Back to school is buzzing in the air. Excitement paired with trepidations, new school supplies and color-coded schedules. But while we send our children off to learn, I urge you to remember that the work of a child is play.

At this time of year, I am often reminded of a quote from author Joseph Chilton Pearce: “The great rule is: play on the surface and the work takes place beneath. For the child, the time is always now; the place, here; the action, me. (The child) has no capacity to entertain adult notions of fantasy world and real world. (The child) knows only one world, and that is the very real one in which and with which (the child) plays. (The child) is not playing at life. Play is life.”

As a culture, we are conditioned to want more and in return, we try to do more in every way. But I’d argue that childhood is not something to rush through. Children should be steeped in childhood. When I think to myself about the definition of childhood, it brings to mind an image…. Bare feet, twirling in the grass, no expectations or urgency.

My son is one week into school starting and while he’s coming home each day happy, grinning from ear to ear, he’s exhausted. Before school started, I had it in my mind that alongside school, we’d pick a new sport, start music lessons, but now I’m reminded that during this phase of transitioning back to school, all he needs each afternoon is time for independent play. His play supports his needs as he progresses through each afternoon. He’ll start by laying on the floor, driving cars back and forth, basically napping on the ground with his eyes open. As his momentum builds, he opens the door and takes his imagination outside, building ramps and digging in the dirt.

I find I’m writing this as a reminder to myself, and maybe permission to you, that often what our children need from us is less… less activities, less toys, less distraction, less interference, and more play.