Aneya's Playtime

Aneya zipped across the playground in her colourful trainers, her short brown hair bouncing under a light green hair band. She loved playing on the monkey bars with her friend Zizi, who was racing right behind her. But today, Aneya felt curious and wanted to find someone new to play with. She smoothed down her red and white school t-shirt looking around the yard with her bright brown eyes.

Over by the climbing frame, she spotted her friend Kent. Although Aneya sometimes got shy with new people, Kent was already good friends with her and Zizi. Kent loved playing chasing games, so Aneya ran over with bursting energy to join him.

The chase was incredibly fun, but soon Aneya got far too excited and energetic. She began running too fast and accidentally bumped into Kent and fell on top of him. She loved this kind of play but Kent was unsure, making the game much too rough. Kent got a very upset and asked her to please stop. Because Aneya found it so hard to stop doing her favourite things, she just giggled and kept rolling around with him.

Kent did not feel happy about this rough play at all, so he walked away to tell the teachers. When the teacher called Aneya over, her face fell because she really did not want to be in trouble. The teacher explained that Kent was upset because Aneya had not listened when he asked her to stop. Aneya felt a knot in her tummy, wishing she had just paused the game when her friend asked.

Sitting on a quiet bench, Aneya thought about her three sisters at home and how they also needed her to listen. She realised that she desperately wanted to have good friends, but it was difficult for her to cool down when she was having so much fun. The teacher sat next to her and smiled gently, understanding how tricky big feelings can be. They talked about how important it is to open our ears and listen closely to our friends.

The teacher gave Aneya a very clever strategy to use during playtime. Whenever Aneya heard a friend call her name, she needed to freeze like a statue and take a deep breath. This special pausing trick would give her brain a moment to calm down and check if her friends were still having fun. Aneya nodded her head, eager to try this new rule out so she could be a better playmate.

The teacher also suggested finding a quiet corner to play when she felt her energy bubbling up too high. Since Aneya absolutely loved reading books, she could bring a favourite story outside to a calm place. She could even invite her friends over to her calm spot to look at the it together. This sounded like a wonderful idea to Aneya, who loved sharing her books from home.

Aneya walked over to Kent and apologised for being too rough during their chasing game. She invited him and Zizi to join her under a big shady tree with a fascinating book about climbing monkeys. When Kent said her name to ask a question about the book, Aneya froze, smiled, and listened perfectly. She saw Kent's happy face and realised she was making a good choice. Playing calmly turned out to be just as magical as running fast, and Aneya was thrilled to share it with her friends.