I had recess duty. While I wandered from shady spot to shady spot, observing kids as I roamed both playgrounds. I realized I was observing many mini-slices through each mental snapshot I took.
Creative foursquare - you can move the ball with anything, but your hands. A hoot to watch feet, elbows, foreheads, knees, and backsides try to make accurate hits. You don't even need four true squares, any open bit of blacktop will do.
Three students who had been put together for a group project did NOT like the idea of being together. (To the point of asking their parents to request that I switch their group.) I told them that their biggest challenge was not going to be the academics of the project, that they are all very smart. Their biggest challenge was going to be to work together as a team. They saw that this was true over and over and over and over. And then today at recess I see the three of them choosing to play together - just them.
A jumble of girls huddled together, all focused on one girl. Whispering. Turning. Perhaps pointing. More whispering. A few tears. All a sure sign of girl drama. Steer clear!
Third graders awkwardly trying to control a basketball as they dribble across the court. You can always tell what skills are being taught in P.E. as they find their way onto the playground - painfully at first, but their skills grow and so does their enjoyment. Just as they start to get somewhere approaching competent, the unit changes and the awkward stage of a new sport emerges.
And then there are the boys who will play soccer, no matter what!
Slices ARE everywhere! I love your use of short and one-word sentences and your description here- "A jumble of girls huddled together, all focused on one girl. Whispering. Turning. Perhaps pointing. More whispering. A few tears. All a sure sign of girl drama. Steer clear!"
ReplyDeleteSoccer is an all-season sport at our recess, too. Sometimes, they move to football for a stretch, but then, back to soccer. And those girls? the drama? We have that, too. Of course, we do. Steer clear!
ReplyDelete:)
Kevin
These are great snapshots of recess! There is always so much going on. You captured the individual moments perfectly!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jennifer - great snapshots. Seems like there could be a story in each one... for some reason it reminded me of Each Kindness - the recess scenes in that book. Have you read it? Thanks
ReplyDeleteClare
I could almost hear the voices of recess. My attention was caught by "you can always tell what skills are being taught in P.E. as they find their way onto the playground - painfully at first, but their skills grow and so does their enjoyment." SO great to see the skills we teach used by choice. Perhaps that was part of what was happening for the group of three assigned to a project.
ReplyDelete