“Play is the work of childhood.”
— Mr. Rogers
Yesterday, T was a chef. He cooked and cleaned and served beautiful dishes, wearing the apron he brought from home. He also practiced law out of his small kitchen. Not bad for a five-year-old.
Today R is a teacher. Her class is rowdy and out of control. She yells and hollers, but then learns that if she wants to run her classroom well and have her students respect her, she has to lower her voice and make choices rooted in peace. R is 8 years old.
Tomorrow there may be a movie with actors and special effects, or a home with a new baby in it. There may be dinosaurs or race cars. Once there was a bank robbery. Once there was a committee meeting.
The kids of Kids Club work hard at playing.
This is a testimony to the incredible staff and volunteers of Kids Club. In order to play, a child must first trust. When a child is truly engaged in play, they let themselves be vulnerable. They are experimenting with ways of interacting with the world and with each other. They are making mistakes and learning. Before they can abandon themselves completely to their imaginations, their reality must first be stable.
Please take a moment to clear space for play today – for a child in your life and for yourself. Play is one of the greatest gifts we’re ever given and as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, “It is a happy talent to know how to play.”