Playful Solutions, LLC

09/04/2026

09/03/2026

“Body boundaries! Body boundaries!”, was the call I heard from the forest house.

“Everyone stop!”, I said loudly as I made my way over to the sand. “I heard Brad calling for body boundaries! Please check in with the person next to you! Are they safe? Do they need your help?”

As I arrived on the scene I checked in too, “Body boundary teachers, are you okay?”

“Yeah. Robert and Stephen were throwing sand, and it got in my face”, answered Brittany.

“Oh! Are you okay, Brittany?”, I asked.

“Yeah.”

“Oh good!”, I said. “I’m so glad Brad helped you by yelling out loud, ‘Body boundaries!”

“Yeah! And I’m HIS body boundary teacher too!”, replied Brittany proudly.

“You are! Brad learned how to do that from watching and listening to you!”, I replied.

Then I addressed the whole group, “So if you need sand safety help again, it might sound like this, “Sand stays on the…”

“Ground!”, everyone finished the sentence. “Thank you for your help!”, I replied.

Then I kneeled down next to Brad, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah”, he said sounding relieved.

“Thank you for calling out body boundaries. That was such a huge help to Brittany, and to me!”

“Yeah”, he replied cracking a smile.

“You’ve really been working hard on those body boundaries, haven’t you?”

“Yeah! I have!”, replied Brad. “I want to be a body boundary teacher like Maura and Brittany.”

“I think calling out body boundaries is a fabulous start for a body boundary teacher!” I held out my hand for a high five, which Brad returned with a big smile.

…

Now rewind! Up until about two weeks ago, we had a persistent and triggering (for me) problem! A few of the children - including Brad - were unaware of how their physical size, rough play, and lack of body awareness were causing other children, mainly Brittany and Maura, to feel unsafe. I found myself constantly reacting to the hurt, instead of supporting and growing new skills.

I reflected on what I wanted for all of the children. I wanted Maura and Brittany to feel empowered. I wanted them to be able to successfully hold a physical boundary, and to protect their right to play.

I wanted Brad, and the other children who like to play BIG, to become more aware of other people and other play plans happening in the space. I also wanted them to recognize physically unsafe situations - especially involving other people.

I started “body boundaries” work with Brittany first. I asked her if she would be interested in being a body boundary teacher with me. “Really?!?!”, she replied, “Just like you?” “Yes. Just like me”, I said. We ran through a few possible scenarios, and how she could help. To say she was thrilled would be an understatement - especially when I assigned her a “student”, Brad.

Brittany and Brad are good friends, so Brad was very agreeable when Brittany announced, very matter of fact, “You’re with me today!”, when he arrived. Whenever Brittany had a hard time remembering what to say in any given scenario, she would say loudly, “Body boundaries!”, and I would come alongside her to help. Both the phrase “body boundaries”, and Brittany’s context specific use of it spread like wildfire!

Last week, Maura asked if she could be a body boundary teacher too, which I was thrilled about! I went over the same responsibilities with her, but didn’t assign her a specific student. Instead, if I saw a child struggling to be safe with their body, I would say, “I need you to find a body boundary teacher. You can either come with me, or you can go play where Maura or Brittany are playing. Body boundary teachers are here to help you stay safe.”

No shame needed! No blame necessary! Just people helping people feel safe to play in community.

09/02/2026

09/01/2026

All of this!!! 💗

09/01/2026

A glimpse into our joy today - which included becoming master plumbers (apparently the girls have watched me fix our outhouse one too many times this summer🤣), and opening up a water slide/hair salon.

08/30/2026

Breaking news: the child’s work was not missing an adult contribution.

Not your line. Not your “fix.” Not your finishing touch.

Changing or directing children’s work communicates that their ideas were incomplete, incorrect, or not good enough until an adult improved them.

Autonomy is not simply letting children “do it themselves.” It is how they learn to initiate, make decisions, test ideas, tolerate uncertainty, solve problems, revise plans, and trust their own judgment.

Every time we add, correct, rearrange, or overdirect, we replace a child’s decision with an adult’s. Do it often enough, and children stop asking themselves, What do I think? What could I try? and start asking, Is this right? What does the adult want?

That shifts the work from exploration to performance and from internal motivation to adult approval.

The finished product may look more impressive, but the child had fewer opportunities to think, decide, experiment, and create. Adult “help” can improve the appearance while stripping away the very development the experience was supposed to support.

Sometimes the most developmentally appropriate thing an adult can add to children’s work is absolutely nothing

08/28/2026

A glimpse into our joy today☀️😃

08/26/2026

A glimpse of our growth today which included discovering some signs of fall, exploring mountains and canyons, cheering on a friend who made it all the way to the top of the climbing dome for the first time, gaining confidence and speed on the balance bikes, creating garden art with hearts, and so much more!!

08/25/2026

When building a house, the foundation isn’t the most exciting part.

You’re probably more interested in the kitchen: the cabinets, countertops, appliances, and all the details you can actually see. And the kitchen matters. It will be useful every single day.

But nobody would suggest installing it before the foundation is finished.

Without a stable foundation, the floors shift, the cabinets pull away from the walls, and the countertops crack. It might look impressive temporarily, but eventually, everything built on top becomes unstable.

Academic learning works the same way.

Reading, writing, and math are important. But they depend on developmental foundations that have to be built first.

Executive function allows children to focus, remember information, control impulses, adjust their thinking, and persist through challenges. These skills develop through play, problem-solving, decision-making, and real opportunities to navigate frustration.

Language and comprehension develop through conversation, storytelling, responsive relationships, and meaningful back-and-forth exchanges. Reciting the alphabet does not automatically mean a child has the language foundation needed to understand what they eventually read.

Motor development and sensory integration support coordination, body awareness, attention, and the physical skills needed for writing. Children build these systems through movement, climbing, carrying, manipulating materials, and exploring their environments.

Self-regulation develops through supportive relationships and manageable challenges. When adults expect sustained attention, compliance, and academic performance before those systems are ready, children do not suddenly mature faster. They become stressed, overwhelmed, dependent, or resistant.

Academics are important and so is the kitchen.

But if you rush to install either before the foundation is ready, don’t act surprised when cracks start appearing down the road. Because they can, and they very likely will.

08/24/2026

Playing with music! There is so much beautiful growth happening here! ❤️