It’s so hard to convince parents that when they play, children are learning all they need to know, that their brains are hard-wired for this; that for kids, play is work and that they actually need to do it to grow and flourish. It’s even harder to make a case for playing just for its own sake. The idea that play could be good only because it’s fun (with no other redeeming features!) is too much of a stretch for this generation’s ambitious, striving, anxious parents.

Building castles out of blocks

I dream of shape and form

I wonder about balance

And how a house is born.

I stack the blocks so carefully

I keep myself quite still

I’m learning how each piece behaves

And how a space is filled.

 

I stand up tall and straight

I pack my briefcase and my lunch

And kiss the kids – I’m late!

I know they want to tag along

But Mama has to run

I’m off to court to try a case

I’ll be back when I’m done.

This picture that I’m working on

Was going to be a tree

But on the way, another thought

Seemed just as good to me –

A tree of stars, each branch alight

Demanded to be drawn –

The vision from inside my heart

Appeared here on its own.

My students sit in tidy rows

And wait for me to speak.

Well, three are dolls, and one’s a cat

Who thinks I’m speaking Greek.

He won’t sit still or do his work

He doesn’t like to read –

For him I’ve got an IEP:

He’s got ADHD.

I’m busy with this puzzle

I have to fit this piece

The one that seems to have no home

No matter how I squeeze.

It seems some rules are absolute

Like square pegs and round holes

I’m learning how to work it out

I’m focused on my goals.

Ask me what I did today –

The answer’s always “Played.”

At school, at home and on the bus –

My mind’s just built that way.

For I’m a child and play’s my job

It’s what I’m meant to do –

It’s how I learn about the world

And grow to be like you!