9.13.19

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”    
--Fred Rogers
 
I love the location of my office. Two large windows look out on the front of the school and the field. A side window peeks into an alcove where small groups of students like to gather, frequently offering a knock on the glass and a friendly wave to their Head of School in her office. From my vantage point, I see and hear Kindergartners rearranging rocks in our Peace Garden, middle schoolers in motion running around the field squealing, and 3rd and 4th graders sitting in sunshine gossiping and giggling.
 
At recess a few days ago, I found five 1st and 2nd graders huddled and crouching on the ground. Curious, I joined them and discovered they were playing in the mud. Rainwater from the building’s gutter had made narrow puddles on the playground. These friends were working together to build a dam to prevent water from flowing any further onto the playground and creating, in their words, “deep canyons.”
 
This is what Fred Rogers meant by “serious learning.” Before me were children applying and developing language, math, science, and social-emotional skills. Together they identified a problem that demanded a solution. A paper cup served as a bulldozer, transferring dirt and mud for the erection of a dam.  Through conversation, they negotiated specific tasks for everyone there. I don’t think their structure stood, but that was ok. Another day allowed them to think about new possibilities and make alterations. 

Yesterday I joined our oldest students, the 8th graders, in Catoctin. Some were painting in the Lodge with a teacher. Sitting around a table, they admired and complimented each other’s watercolor artistry. On the “goon,” students lounged in rafts and canoes. Their challenge was to figure out how to right an overturned canoe. The pressure of applying to high school was not a worry in these moments of childhood. Laughter echoed throughout the woods. 

We live in a time when children and adults spend hours indoors and looking at screens. I am grateful that FCS is a school that values play and celebrates childhood. Like Mr. Rogers, we recognize that play is the work of children and a crucial part of their development. In the fresh air of our Peace Circle, field, playground, and Catoctin, children develop the skills of writers, engineers, athletes, leaders, and friends.
 
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Located in College Park, MD, Friends Community School is a progressive Quaker K-8 day school, founded on the belief that every child is a valued member of our community. We offer a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage.
Friends Community School
5901 Westchester Park Drive
College Park, Maryland 20740
301-441-2100