It is a happy talent to know how to play.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Play. It is the stuff of our earliest memories. It is the place where we created worlds of wonder, experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, and tried adulthood on for size. It’s where we learned that, after being cooped up all day, there is little more in life that will bring you more joy than carousing for a bit with your friends.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
-George Bernard Shaw
Grown-ups are often accused of having forgotten how to play. It’s harder for us to let go. To be lighthearted. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing. In fact, quite the contrary. Play builds bonds between people, leads to innovation, and propels us into new discoveries about ourselves and the world. And no one on Earth knows this in their bones like professionals who work with kids.
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.”
– Carl Jung
When a member of our staff sits down to work with a child, whether it is in the same room or across the miles via the miracle of modern technology, they endeavor to create new neural pathways that will give rise to new skills.
When a member of our staff carves time out of their day to go for a run, to belly laugh with friends, or to sit on the floor being silly with their own children, they create new balance that will allow them to be more fully present in their work.
When a member of our staff discovers a fresh use for an old toy, or tries an unfamiliar app for an old familiar task, they create exciting new possibilities for themselves and for the children they serve.
And what do all of these things have in common? You guessed it.
Hello will spend this school year exploring what it means to Push Play. We’ll ask questions about what play means, what it looks like, and what it does. We’ll push ourselves to play more, in new and different ways, and we’ll encourage those we know and work with to do the same. Playing alone is almost never as much fun as playing with others, though. So c’mon. Join us. Stand up, dust the cobwebs off, and Push Play.