bad guys

"It would not be fun if there were no Bad Guys." Charlie, age 6

It's an interesting concept, Bad Guys bringing the fun.

I understand, of course, that the Bad Guys in their play are not as disastrous as bad guys in real life can be, but I still react impulsively. In my wisest moments, I silence my responses and watch, hoping for clues into the actual struggles their Bad Guy play is replicating. But I'm not always at my wisest and in those moments questions spill out of me, inevitably disrupting the play. "How do you know if someone is a bad guy? Do their parents think their bad guys? What do bad guys look like?..." Charlie's quote above came from one of those moments and his clarity shut down my questions. It was a reminder to me of the importance of risk taking in children's play, especially since our definitions of risk have changed since the spring of 2020. So much has changed since then. But not the reality that overcoming obstacles increases our learning, and that children want to be challenged, emotionally and physically by environments rich in healthy risk-taking opportunities.

In our predominantly outdoor program we have an array of loose parts, some only manageable by a team of children and others able to be manipulated individually, which the children can reposition around the yard creating unique obstacles and challenges.

Bad Guys hold a crucial role in the play at Corner, one I inevitably rise up to challenge.

Winning. Conquering. Surviving. The Life or Death Games that come with another life or death, keeping the play going until Victory is achieved.

Whether I interrupt or not, Bad Guy Play is important, offering children a clear delineation of Self and Other, even as the .

more than I want them to be

Avocado Baby is one of the books that has been at Corner of the Sky since its inception in 2002. It's one I always read in a British accent, partly because "push chair" makes more sense that way, but mostly because it helps me to learn if the children can understand accents. And I like to speak in accents.

It is a silly story about a baby who eats only avocado pears and grows so strong it can "carry the shopping, move the furniture and push the car when it would not start."

But there are some Bad Guys in this book, a burglar and two bullies, which means I often have to describe what the words burglar and bully mean.

Of course the baby outwits these Bad Guys and their demise is drawn quite humorously which helps to make the lesson in Bad Guys much more enjoyable.

I guess sometimes they do bring the fun.