Play on!

A colleague once told me a funny story. Apparently, a current second grader was telling her younger sibling who was ready to enter kindergarten what to expect. Her word of advice. . .if you get Mr. Dargatz, all you do is play.

At first, I must admit, I was a bit embarrassed. I didn’t want incoming students to have that type of expectation. We didn’t just play.

However, once I let that initial embarrassment fade away and I truly thought about this apparent perception of my classroom, I felt a different emotion: pride.

Now, I aim to squeeze put every playful opportunity possible. I’ve tweaked my schedule to allow more frequent and longer stretches of open playtime. I’ve dug deeper into curricular resources and tweaked them to add more elements of play. The classroom layout evolves as different student play styles and interests emerge. I don’t offer play as a reward but highlight it as a right.

Today, after dropping off some clothes for donation, I visited my local secondhand store. Window advertisements notified me of a special Saturday sale. Self-admittedly, I’m not always the best shopper when it comes to taking advantage of deals. But I do enjoy a good walk through these stores as you never know what you will find. That being said, I always do end up finding and adding trinkets and treasures for my classroom.

Today was no exception. With a focus on play in mind, the kids and I headed straight to the toys and games section and within minutes, our cart was filled with games, all at the cost of just under $30. While a few may end up in our basement, the majority will be heading to the classroom, ready to be inserted right into our learning environment.

I look forward to seeing how kids learn and grow from these games.

So now that I think about it, I guess that second grader was correct. All we ever do is play.

And that’s OK.