Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Lessons from the Playground




    What are the most important lessons I learned from the playground??  The last playground I recall playing on myself was in elementary school.  I have lots of memories from recess, but what did I learn?


      The first time I got on a teeter-totter the other kid jumped off when I wasn’t ready.  The teeter totter banged to the ground and the jarring slammed my chin into the metal handle I was holding in a death grip.  My chin quickly covered with blood and my eyes filled with tears.  That was the first and last time I ever got on a teeter-totter.  Lesson number 1: steer clear of the teeter totter!


      I loved to swing on the swings but got a little queasy the higher the swing soared.  My friends and I used to put our legs through the swing beside the one we were on and allow ourselves to be pushed.  Instead of feeling a thrill over soaring through the sky, I felt a wave of terror and screamed like a little girl.  Lesson number 2: If the swing goes to high, drop your feet, and slow yourself down.  To hell with those kids that tease you because you are a scaredy cat!   Later in life when I took my kids to the park I witnessed this idiot kid who was swinging way too high.  At the highest point, he jumped.  He ended up black, blue, and bloody.  Lesson number 3: Use your head. If the swings aren’t surrounded by something soft and instead have 2X4’s around the perimeter, don’t jump. Hello!!!! You could hit the wood and end up road kill. Take two for safety!  Better yet, don’t jump at all!


        Lesson number 4: The best games in the world are those that come from your own imagination.  Much like my kids pretending they are at Hogwarts and Harry Potter cohorts, my friends and I used to pretend we were the characters from our favorite TV shows.   Back in my day my friends and I would play “Little House on the Prairie” where yours truly was Laura, and “Pinky Tuscadero and the Pinkettes” where I was a Pinkette.  Pinky Tuscadero was featured on the TV show “Happy Days” and we took great delight in singing to the trees that bordered the playground.  Lesson number 5: trees make a great audience. They are incapable of throwing tomatoes or booing. Lesson number 6:  You can be anyone you want to be in your imagination, if only until the whistle blows!


        Another lesson that comes to mind is to wait your turn.  Only one kid can generally go down the slide at once, and if used properly and safely only one kid can get on a swing.  Finally, last but not least…avoid standing to close to the monkey bars because you might get kicked in the head. Seriously, my son learned this lesson the hard way.  Unfortunately, it seems most lessons in life, especially on the playground, are learned that way until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.

20 comments:

  1. The best games do come from the imagination and still do.

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  2. Fireman, I agree completely!!! Wish we had Harry Potter back in the day! I would have loved to be Hermione Granger performing magic spells all over the playground. My kids run all over the yard wielding sticks as wands. It looks like so much fun!! Thanks for stopping by to read and comment!

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  3. Yes, Kathy, kids using their imagination to play games is delightful. My sister and I were just talking last Friday about our summers before we had TV. We played pretend housekeeping and marked out our rooms under the trees, etc. We had magic wands, too. Oh to be a kid again for just a sunny afternoon!!!

    Glad you have internet at home now and can write lots every day. Enjoyed this post.

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  4. Betty, I am so pleased you enjoyed my post. It sounds like you and your sister had a blast!! I am so happy to have my internet back on at home too now. It seems like I never want to leave my computer. There is always more that I want to write, and more I want to do! Thank you for stopping by to read and comment!

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  5. That was a fun romp through what not to do on a playground! :-)

    The Hogwarts part... well I might be inclined to do that even now.

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  6. November Rain, I am so pleased you enjoyed it. It was a little hard to figure out if I had learned anything on the playground! LOL Thank you for stopping by to read and comment!

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  7. we really do learn a lot on the playground, don't we?

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  8. Danneromero, I was scratching my head to come up with something! LOLOLOL At first, I thought perhaps not...but now I guess I learned more than I thought I did. :D Thank you for stopping in to read and comment!

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  9. I had no idea all that could be learned on the playground! Good job. I think I was a slow learner. he he he

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    1. Jo, thank you! I really had to rack my brains on this challenge! I am so glad you liked it! Thank you for stopping by to read and comment!

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  10. great writing, kathy, you really got a talent in spotting significance of things... never thought of some, til now. thanks. Yahweh bless.
    http://trunklocker.blogspot.com/2012/02/walk-to-remember.html

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    1. Ralph, thank you for the wonderful compliment! Thank you for stopping by to read and comment! I am so pleased you enjoyed it!

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  11. I'm with Fireman--the best games will always come from your imagination. Great post Kathy!

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    1. Jenn, thank you for stopping by to read and comment!

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  12. Can I add... if you are going to swing on a tarzy (rope swing) please don't fall off and land head first on the corner of a half-buried brick ... it may cause your mother to have apoplexy, heart-failure and terror overload, all at once (looking at #2 daughter, the tomboy, here) This was a fun take on what is actually some good advice :o)

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    1. Mojo, OUCH! It sounds like you are speaking from experience! It seems like I am not the only one that learned the hard way on the playground. Thank you for stopping by to read and comment!

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  13. How cool! I ran across your blog while looking for lesson plans, I teach Kindergarten. My husband is a Master Trainer for a Trucking Company and trains others. We do need humor don't we!

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    1. Batlady, I am so pleased you found me!! Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! ♥

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  14. How cool! I came across your site as I was lesson planning. My husband is also a truck driver. I love your blogs they bring back memories. I had many adventures and heart-attacks with our kids while dad was out driving. I Teach Kindergarten, it is fun! I have 23, 5-6 year olds. They now give me a run for sanity.

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    1. BatLady, you are braver than I would be!! That is a lot of 5-6 year olds in one place!! Thank you for stopping by to read and for your kind comments! ♥

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