Posted Mar. 15, 2023

It’s just a 4 foot disk of plywood hanging by 4 ropes from a pole. Kids just stand there – looking – trying to figure it out. No idea. I guess I’ll just turn it and see what happens. OK – the ropes wrap around the pole and the disk rises. Guess I’ll jump on. WHOA!

The disk starts spinning down and then back up again. Stops. Back down again and back up. Did not expect that. And it’s all I can do to hang on. The centrifugal force is powerful. It wants to fling me on the ground like an angry monster.

I love to watch their surprised look as they hang on with all their might.

But then I was shocked!....

Trying new ideas and skills are what play is about. When you learned to ride a bike, you fell over and skinned your knee. You finally got it. But now you have to turn corners and brake. Soon you have mastered how to ride a bike. Active play in action.

So why was I shocked? One of the young boys who had been winding it up for the other kids took a chance. With a big kid on the platform and wound as tight as he could, he grabbed a rope as it started spinning and flung his legs into the air. He was flying! Totally parallel to the ground – grinning from ear to ear. I’m sure he was terrified at first.... will this work or will I crash and burn? Will everybody be cheering or laughing at me? As he came close to the ground he let go and rolled off in the grass. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen. Everyone was cheering!

That’s what good play is all about!

No directions, nobody telling you “you can’t do it that way”.
It’s pure discovery!