A not uncommon scene in places where snow happens: A handful of kids immersed in a walking snowball fight along a neighborhood street near an elementary school fifteen minutes after dismissal. The leisurely battle plods along, sometimes on the sidewalk, mainly on the traffic-free side street. Trash is talked. Laughs are had. Challenges are made: “bet you can’t hit that STOP sign,” “I’ll give you five bucks if you can hit me from there,” “I dare you to throw one at that guy walking his dogs.”
Walking Snowball Fight Wrap Up
Walking along with my dogs, unassailed by mischievous snowballs (luckily, she didn’t dare), I reflected that maybe this was an uncommon scene. Most classmates of the walking snowball fight crew didn’t have the chance. They were ushered onto buses shortly after the dismissal bell rang and then dropped off near home, where adults stood waiting to guide them home.
[Begin Back In The Day Rant]
Back in the day, many more kids walked home from smaller neighborhood schools on sunny winter days while talking trash and tossing snowballs. The trend toward larger schools saves school districts money at the expense of children’s opportunities for such activities. Things were far from perfect back in the day; those walks home also had fights, bullying, and other not-so-civil behavior. But I’d argue that most of the time, those things were just as beneficial as the walking snowball fights since they allowed us to take a stab at solving our interpersonal upheavals, assess and manage risk, and tune our moral compasses. Now, many kids are never far enough away from a well-meaning adult to get the chance. And then we wonder why they struggle.
[End Back In The Day Rant]
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Jeff Johnson is an early learning trainer, podcaster, and author who founded Explorations Early Learning, Playvolution HQ, and Play Haven.
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