Students, parents master skills of play day

Winning isn't everything.

Our 8-year-old grasps that concept.

At her elementary school's play day Friday, she didn't want to compete in the crab race because she wanted to avoid getting her pants wet on the rain-soaked grass field.

The school's coach insisted that she run the race. She did, but very gingerly.

Bailey didn't win the race, but she couldn't have been happier with her turtle pace.

She left the finish line with a huge smile on her face and raced up to my side.

Bailey said she was thrilled she managed to keep her pants dry.

I couldn't help but smile at my daughter for achieving her goal.

Except for the crab race, Bailey loved play day.

But, then, what's not to love about an entire school day devoted to fun and games, complete with balloon animals and ice cream sandwiches?

A clown made Bailey a small, green balloon dog. But the dog didn't last long.

Her body exploded a short time later in Bailey's second-grade classroom.

I comforted Bailey, telling her that the balloon was too tightly twisted to have lasted long.

Fortunately, there were plenty of other things to cheer her up.

When you can bounce around on an inflated slide in the school gym and buy tons of cheap trinkets in the cafeteria, life can't be too bad.

Bailey particularly enjoyed buying temporary tattoos. She and several of her classmates put on the tattoos before the day was over, clearly making a second-grade fashion statement.

At one point, several classes of second-graders crowded into a small room to participate in a cake walk. There was barely room to move. The winners -- of which there were many -- walked away with tasty treats to satisfy their sugar highs.

Kids love it when their parents hang out with them for play day.

I can imagine that play day would appear to be little more than organized chaos to nonparents. But for experienced parents and teachers, there's no need for military intervention.

Once you get used to the noise -- which resembles a 747 airliner at take off -- play day isn't so daunting.

Rain canceled the afternoon field events, forcing children to play inside the rest of the day. But that didn't dampen spirits.

At one point students in Bailey's class settled down in their classroom and played board games. It was amazingly quiet.

That wasn't the case down the hall in the school cafeteria, which doubled as a country store for play day, selling everything from bubble gum to kites to a constant crowd of excited children.

Armed with Tiger Dollars -- purchased by their parents -- children went wild buying all manner of stuff made in China to take home in their backpacks.

Bailey and her classmates spread out their new possessions on their school desks, showing off their treasures like some modern-day pirates.

Of course, by the end of the day, students were already viewing their treasures as ancient history.

As the day wore on, parents greeted each other with weary smiles. All that running around had us longing for a nap.

Play day is truly an education, but one you won't find in a textbook.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.