Right now, somewhere in the country, a four-year-old is trying to make sense of a world that has felt unpredictable and unsafe for far too long.
I’d like to tell you about a teacher who’s helping some children do just that.
This past fall, a Head Start teacher and recent Playmaker University graduate welcomed four-year-old twins into her classroom. Both boys had been born prematurely and faced significant medical challenges. Their family was overwhelmed.
One of the boys – let’s call him PJ – had lost a leg and used a prosthetic. When he became angry, he would sometimes take it off and throw it, something his teacher had never encountered in more than a decade in the classroom.
But she was a trained Playmaker.
Instead of punishment, she focused on connection and understanding. Instead of power struggles, she found ways to spark joy and empowerment.
Using Playmaker strategies – extra play at lunchtime, clay snowmen to crush when angry, and gentle routines to ease difficult transitions like drop-offs – she helped PJ feel safe enough to trust, make friends, and finally feel like he belonged.
Down the hall, PJ’s twin brother continued to struggle.
His teachers had not yet found ways to support his volatile behaviors, and as a result, he became increasingly dysregulated.
Because of the progress PJ had made – and because her classroom had earned a reputation as the place where even the most vulnerable children thrived – PJ’s Playmaker was asked to step in and help.
Drawing on what she learned at Playmaker University, she helped her colleagues rebuild their classroom – not with stricter rules or harsher consequences – but with playful, joyful, and loving practices that heal.