This study is based on ethnographies in an elementary school in Israel, which defines itself as an "educational institution in a play space," and uses an alternative pedagogy called "play pedagogy." This pedagogy does not view "play" as a lull that is contrary to learning or as a temporary didactic tool. It is a play-based pedagogy as an everyday educational approach, defined by its creators and by the Israeli Ministry of Education as "experimental" and "unique." This is a pedagogy in which the language lesson is taught, for example, by means of word strips belonging to a "family of words" that are hung on trees in the grove near the school. An English class is held by participating in an English-style tea or waiting for a visit of the Queen of England. This is a pedagogy in which arithmetic operations are done through the student body or by turning the school field into a shopping and sales market. The history lesson deals with the Greek polis, including costumes (students dressed in a kind of toga) and dancing to the sounds of Zorba the Greek. The purpose of the study was to examine how this play pedagogy is utilized and experienced from the perspective of the teachers and the students. Alongside lengthy ethnographies in different lessons, in unique meetings (decision-making regarding change in the grading system), and in teacher conferences, interviews were also held with teachers and students. For a complex theoretical understanding of the concept of "play," the philosophical and cultural anthropological heritages of a number of different philosophers and researchers from various disciplines were used (Huizinga 1938; Sutton-Smith 1997; Vygotsky 2004; Winnicott 1971). The main research findings show four dynamics: regular daily dialectic (or constant movement and tension) between play and boundaries, between freedom and discipline, and in fact between structure and anti-structure (Turner 1969); daily rituals of announcing entry into a play space; dealing with chaos in the play space ("How is this played correctly?"); and the establishment of a new language and categories for the creation of playful reality ("the play student," "the play teacher," "play school," and "play instruction"). The discussion section offers theoretical and empirical insights on the educational qualities of "play," understanding the "alternative" in alternative education proposed by the play pedagogy, and the need to construct a unique subjectivity among teachers and students for the success of the educational act involving play pedagogy.

Huizinga, J. 1938. Homo Ludens: A Study of Play Element in Culture. Boston: Beacon Press. Sutton-Smith, B.1997. The Ambiguity of Play. Cambridge: Harvard University Press Turner, V. 1969. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-structure. London Aldine Transaction. Vygotsky, L.S. 2004. Imagination and creativity in childhood. Journal of Russian and East European Psychology 42(1), 7–97 Winnicott, D. 1971. Playing and Reality. New York: Basic Books.