By Angela Maiers

Lessons from the Sandbox

As a teacher, I’ve seen extraordinary things happen in the sandbox. From friendships being formed to brilliant dreams explored, the sandbox was the place where we created, shared ideas, and learned to love, trust, and depend on one another.

Somewhere between grade school and grad school, we have moved away from the sandbox and through our world, forgetting the lessons that have potential to serve us best.

As past “Sandboxers”, we knew the value of play and the value of the people we have had the opportunity to play with. We understood the sandbox was more than just fun and games; it was a privilege as it was the space that brought extraordinary individuals in our lives together.

And we certainly learned that everybody had a lot more fun when you played fair and played nicely in the sandbox.

As we embark on our conversations at this weeks K12 Online Conference to consider the role of purposeful play in our learning and lives, there is no one that can guide us more in these lessons than children.

Children play with purpose and passion; play is their work. And there is much to be learned by watching them do what they do best!

Take a few minutes and check out these “master sandboxers” in action. Consider what we could take away and bring to our conversations this week during the conference strands. Please share your thoughts and comments here or on your blog, and I’ll be sure to work them into the conversations.

The success of our students, community, and organization could be waiting at the edge of the sandbox: