Playing with babies workshop: body and language

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the corporeality of babies as a sensitive and experiential territory, based on the experience of the Playing with Babies Workshop. Drawing on authors such as Piaget, Bullinger, Parlato-Oliveira, and Merleau-Ponty, the study discusses the body as the basis for perception, action, and the construction of knowledge. With a qualitative and exploratory approach, the workshop promoted free play as a means of sensory, motor, and relational exploration, allowing babies to appropriate the environment and interact with different materials and objects. Eight babies, aged between three months and one year and six months, accompanied by their caregivers, participated in four biweekly meetings. Data was produced through field diary entries, which were later analyzed according to Bardin's Content Analysis procedures. The results revealed three central categories: corporeality as an expression of subjectivity, gaze as an intentional and anticipatory gesture, and environment as a mediator of bonds and discoveries. These categories show that free play allows babies to express feelings, emotions, and knowledge, articulating body, perception, and interaction. The study also highlights the importance of planned, intentional, and empowering environments that can foster discoveries, emotional relationships, and integral development.