The down side of additional moisture this “winter” is that the weeds are prolific on the playground. We’ve mostly kept them under control, but they do pop up seemingly overnight. Whenever I’m out there, I try to pull a few and have been in the habit of depositing them in a big pile near the 40th Street gate. The pile has consisted of dead branches, stumps that were no longer kid-friendly, and the weeds, of course. I say “has consisted” because on Thursday I noticed the pile had disappeared.
When I walked out to the building area for recess, there was a new project in the works. An energetic group of elementary students was collaborating on building a structure propping large branches against a tree, similar to the fort that had been built in Gwen’s Castle in years past. A few of the branches seemed vaguely familiar to those from the pile and the rest were what are generally available for biulding. What intrigued me was the missing weeds. Upon closer observation, I saw that the weeds were placed among the branches that made up the fort walls. They did make good filler for holes in the wall, and I was told that they were also there to keep negative forces at bay.
Throughout the entire recess the building and negotiating continued. We had the usual talk about it being a shared space on the playground and that anyone who wanted to participate and enter the fort had to be included. There was a reminder that it was not a fort that required a sniper (after we went over what a sniper actually is), and that it belonged to everyone.
As some students jockeyed for power and control of the project, others happily worked together pulling more weeds in nearby parts of the playground. I voiced my appreciation for their efforts to help with weed control and pointed out the small volunteer trees we’re trying to cultivate that are not weeds. All in all, it was a productive, innovative project that naturally evolved. It’s what happens when kids are given time, materials, and freedom to turn ideas into something from their imaginations.