Play is Our Work

This morning, Klem, our giant pillow person, was sick. a team of specialists worked on him for quite some time with a wide variety of treatments - from medicines, to healthy foods, to shots and blankets.

He eventually ended up in the Cozy Box, where friends read him his favorite book. This is a prime example of how play is really the work of children, as they try and answer the difficult questions raised by the death of our guinea pig, and the idea of loss and sickness in general. Friends had many ideas about how to comfort Klem - often going to the things that make them feel better. Today, many friends have concluded that Nellie is not coming back, and they have started to talk about her as more of a memory. I found a number of them looking through "Guinea Pigs to the Rescue," to see pictures of Nellie, and I have promised to print out some more for them.

Friends were also busy with many other activities in the room. There were things under construction and games being invented.

New puzzles to figure out.

Potato heads to bring to life.

At Morning Meeting, we read a book called, In A Very Haunted House, which was a ghostly version of The House That Jack Built. Friends had fun remembering all of the parts.

Then it was time for Inside Outside Day with the Turtles.

We blew up some more balloons so that we could all have another balloon busting race. First, friends shared the many, many ways they could bust their balloons. Then they were off!

We had another story outside, called Beetles Bop, which gave us a chance to talk about all of the bugs and beetles we have been finding since the weather got warm.

Let the Games Begin!

Today was the day for the Froggy Games, so we spent a bit of the morning getting ready - finishing our shirts (each friend picked out their number and their team mascot), and getting our supplies together.

We had a short Morning Meeting outside, and then talked about the kinds of games we would be playing. After, we had a snack to make sure we had enough energy.

Then, it was off to the soccer field with Boone's dad and mom, little brother Chance, and grandfather.

Our first event was the Tug-o-War (or "Tug-o-Conflict," as they like to call it at AFS). There were loops on the ropes for friends to hang on to, as they pulled with all of their might!

The sides were pretty evenly matched - each side won once, and the difference seemed to be Chance in the anchor position.

Next, it was time for the Ball Throw Event. Everyone lined up behind the rope and threw their balls into the net as hard as they could!

We did this one a number of times. After, we had a relay race using our swords as batons.

The last event was the balloon race. Friends each got a balloon and, at the sound of the gong, they ran into the soccer net and BURST their balloons!

Some friends found novel techniques...

Then it was back to the bleachers for our Award Ceremony - Boone's family made everyone a special award to hang around their necks. To finish off this splendid occasion, we had homemade chocolate chip cookies! It was a wonderful event, and one we hope to repeat in the not-so-distant future. Many thanks to Boone and his family!

After we had story on the playground, we came in for lunch and, while we were eating, I mentioned to the Little Frogs that Princess Froggy seemed lonely, and that I thought she was missing Nellie. (I did this for two reasons. First, I wanted to get a sense of where our friends were in their processing of Nellie's death. Secondly, she really is lonely, as guinea pigs don't do well alone, so she will have a new friend soon.) I asked friends what they thought we could do for Princess Froggy's loneliness, and realized that they aren't ready for the new pig conversation, as many of them are trying to figure out if death is a temporary or fixable condition.

Some comments from today's conversation:

• "I got out the doctor kit, so that I could make Nellie better."
• "I had a magic stick that would make Nellie wake up, but my mom's friend didn't like it, so she buried it in the ground. I have got to go dig it up!"
• (After showing them a picture of where Nellie is buried) "Is there a camera under the ground, so we can see her?"
• "If you put Nellie in the water, a mermaid could come and wake her up."
• "When is she coming back?"

As you can see, friends are struggling to figure out what this whole death thing means - and having not actually seen Nellie, makes it seem even less real. Each time a Little Frog asks about her coming back, we may simply tell them that she has died and is not coming back, or we may reflect on the feeling behind the statement ("It would be nice if you had some magic that could bring her back, wouldn't it?"). Obviously, this will be an ongoing conversation, and we will keep you posted.

On an unrelated noted, tomorrow the Chipmunks are hosting a No Trash Lunch Day, in honor of Earth Day and their whole project on trash and recycling. In solidarity, we would like to join them. If you can, (and I know that some of you do this already), please try and pack all of your child's lunch items in re-usable containers, so that we will have as little trash as possible at the end of our meal. Whenever I stop to think about it, I am amazed at how much I throw away in a day's time.