At Colorado Academy this week, we have been in the midst of faculty meetings and preparations for students to arrive on Tuesday, and one can sense that there is a lot of enthusiasm for the coming year. We have more than 900 people who have indicated they are coming to the Back-to-School BBQ this Friday, and I am excited to see our students and families back on campus.

There is no doubt that once school begins, all of our lives (students' and parents') will become busier and more hectic. I want to encourage all of us to create some “free time” in our days. Unstructured playtime is so important for both young children and adolescents. I would encourage parents not to over-schedule their children, and to do what you can to stake out time for kids to have the time to just be kids. This provides a space for children to be creative, to experiment, and to discover. “Free time” should not include “screen time,” so avoid the easy entertainment of a computer game or TV. Encourage your child to get outdoors and play. Better yet, get outside and play with them!

One thing I did this summer was to join my children for short periods of time in their various adventures. It ranged from more complex tasks like building a zip line in our backyard to easy things like kicking a soccer ball around for 15 minutes. This week, I got some one-on-one time with my son throwing the baseball around. These are special and powerful moments. They are best when they are spontaneous, and they provide the chance to have a casual but important check-in with children about how things are going.

The beginning of the school year is a good time to remind ourselves not to get so caught up in the harried pace of our world that we lose track of time to play.