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by Lynne Strobl, Proctor School, grade 6 teacher
“Sadly, in many cases, the assumption that children are incompetent, irresponsible, and in need of constant direction and supervision becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The children themselves become convinced of their incompetence and irresponsibility, and may act accordingly. The surest way to foster any trait in a person is to treat that person as if he or she already has it.”
- Peter Gray, PhD. Boston College Research Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience.
For the past thirteen weeks, Proctor students have played. Freely, independently, truly played. Every Tuesday morning, regardless of the weather, students raced onto campus and considered what to do without adult intervention or suggestion. And then…they played, with a fervor and excitement too rarely seen. They invented, climbed, performed, raced, organized, competed, and imagined.
As Play Club Lifeguards, we saw the immeasurable benefits of unstructured, self-directed play. These magical mornings fostered a sense of independence, confidence, and problem-solving and the gains spilled over into the school day. Whether climbing on the structure, playing four-square, swinging, or participating in soccer matches, Play Club offered students valuable opportunities to collaborate, communicate, and resolve conflicts. Afforded the autonomy to confidently make decisions and work together, their world opened wide. Through play, our students developed stronger self-control and built new relationships.
Engaging in physical activity before starting their academic day improved students’ concentration, mood, attention, memory, and impulse control. Their play promoted resilience, a sense of camaraderie, and instilled vital life lessons around fairness and compromise. Inside this free forty minutes, kids enjoyed a safe space where they could take risks, fend for themselves, and have the freedom to think. This set them up for a focused day of learning in ways we could not have foreseen.
Our students are bright, brave, creative, compassionate, curious, fair, determined, honest, humble, enthusiastic, thoughtful, open-minded leaders. In short, they are magic. With all of these strengths and talents, we want our students to fly. We hope they have many more opportunities across all areas of their lives for self-determination, autonomous decision making, and free play. We are fortunate to have witnessed their growth and look forward to the continuation of this incredible program come spring.
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Tri-Town Council would like to thank our Proctor partners and Let Grow Play Club “lifeguards”: Grade 6 teachers Lynne Strobl and Olivia Orlando; Grade 5 teacher Andrea Gibbas; and Grade 4 teacher Doreen Kelleher. This team of dedicated and knowledgeable educators led the play club initiative at Proctor, and volunteered their time on Tuesday mornings to support children’s free play and exploration.
Interested in starting at Let Grow Playclub at your child’s school?
Reach out to Meredith Shaw (mshaw@tritowncouncil.org) at Tri-Town Council!
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