Julia Sayles

As a Playworks coach I not only get to teach kids new games and how to play, I also get to introduce important social skills that will benefit them in all aspects of life.

Here’s an example…

Jaelen was a special needs first grader I had the privilege of meeting last year. I would be lying if I said we hit it off right away.

My first impression of Jaelen came from the kickball field. He was much larger than the other kids in his grade and had a quick temper. If things were not going Jaelen’s way during a game he would often push or verbally attack anyone around him.

It seemed like every strategy I tried with Jaelen failed. I tried the tough love approach telling him he could no longer play kickball because of his behavior, I tried giving him leadership roles during the game, I talked to his classroom teacher about his behavior, nothing seemed to work.

Finally one day I told Jaelen that he had to give at least five high 5’s during the kickball game. I didn’t care if they were to people on his team or the other team but he need to give 5. It was like a light bulb went off in his head. He totally exceeded my five high 5’s goal. In fact, he was a high 5-ing machine.

In the weeks that followed I slowly began to notice the change in Jaelen’s behavior. By the end of the year he really became a positive influence during kickball games. His positive attitude carried over into Class Game Time as well.

But it wasn’t until the end of the year when Jaelen was saying goodbye to his class that I really understood my impact. As he was going around the circle giving “gifts” to all of his classmates (in reality he was simply telling them what he would give them if he could) he got to me and paused. He told the class that my gift was a golden whistle so that I could always teach kids to play. As I was blinking back tears, I thought about how much Jaelen meant to me. This first grade boy really got what I was at his school to do.

Julia Sayles