What’s your favorite part of the school day? Recess!
Before I was old enough to attend school I knew all about their play equipment. We lived in town then. If I could get a brother or other responsible person to walk with me I could go and play on a tall, metal slide. They also had a set of swings much larger and grander than the one my dad hung from a handy tree limb. And they had a merry-go-round that made me dizzy. Didn’t stop me from riding though.
Even small towns have changes. We moved to the farm and I got to ride the bus. One room schools consolidated into the main village school. A few pieces of their playground equipment were moved. I especially remember the set with two swings, a trapeze bar, and a set of rings. A great addition.
Years passed. I grew up, moved away, and saw the schoolyard during rare visits. Some of the equipment remained. Other pieces lost to time and wear. Asphalt replaced grass. (Not that our running feet gave it much time to grow.) A bright map of the United States filled some of the space.
Age caught up to the building. By the time it was eighty or more years old it had to go. Too many students, too many years, it was time to replace.
The village has a modern, up to code building for K-5 now. And new equipment for twenty-first century children to climb, slide and swing their way through their favorite time of the school day — recess!
