The Joys of TP

Yesterday I was sitting at my desk working on a risk management plan for the child care center, since it is a highly rated item on the administrator's rating scale that we are using to critique the management of the center.  I was moving right along when several of the three year old children appeared in my doorway to say hello.  They were all smiling and each one was holding a roll of toilet paper in their hands. (Toilet paper?  Huh?)  Following these children were several others who were also holding a roll of toilet paper and leading the assistant director, who was totally wrapped in tp and could not see.  When I went out to admire their handiwork, they began to wrap me up as well.  Now I had a choice between doing important director work or playing, so of course I chose playing.  Chaos ensured - it was great. 

Some of the children worked on wrapping me while others wrapped each other.  One child got into my desk chair and tried to tp my computer, but changed his mind and began to unroll the paper in long strips on the floor.  Several other children followed suit and unrolled their paper onto the floor.  After a while the adults and the floor were covered.  A few of the teachers tried throwing the rolls, and I quickly learned which ones must have been the wild neighborhood children on Halloween.  When all of the tp had been unwound, draped, thrown, and otherwise used, all of the children worked together to clean up the paper and to save it for another use.  (Don't panic - it will be mixed with warm water and ivory soap to make "clean mud"). 

Was this what the teacher had planned for the day?  Not exactly.  What was the purpose of this, beyond making a mess?  The children and the adults spent time together laughing, sharing, and bonding.  The children worked together as they wrapped adults, made paper trails, and cleaned up the mess, developing social skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.  As the children worked to wrap the adults, they had to figure out how to keep the end of the roll in place while they wrapped the rest - this is physical problem solving which helps to build a base for mathematical and scientific reasoning.   The children learned that they were important to the adults who were willing to leave their work to spend some time with them.  (They also learned important throwing skills for future Halloweens.)

Is my risk management paper done? No  Do I have any regrets that I spent time playing with three year old children and toilet paper?  Never!