Wanna play with me?
That’s the inscription you read on this special bench at Trinoom primary school in The Netherlands. The ‘Koos bench’ is a bench that children can sit on if they want to be invited to play along. It was devised by pupil Koos, who explains that he used to be quite slow and that when he was finally outside after cleaning up, everyone was already playing. He came up with the idea for the bench. The bench reads: ‘Do you want to play together’.
Koos’ idea was simple: If you sit on the bench, other children can ask you if you want to play together, or they can sit next to you to chat.
Most pupils ask if they can play along, but for some it is more difficult. In this school there are more than 600 pupils, spread over three buildings. By the time you get outside, sometimes everyone is already playing. It’s more for shy and introverted children, who now don’t have to ask, but just sit on it to give their message.
A small trend signal, but one that shows hope and great empathy. One to remember.