The play on Friday turned out just splendidly. The teachers were delighted, and we hope the parents were too. I didn’t get much chance to talk to everyone after the play, but you can guess that my heart was with you all.

Plays are an important part of the early childhood experience because they explore the little parts of the self that says “I can act.” Children need to act, to imagine, to learn to put themselves in different roles to begin to understand others.

I’ve written a column this week for WFIE on the play.

I think the stars of the play were the children able to take their roles seriously enough to learn from it. I congratulate Jackson for his fine work at comedian turkey. It was interesting to watch him begin to understand scripted humor. I congratulate Keiron for his steady voice. Ian had great inflection; Emma did a wonderful job delivering some difficult lines. Javeon died brilliantly. Zoey stole our hearts. Zoe managed to sing out her line with gusto, and we are proud of her cooperation. David was solid, Stoggy was hilarious, Nikolai was serious, as usual, but added a lot of balance to the play. Isaac wasn’t sure, but heck, he went for it and did a great job. Nathan froze as did Holli – next spring…

Addie was a brick and always delivered even the day of the play. Kanin was intent on doing it just right, and we’re proud of him. Kanyan managed to come on stage… Bill did fine, Sam was on target, Kamden was surprisingly loud. Devin got all but one syllable out clearly, and he was adorable. Brady struggled a little but made his way through his line like a trooper.

Bryce was curiously dramatic. Cole loved the attention of acting. Alexis was sweet and steady, Nicholas was a solid member of the cast who cooperated with the right stuff. Dax delivered his lines better at the play than at practice. Phoebe was shy but did fine, Luke was delightful and spouted his line like a champ. Caitlyn has promise.

And little three year old Jaylen was absolutely delightful. He was a quick study, dramatic, funny and a remarkable little talent. I congratulate him for his wonderful cooperation as well as his desire to please.

Thank you all for a wonderful event.