This school year has featured a lot of indoor play.

 

“How long have we been waiting for the park to be finished?” a fourth-grader asked me one day while waiting for other buses to arrive.

 

I counted quickly on my fingers. “Six months,” I said. “We’ve had no playground for six months, and you guys have done an awesome job.”

 

The preschool that shares the building with us realized their ten-year-old dream of recreating the playground this year. Originally, the construction company had planned to complete the new playground by March. By mid-January, the snow and bitter cold had thrown the schedule off-track. At some points, we doubted whether it would be finished by the end of the school year at all.

 

Needless to say, our kids were thrilled when they saw grass growing in the playground, all of the elements complete.

 

At the end of Kids Club, I took the kids outside for dismissal time. Without warning, a chunk of five kids began to run away. “Guys! Come back!” I called, unaware of why they had all run off. They returned.

About five minutes later, one of the students, Martin, approached me very seriously. “Miss Liz, I ran away because I wanted to look at the new park,” he explained.

 

“Oh, I see. Did you get to see it?” He shook his head. “Well,” I replied, “let’s go over and look at it together.” I turned and began walking toward the playground, the same chunk of kids trailing just behind me.

 

As I was walking, I heard Martin lean over and whisper conspiratorially to another student, “See, I told you! The power of telling the truth works every time!”

 

I had to clap my hands over my mouth to stifle the guffaw that welled up.

 

While I still do not know how the new playground will shape our kids’ experience of Kids Club, I’m thankful for the moment it provided for us to catch a peek of what Martin has been learning.

 

Browse more photos of the kids and the new terrain.