The afternoon began in the sand. While S, X, and I6 investigated their lunches, L and E6 got right to playing. They noticed the plastic eggs right away.
“Let’s make eggs. No, let’s make a nest for me. I’m a chicken,” E6 said.
“I’m a chicken, too,” L said.
They divided the six eggs between themselves. Then they started digging holes and making nests. L hopped around, flapping her arms.
She caught the attention of the kids on the tarp.
“I think L is a bird,” I6 said.
“L, are you a bird?” she asked a few moments later.
“We’re both chickens,” E6 replied.
“Are those your eggs?” S wanted to know.
“They’re eggs for our farmer,” L explained.
“Wait, I want to be a chicken,” X said.
He jumped up to join them.
“Well I have three eggs, and L has three eggs,” E6 explained.
“Why do I not get any eggs?” X wanted to know.
“Because they’re using them,” S said.
“I know! You can use pinecones for eggs. I’m just going to be a dragon,” X said, quickly overcoming his disappointment.
“Dragons have eggs,” L pointed out.
“But you can’t eat us,” E6 added.
“I’m just going to guard you,” X assured her.
“Who is going to be my baby?” L wondered.
“S can,” X suggested.
“Do you want to be my baby chick?” L asked S.
“Yes,” S replied.
“Let’s pretend you hatch out of this egg,” L said.
She opened one of the green eggs.
“Now you’re my chick,” she told S.
L gave the green egg to X. He promptly made a nest for it.
“Who is I6 going to be?” S asked.
“She can be the farmer. I6, do you want to be the farmer?” L called to I6.
“Sure,” I6 agreed.
“Ahh! There’s a predator. Behind me!” X cried.
It took me a moment to realize that the predator was me. X began to breathe fire at me. I backed away. X put both hands in his jacket pockets. Then he started flapping his arms.
“These are my wings. They look like real wings,” he exclaimed.
“I can do that, too. I’m a chicken,” L said.
She put her hands in her pockets and flapped her arms.
“Look at my shadow. It looks like real wings,” X cried.
A few minutes later, L picked up one of X’s eggs.
“That’s my egg. I was using it,” X told her.
“I gave it to you, so I can take it back,” L said.
“Hey, that’s not fair,” X pointed out.
“I think that since you gave it to him, you should wait until he’s finished to take it back. You can ask him to let you know when he’s done,” I suggested.
“Aw, I wanted another egg. I know! I’ll just use a bowl,” L decided.
She placed a small bowl upside down on her nest.
“S is in this egg,” L explained.
“When I hatch, I’m going to be a chick. Right now, I’m a farmer. When the chick hatches, the farmer disappears,” S said.
“Mine aren’t chicks. They’re dogs. They like dog treats,” E6 announced.
“Puppies don’t have eggs. They’re just born right away,” S informed her.
“I know, but these are in eggs,” E6 said.
I6 carried a muffin tin filled with sand over to E6. She set it down next to her.
“We have some food prepared for your babies when they hatch,” I6 said.
“Actually, I want to be a puppy. I’m not a chicken. Who wants my eggs? X, do you?” L asked.
L was about to hand her two remaining eggs to X when E6 rushed over.
“Can I have one?” she asked.
L gave one of her eggs to X, and one to E6. X placed his extra egg on his nest and covered it with leaves. He then drew a circle around the eggs in sand.
“Is this a line we can’t cross?” L wondered.
X nodded.
“Can you please not go on my line?” X reminded her a few minutes later, when L forgot.
“Oh, sorry,” L said.
“How about after the puppies are born, we go on a scavenger hunt,” E6 suggested.
The puppies hatched, and E6 and L got ready to hide the plastic eggs.
“Everyone hide your eyes, or don’t look,” L instructed.
S, I6, and X did as they were told. L and E6 took their time finding places to hide the eggs. This was a test of everyone’s impulse control. Eventually, all the eggs were hidden.
“Everyone gets to find one egg. So if you have one, don’t get another,” E6 said.
After all the eggs were found, L and I6 hid them again.
