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I am quite certain I have remembered this before, but July has allowed me a new remembering of that previous rememberment–it is important to play in your teaching.

The other day in my ESY Summer School classroom we were listening to the Trolls Soundtrack during Centers time. One of my little pea pods clearly had an itch to dance, so we did. Before long, we were having a full blown Trolls dance party. Kiddos left the painting center, the coloring center, and the noodle jewelry center to dance with the class. Smiles abounded, giggles were heard, and cheeks were flushed (mine more so than others, I admit).

The dance party ended rather abruptly when the “Clean up to go home” song played (transition songs are on timers on the laptop–someone remind me to share about that sometime), and the smiles carried us out to the buses for pick up.

During the regular school year we dance every day, but this opportunity to play in an unexpected and fun way energized us all in a different way. My advice?  Keep your eye out for a chance to play, and grab it if you can.