Made for more

Encouraging children to discover through unstructured play

I love being a mom. I love being a teacher. And honestly? Sometimes I feel like I’m doing both with my hair half-brushed and my heart barely holding on.

But God. His grace covers it all—and He’s teaching me more through my kids than I ever taught in a classroom.

Lately, I’ve been reminded just how powerful play is. Not the Pinterest-perfect, prepped-and-laminated kind of play. But the messy, unstructured, nobody-knows-what’s-going-to-happen kind.

The kind where you set out some crayons, craft sticks, and a glue stick… and say nothing else. No instructions. No expectations. Just space. And you know what happens?

They create. They imagine. They solve problems. They get a little wild. And they learn.

Give them a plastic baggie and take them outside. I’m serious—just a baggie. No scavenger hunt checklist. No rules. No theme. Let them choose what to fill it with.

Maybe it’s water they pour down the driveway to see where it flows. Maybe it’s grass they throw into the air to watch how it falls. Maybe it’s bugs (alive or not, because let’s be honest—my boys are bringing them in either way).

It’s not chaos. It’s curiosity. It’s how they were made.

And maybe—just maybe—God didn’t design childhood to be so scripted. Maybe He meant for us to see Him in the mud pies and the butterfly chases and the unplanned discoveries. Maybe that’s where our wonder grows too.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, trying to juggle it all or wondering if you’re doing enough…Let me remind you (and myself):

You don’t have to plan it all. You don’t have to perfect it. Sometimes the best thing you can do is step back.

Let them be messy. Let them be wild. Then teach them how to clean it all up so they’re ready to do it again tomorrow.

Because the best kind of wonder? It’s the kind we make room for over and over again.

They were made to wonder. And maybe… we were too.