Recess Excitement

Today something really, really, exciting happened. Something that got the playground abuzz. Imagine children running around, scared and thrilled at the same time, urging others to take action! Students working together to thwart the danger, voices raised to a fevered pitch! Over here! Come and help!

What was the cause of this commotion? A DTE Truck.

Yeah, scary, right?

The one that parked near the water tower looked a lot like the one pictures, but had canisters on the side. These, to some children, looked like cartoon bombs. Explosive bombs. Excited rumors flooded the playground. What were these bombs for? Exploding the water tower? Our school? Now, granted, children had more than a bit of a twinkle in their eyes, and definitely a hint of a smile ... but danger was upon us! Our school could be blown to smithereens if we didn't work together!

Kindergartners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders all banded together to build walls to protect Summers-Knoll. Of course, the teachers didn't make a peep about the strength of a bucket of wood chips and an upturned scooter against a bomb ...

Children's fascination with mayhem serves a purpose. Children want and need to feel strong and powerful. It is an important way for them to process other scary things that happen that they don't feel control over (like the recent tornado, perhaps?)

This is one of the reasons that outside play time is so valued at Summers-Knoll. Where else would this type of valuable role play happen?