Fourth Grade Practices Kindness and Imagination During Playtime

Recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom. Safe and well-supervised playtime offers social, emotional, and physical benefits to students. Students have the opportunity to engage with the natural world, play, imagine, think, move and socialize during unstructured play. It is also an opportunity for students to practice being kind and inclusive, independently and with teacher support.

Fourth graders at AFS typically enjoy two periods of unstructured play during the day. Students spent the first half of this year exploring the outdoor learning environment of new Headwaters Discovery Playground, creating make-believe stews using natural materials like pine needles and acorns. Fourth grader Maura said, “I practice pretend cooking outside, because I like to use techniques I make up.” Students have also observed creatures like spotted salamanders and toads in the creek, taken turns jumping from daring heights on the swings, and played pop-up-tag throughout the climbing structure and out on the fields.

As is a tradition for 4^th grade, we’ve begun to spend the afternoon recess in the open fields in front of the school in order to foster the ability to play without toys or a playground. The opportunity to play sports like kickball and disc golf that teach the value of sportsmanship, fairness, kindness and honesty. “Playing a game like kickball, you have to have good sportsmanship if you lose,” remarked fourth grader Oliver. 

The open space is also conducive to creative, make-believe games. Some students have created historically inspired games out of what they’ve learned in social studies that involve Native Americans or themes from Colonial America. Fourth grader Sofia explained, “by playing together and being together, we learn how to build a community.”