Tucked in the back of our playground is a wonderful little spot. Some may call it a deck, but we call it “The Stage.” One of its first uses back in 2013 was to stand on and “play music.” And, yes, a lot of music still happens on The Stage. In fact, during our emergence from 2020’s lockdown, The Stage was the site of our outdoor music classes.
On a daily basis, The Stage remains the center of so much on our playground. It fits all seasons and all weathers. It has a nice view of the sky and trees and is great to dance on. It can be the surface for golf, tennis and hockey and, in May, we got a pickle-ball demo from a real-life player! It’s broad surface attracts story-time, math lessons and so much more.
The Stage so often helps us adhere to Dr Montessori’s guidance to “let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and when the grass of the meadows is wet with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet; let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath its shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning.”