“Can you give me hot or cold clues?” S asked.
“Yes,” L agreed.
“Am I hot or cold?” S wondered.
“Cold,” L said.
X approached me with a concerned look on his face.
“S and I6 aren’t sharing their game with me,” he said.
“Would you like to talk to them about it?” I asked.
He nodded.
“I want to play,” X said, when S and I6 came closer.
“You can play,” E6 jumped in to assure him.
“Well I want to hide the egg,” X explained.
“Oh. we’re taking turns. You’ll be next to hide the eggs,” E6 said.
J arrived, and started to line up the chalk. L handed her a pinwheel.
“Do you want one?” L asked.
“Yeah,” J said.
She pushed the pinwheel into the sand.
“I need to turn the fan,” J said.
“You could try blowing it,” I told her.
J blew on the pinwheel and watched it spin. Some of the children were feeling hungry. They paused to eat their lunches and listen to stories.
“When we’re done eating, can we play my game?” L asked.
“Yeah,” S said.
After they had refueled, the children got right back to playing.
“I’m hiding an egg,” J said.
“Can we play my game now?” L asked.
X, I6, S, and P gathered around L.
“I’ll tell you how when everyone is lined up,” L said.
“Why can’t you just tell us?” E6 wanted to know.
“Because,” L said.
P and E6 decided to go play something else. The remaining kids formed a line, and L explained the rules of her game.
“This is the kid line. This is the adult line. You get two chances,” L began.
The children were supposed to throw a piece of chalk into a pot. After everyone in line had a turn, L invented a new game. This time, the egg was buried in the pot. When it was their turn, the children were supposed to use tongs to dig the egg out.
“This is a funner game,” S said.
Over in the pines, P was working to hide an egg by arranging clumps of pine needles around it.
“I’m hiding the egg. We want to camouflage it,” P explained.
E6 came to help P. She placed a long stick against the pine needle clumps.
“Those are mushrooms! Tiny mushrooms!” E6 gasped.
She pointed to some white stuff growing on the stick.
The children in the sand were busy creating more carnival games.
“Do you want to try to knock the windmill down, or get in in the bucket?” I6 asked the first person in line for her game.
“If you hit it, you get one, if you knock it down, you get two,” she said, referring to the pieces of bark she had collected as prizes.
When the games had been played, X, S, I6, and P headed for the hammocks. S, X, and I6 chose one hammock. J was swinging in the other.
“J, can I have a turn after you?” P asked.
“You can go with me,” J offered.
P climbed in J’s hammock and they started swinging.
L and E6 were moving sticks around in the pines.
“We’re building houses for these little animals. And I can fit in,” L explained.
A few minutes later, L and E6 were coloring on a big stick with chalk.
“We’re like scientists,” L said.
“I’m the smartest one on the team,” E6 added.
“We have to make a lot of marks,” L continued.
“Tomorrow I’m leaving to go out in the wild to make marks,” E6 said.
P and J were scooping and mixing sand.
“I made a pancake,” J said.
“I need a lot of sand because I need a lot of batter. I’m making french toast,” P announced.
A few minutes later, P changed her mind.
“Actually, I’m making pancakes, too,” she decided.
“You’re on my pancake,” J pointed out.
P moved over a little bit.
“I made a flat pancake with a smiley face,” P announced.
“I made a big one,” J said.
The afternoon ended on the rock. The children worked together to color the rock with chalk. They used paint brushes to spread the chalk around.
“Everyone gets one color,” L instructed the others.
“Our colors are in love,” X said, when his section met up with E6’s section of the rock.
The children decided to create habitats for the animal figures with the different colored chalk.
“This is the desert,” X decided.
“Mine are the flowers,” L said.
“Mine will get used to this home, because she likes the ice,” I6 said.
Time, space, and permission to play made for a day filled with opportunities to move, explore, experiment, be resilient, pretend, assess and take risks, solve problems, imagine, connect with nature, strengthen friendships, resolve conflicts, create, experience joy, and have lots of fun.
todaywewillplay 