a village school affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in the city of Van. The data of the study were collected by using a semi-structured interview form consisting of two parts and prepared by seeking expert opinion. The collected data were analyzed through the content analysis technique and then interpreted by creating codes and categories.

Results: The pre-school children stated that they preferred active plays during the pandemic and that they always played games outside with their friends and they supported their statements with the pictures they drew. The results showed that the pandemic process did not negatively affect children’s perceptions of play and did not cause anxiety, that children always continued to play games but that they missed their friends and school. In light of the results of the study, some suggestions were made.