The sneaky coffeehouse flower game happened at the same location I saw the ballerinas at play, a popular small-town coffee place housed in an old bank. A three-year-old girl in a t-shirt exclaiming Smart Girl, entertaining herself while Mother and Big Brother waited patiently in line to order, hopped and lept from flower to flower on the shop’s century-old tile floor. She was discreet, trying to avoid her mother’s gaze.

It was apparent Mom disapproved of the game. That’s why it had to be the sneaky coffeehouse flower game instead of just the flower game. Mom’s eyes were on her phone; with a sneaky leap, the girl landed on a fresh flower. Mom browses the muffin selection; the girl hops to a new floor flower. Mom’s chatting with a friend; the girl makes another sly jump to a different flower…

As the girl’s shoes touch the floor, she notices her Mom’s eyeballs are locked on and shooting laserbeams. She smiles.

Mom does not. Game over?

Big Brother is instructed to take Smart Girl to a table and ordered to “try to keep her still.”

Mom’s eyes go back to her phone.

Headed to a table, the girl jumps silently from flower to flower.

Big Brother follows, striding from flower to flower.

They both grin.

The sneaky coffeehouse flower game was over. For now.

Sneaky Coffee House Flower Game Wrap Up

Adults banning or attempting to redirect play does not always cause the compulsion to play to fade. Sometimes kids give in and move on. Often shutting play down strengthens the desire to engage in it. In some situations, some types of play are probably inappropriate. Great Aunt Agatha’s funeral may not be the place for a ruckus game of The Floor Is Lava. Unless Agatha was a fan of play–then such a game might be a way of honoring her memory. That coffeehouse is a chill and kid-friendly place, and the little leaper was not being disruptive. But Mom was the Decider, and in her eyes, the sneaky coffeehouse flower game was a no-go.

One more thought: Not all loose parts are movable. According to Simon Nicholson, loose parts are variables in an environment which people can engage with. Those tiles, secured in place for over a century, are excellent loose parts. Kids are wired for play. Imagine how many children have played some version of the sneaky coffeehouse flower game on that tiled floor in the last 100+ years.

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