In honor of AmeriCorps Week, I would like to share a few defining moments I had as an AmeriCorps member serving with Playworks. There are so many moments throughout each day when I am able to positively impact students and the school community. Since the start of the school year there have been countless defining moments where I have seen progression with students, with our school, and with myself. To attempt to honor many of these moments, I wrote a poem highlighting some that resonate with me, and hopefully with my students as well. Entitled, “Times I’ve Seen Kids Smile,” the poem is a record of just that. I am grateful and excited about all of the opportunities that being a Playworks AmeriCorps member provides, and am excited for many more. Power to Play!
Earning all our stars after a rockin’ CGT
After weeks and weeks of 1 star or even 3!
A smile so enormous that it’s deafeningly loud
After I took a knee, and said, “Hey, you make me proud.”
Basketball and Kickball, 3 lines or 1
And a K5 class who lives up to their name: “Team Fun”
Butterfly Tags at recess for JC’s without socks
And empathic responses we all know to “WHO ROCKS, WHO ROCKS?”
Missing teeth in first-grade grins as they jump up for high fives
And a smile from an assistant coach who is learning what it means to strive
Sometimes it’s easy to see boundaries broken, and cones thrown every which way
But when push comes to shove, we step in with love, and that counts at the end of the day
Whether it’s four square or zombie tag or a new, made-up handshake
The language of play finds new words every day, and the fun is impossible to fake
