One of my favorite things to watch in the girls’ development is the role of creative play. I (Cynthia) just finished reading the first two chapters of Charlotte’s Web to Abigail and Evelyn and they loved it. Immediately after reading, they went back to the Tinkertoys they had been playing with earlier, this time using them to fashion pig pens and barns so that they could re-enact the story they had just heard and make up new barnyard scenes. To me, this is just one example that supports the important role of play in the primary grades It is such a foundation for learning!
Another important way I see the girls using play to process things in their lives is with discipline. Often, when I give the girls a consequence or explain why I am setting a boundary for them, their response is less than positive, involving tears and/or temper tantrums and/or “That’s not fair!” But more often than not, I hear them later explaining the same rule or giving the same consequence to their stuffed animal babies, using the same reasoning (and usually copying my exact words). This provides confirmation that they are listening and even understand the reasoning behind the decisions I make.
As I close, I it occurs to me how fortunate our girls are to live in an environment where they are able to be carefree and play. For too many children around the world, this is not the case. ☹️
