Head of School's Letter - February 14, 2025

Dear Families,

If you stepped onto campus this week, you wouldn’t have been able to miss it—the bustling of kids engaged in their work and the uncontainable energy of childhood at play. Laughter echoing through the woods as four-year-olds haul branches to build a shelter, figuring out, through trial and error, how to keep the wind from toppling their walls. A chorus of cheers and groans as Fifth through Eighth Graders face off in the Heron House “Marshmallow Mouth” challenge, a game as ridiculous as it is strategic, testing teamwork and the ability to keep a straight face while holding a mouthful of marshmallows. And in the Lower School, the flurry of hands crafting valentines, the thrill of giving something homemade, the simple joy of bright paper and glue.

Moments like these are easy to dismiss as just fun. But if you look closer, you see something more profound. The latest research in childhood development confirms what great teachers have always known: play is one of the most powerful ways children learn. A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that unstructured play is fundamental in strengthening executive function—the brain’s ability to plan, solve problems, and adapt to new challenges. In other words, when kids are playing, their brains are growing in ways that set them up for lifelong success. This is particularly important in young children.

You see it when your child builds an elaborate Lego world for the hundredth time, perfecting the design. You feel it when they lose themselves in make-believe, stretching the limits of their creativity. 

Playing with others is also a cornerstone of a child’s social development. Learning to share, take turns, deal with disappointment, problem solve, and to think about the needs of others before themselves. You hear it when they negotiate the rules of a game, unknowingly practicing compromise and leadership. 

Play isn’t something we squeeze in when the work is done. It is integral to our work at Brookwood.  Whether it’s through recess, movement-rich lessons, or the way we design learning to be hands-on and dynamic, we know that childhood should be filled with exploration, connection, and the kind of experiences that can’t be captured in a worksheet.

As we head into the long weekend, I hope your family finds time for play—whatever that looks like for you. Whether it’s a snowball fight, a board game, a long walk in the woods, or an impromptu kitchen dance party, may it be filled with joy, curiosity, and a little bit of magic.

Warmly,

Jon