okay everyone before I begin let me see
a show of hands if you have ever
interacted with a preschooler okay okay
many of you now let me see a show of
hands if you have ever seen how utterly
uncontrollable they can be in fact they
seem like the only group of humans that
constantly get away with antisocial
behaviors such as hitting kicking
name-calling screaming whining fussing
throwing temper tantrums and completely
freaking out
right right why is that and what can we
do about it
so I started to do some thinking and I
have an idea one of my daily routines
when I first get to school is play at
the preschoolers kids from the age of
three to five we have many different
games that we love that we play we love
to play duck-duck-goose it’s so much fun
to watch them sit there and call out
Mimi pick me
I mean they run all over the place and
forget that they’re supposed to run in a
circle we also love to dig in the
sandpit together they love to make sand
cakes but I have to make sure they don’t
actually eat them I love their
imagination they truly believe they can
dig to the center of the earth it’s a
little difficult with plastic shovels
but it’s fun to imagine and try it’s
also fun to push them on the swings over
and over again inevitably they turn to
me and say when your arms get tired can
we play monster monster is a game we
made up together basically I’m a monster
and I have to chase them but if they
catch me they throw me in jail it’s all
really fun but it can get pretty tiring
I bet you all want to know why I bother
to get all sweaty and tired in the
morning well the answer is pretty simple
actually it’s just something I love to
do a preschooler can learn to play
cooperatively just by watching and
listening as I play with them I’m
so modeling good sportsmanship and
teamwork they see that I don’t push or
argue and that I follow the rules and
they play just as I do
cooperatively I’ve also started to see
the benefits for preschool in this
environment I mean think about it
how hard is it for a four-year-old to
play a simple game of catch with another
four-year-old neither of them can throw
the ball straight
but what if a ten-year-old played catch
with the four-year-old the ten-year-old
is able to throw the ball gently into
the four-year-olds hands and the
ten-year-old was also able to dive
side-to-side
to catch the four-year-olds crazy throws
in this way the ten-year-old can be
entertained while the four-year-old was
having fun but what about these older
kids who can sometimes become
competitive and aggressive when playing
with kids their own age they realize
that you can’t play the same way with
the younger children you have to be
kinder and more considerate with the
little ones soon you’re gonna have to
play nicely with both kids younger than
you and older I’m wondering what if more
people play to mix age groups how can we
all benefit but let’s go back to the
school I just want you to imagine being
a four-year-old and I want you to side
which is better playing happily with a
friend about your age then suddenly you
accidentally step on your friend’s foot
your friend starts to get mad and they
step on your foot so you think it’s only
fair to step on their foot again then
this happy playdate turns into a black
and blue today now imagine this again
but this time there’s a fifth grader
playing with you just when your friend
is about to strike back the fifth grader
jumps in and saves the day by that I
mean they may ask you to say sorry even
though it was an accident and through
the whole process the older role model
helps them develop problem-solving
skills I wonder what you chose my
message is for all of us don’t worry
don’t overlook kids younger than you
just because they’re well younger and
remember what it’s like with only little
kids bruised toast and if you’re an
adult you can join the fun kids love
playing with adults too and I get the
feeling that it’s sometimes nice to
pretend you’re a kid again I think we
need
more opportunities to play with kids
outside of our age groups what if we
could spread this throughout our
elementary school or we could even
spread this throughout a whole school
even better what effect will this have
on our communities and world as we all
grow up and move around the world
the thought of it gets me excited now
help start the chain what you could call
the chain of happiness I call it that
because everyone needs to be happy in
order to play now I want you to think of
what you do when you have the chance to
play with a preschooler or is someone
younger than you now take that thought
and make it into a reality and remember
you can even do something simple like
playing duck duck goose digging in the
sandpit pushing them on the swings
or even making up your very own games
like monster thank you [Applause]
a show of hands if you have ever
interacted with a preschooler okay okay
many of you now let me see a show of
hands if you have ever seen how utterly
uncontrollable they can be in fact they
seem like the only group of humans that
constantly get away with antisocial
behaviors such as hitting kicking
name-calling screaming whining fussing
throwing temper tantrums and completely
freaking out
right right why is that and what can we
do about it
so I started to do some thinking and I
have an idea one of my daily routines
when I first get to school is play at
the preschoolers kids from the age of
three to five we have many different
games that we love that we play we love
to play duck-duck-goose it’s so much fun
to watch them sit there and call out
Mimi pick me
I mean they run all over the place and
forget that they’re supposed to run in a
circle we also love to dig in the
sandpit together they love to make sand
cakes but I have to make sure they don’t
actually eat them I love their
imagination they truly believe they can
dig to the center of the earth it’s a
little difficult with plastic shovels
but it’s fun to imagine and try it’s
also fun to push them on the swings over
and over again inevitably they turn to
me and say when your arms get tired can
we play monster monster is a game we
made up together basically I’m a monster
and I have to chase them but if they
catch me they throw me in jail it’s all
really fun but it can get pretty tiring
I bet you all want to know why I bother
to get all sweaty and tired in the
morning well the answer is pretty simple
actually it’s just something I love to
do a preschooler can learn to play
cooperatively just by watching and
listening as I play with them I’m
so modeling good sportsmanship and
teamwork they see that I don’t push or
argue and that I follow the rules and
they play just as I do
cooperatively I’ve also started to see
the benefits for preschool in this
environment I mean think about it
how hard is it for a four-year-old to
play a simple game of catch with another
four-year-old neither of them can throw
the ball straight
but what if a ten-year-old played catch
with the four-year-old the ten-year-old
is able to throw the ball gently into
the four-year-olds hands and the
ten-year-old was also able to dive
side-to-side
to catch the four-year-olds crazy throws
in this way the ten-year-old can be
entertained while the four-year-old was
having fun but what about these older
kids who can sometimes become
competitive and aggressive when playing
with kids their own age they realize
that you can’t play the same way with
the younger children you have to be
kinder and more considerate with the
little ones soon you’re gonna have to
play nicely with both kids younger than
you and older I’m wondering what if more
people play to mix age groups how can we
all benefit but let’s go back to the
school I just want you to imagine being
a four-year-old and I want you to side
which is better playing happily with a
friend about your age then suddenly you
accidentally step on your friend’s foot
your friend starts to get mad and they
step on your foot so you think it’s only
fair to step on their foot again then
this happy playdate turns into a black
and blue today now imagine this again
but this time there’s a fifth grader
playing with you just when your friend
is about to strike back the fifth grader
jumps in and saves the day by that I
mean they may ask you to say sorry even
though it was an accident and through
the whole process the older role model
helps them develop problem-solving
skills I wonder what you chose my
message is for all of us don’t worry
don’t overlook kids younger than you
just because they’re well younger and
remember what it’s like with only little
kids bruised toast and if you’re an
adult you can join the fun kids love
playing with adults too and I get the
feeling that it’s sometimes nice to
pretend you’re a kid again I think we
need
more opportunities to play with kids
outside of our age groups what if we
could spread this throughout our
elementary school or we could even
spread this throughout a whole school
even better what effect will this have
on our communities and world as we all
grow up and move around the world
the thought of it gets me excited now
help start the chain what you could call
the chain of happiness I call it that
because everyone needs to be happy in
order to play now I want you to think of
what you do when you have the chance to
play with a preschooler or is someone
younger than you now take that thought
and make it into a reality and remember
you can even do something simple like
playing duck duck goose digging in the
sandpit pushing them on the swings
or even making up your very own games
like monster thank you [Applause]
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