Recess Choices

 I was stuck today for what to write, so I turned again to the book, "642 Things to Write About." My chosen prompt is "Write about the most fun recess you've ever had." (The book is aimed at kids, but I like it, too.)

Taking the prompt as a stating point, I am remembering recesses when I was in 4th grade at Wilson School in Neenah, Wisconsin. Neenah is a small paper mill town between Appleton and Oshkosh, on the shores of Lake Winnebago. At recess the girls jump-roped and the boys played football or some other game with a ball. For some reason I had never learned to jump rope. What I usually did at recess was play on the equipment -- climbing structures and swings is what I remember. In 4th grade though there was no climbing structure, and the split between boy and girl recess activities grew strong, maybe because we were on the side of the school building without the swings and climbing things? 

I had two friends, two boys who were not athletic and so didn't play football, etc. We played imaginary games, make-believe. I remember in the winter when there were a lot of snow piles, we would climb them as part of our make-believe. As far as I know no one commented on the three of us making this unconventional choice to make up our own games. 

The school redistricted the following school year and I went to a new school. I never saw those two boys again.

Do kids who play make-believe grow to be different than kids who only played sports? When I first got my teaching position, I taught kindergarten. This was in the 1990s. Kindergartners played a lot of make believe at that time. I remember solving the problem of three girls wanting to "Parent Trap," but there are only two girls in that movie. "This time they are triplets," I said. They were a little disgruntled, but made it work. Another time one little cutie staged a wedding between herself and a boy who looked completely bewildered, especially when another kindergarten girl shouted, "You're stealing all his love from me!" 

I think perhaps the little ones are still making believe in their play. I hope so.