Friday Playground Antics

It was a long week. We are in the midst of test prep. The PE coaches are doing fitness testing which means a lot of sitting around instead of running around. It was warm and rainy. Then cold and rainy. Both of which meant indoor recess for the entire week. Needless to say, the kids were antsy, and the teachers were exhausted. 

Today however, was one of those, "clear blue sky" days. The air was cool and crisp, but the sun warmed your skin and only a light breeze ruffled the trees. Finally, we were able to get outside for some fresh air and vitamin D. As we (teachers) sat on the benches, our attention was drawn to a group of my homeroom students. 

They like to play, just beyond the playground equipment where they think we can't see them. Little do they know, we watch those playing back there with especially close scrutiny. Today, two of my boys were crawling around on the ground while a group of girls milled about and followed them in a semi-circle wherever they went. Of course my first thought was the possibility of muddy knees and trips to the nurse to change clothes, but then another concern popped into my head. The crawling, turned into some semi-rough contact...but then they quit for a bit. A group of girls gathered around one boy. The rest (plus a few boys) gathered around the other. Something was about to go down behind the playground. 

My teaching partner asked if we should intervene. To which I replied, "Wait a minute and let's see how this plays out." Sometimes I think we are too quick to squelch their imaginative play because we are being over-protective. The two boys crawled quickly away in opposite directions. Then they turned to face each other. One began to "paw" at the ground. "Uh oh, I think they might be playing bulls." There was a brief pause as one boy lowered his head. We slowly eased ourselves off the bench, ready to intervene. Suddenly, he charged toward the other boy, crawling at super speed. As he reached the second boy, he quickly...

lifted his leg and pretended to pee on him.  

I guess they were playing puppies and not bulls. No intervention required. But we had a much needed laugh after a long week!