The wonder of play

So much joy can come from engaging with children!

Yesterday I was outside at the jungle gyms with the little children and we started exploring the environment. We came across a hairy caterpillar creeping along the pavement. This resulted in high excitement and daring. After a lesson on how it could cause itchiness if touched we moved onto learning how it becomes a butterfly. The children were ecstatic with this find. As the caterpillar kept creeping along they jumped into a line and created an arch for it to creep under. The creativity for games is incredible!
Eventually the caterpillar was rescued and placed on a leafy plant in the garden and closely observed by the children as he became familiar with his new home.

Excitement bubbled up again as one of the children discovered another caterpillar. Unfortunately this caterpillar had been squashed earlier. We carefully carried it to the garden and buried it in the sand.

And this is what brought tears to my eyes...

All the children unanimously put their hands together and started singing a funeral song for the caterpillar. Some giggled while others took it quite seriously. The song was finally ended with an amen and the children spirited away to begin the next adventure.

It is an incredible experience to enter the world of children's play. As a adult this is a most privileged opportunity, not to be taken for granted.