“I tried to teach my child with books, 
He only gave me puzzled looks
I tried to teach my child with words,
They passed him by often unheard
Despairingly I turned aside, “How shall I teach this child?”  I cried
Into my hand he placed the key, “Come” he said, “And play with me.”
Anonymous

Perhaps the poem above best describes the last few months for many parents who were dealing with “homeschooling” their child.  The “puzzled looks”, the “unheard” words, all made for long days of frustration and exhaustion and yet sometimes the best way for a parent to “teach” their child through playing.

As the weather turns warmer and summer returns, spend some time playing outside with your child.  Play, such a simple and inexpensive thing to do with your child but one that reaps many rewards. 

The word play is defined as engaging in an activity for enjoyment and recreation.  Play is any activity that is done by a child for the pure joy of it and having fun!

When was the last time you actually had fun playing with your child?  This does not include playing a video game or playing some sort of game on an electronic device.  No this means going outside or staying inside if necessary, and creating a game just for the fun of it.  Playing hide and go seek, or making a tent out of blankets, building with blocks or Legos.  Any activity that brings you and your child joy just for the pure enjoyment of it can be such a special bonding time.  

 Play teaches your child many important life lessons, for instance when you play a game, you have to take turns, be cooperative, and sometimes playing requires strategies.   There are other times when play is simply just having fun, like sliding down the slide, building a sandcastle in the sandbox or swinging on the playground.  (As our current conditions allow, be safe at the playgrounds).  

One of our children’s favorite activities to do in the summer was to play badminton.  We would set up our net in the backyard.  Then with racquets in hand, we would start out seeing how many times we could keep the birdie going back and forth across the net.  Then as the birdie got higher and higher up in the sky it became a battle of the arms to see who could hit the birdie the highest.  Next, the laughter would begin as we struggled to even see the birdie, much less hit it over the net.  Just having fun and hearing your child laugh, that’s what makes spending time with your child so fantastic.  

Depending on how competitive a person you are, play can be a little tricky, but when you play with your children, there are always winners.   It is a win/win situation.  Parents win by spending time with their children and children win by spending time with their parents.  

There is a lyric to a children’s song that says, “Let the children be children, it’s ok to be a kid for awhile, let the children be children, please make it last.”  It really is ok to be a child for a while, as we all know children grow up way too quickly, savor each precious moment.  

Jesus even commands us to become like children in order to enter into the kingdom of God.  Luke 18:16-17 says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”   

Try to remember what it was like to have no worries about bills, stress at work, house payments, car insurance, etc. and just be at peace with the world and have fun, go out and play.  Throw a Frisbee, play croquet, toss a football, kick a soccer ball, jump rope, skip around the block, do something fun that will make you and your child laugh. It will be such a blessing to you and your family.  A joyful heart really is good medicine!

Have a happy day!

Peace

Priscilla