Scenes from Friday Recess

When I began at Summers-Knoll (three long, delightful weeks ago), I was a little dubious of our playground. While I was impressed with the herculean task that our parents accomplished by clearing the wooded space, I had to wonder, What are the kids going to do during recess?

A blank slate....

I'm now embarrassed by my naivete. The students of Summers-Knoll have spent the last three weeks exploring, shaping, and transforming the space to suit their whims and interests: 

On the very first day of school, students started playing Hot Potato while balancing on a circle of logs. Kids have been playing it with gusto every day since.

Matthew, Lee, and others spent most of recess exploring the different possibilities that a 20-foot length of PVC piping offered (which included yodeling through it, balancing on it, and hoisting it as high as possible.)

Anna began transforming the hollow of a tree into a hidden lair for visiting gnomes or fairies, complete with curtains, chairs, and a bed.

Henry K. had some problems finding an adequate handhold to get started climbing a tree (the same one that houses Anna's fairy hideaway.) After a few valiant attempts, he disappeared. I assumed he had moved on to pursue other activities, but five minutes later, he returned, rolling a stump that he had found on the other end of the playground. With Anna's assistance, he got it into position... 

Henry victorious!

This is just a small sampling of the the activities they've come up with. There are also the daily soccer matches, the industrious bug hunters, and the elaborate tunnel system that's slowly growing through our sandbox... It's all a delight to behold, and it serves as a potent reminder that sometimes the best thing we can do as educators is to give kids a blank slate and get out of their way!