The Kitty Cat Hill

The Kitty Cat Hill

By Calley Roering

This year our group of preschoolers named the beloved hill in the Boulders area “The Kitty Cat Hill.”

It all started this fall when the children discovered that they could slide down the hill like penguins. They were eager to get back up the hill but struggled to do so. The children were heard yelling, “Help! Help me get up this hill!” As teachers, our first impulse was to jump into action and pull them all up the hill ourselves, but we didn't do that. The teachers slid down the hill, sat with the children and brainstormed together ways to get back up the steep hill. Collectively, we thought that it would be easier to crawl like a kitty cat. Crawling up the steep hill like a kitty cat worked and the name has stuck ever since!

During the fall months, it was much easier crawling up Kitty Cat Hill because it was only dirt. By winter, it was covered in snow, which proved to be trickier to climb up. The children struggled getting up the snow-covered hill. After struggling for a while to climb up the icy, slippery hill, we went inside and once again brainstormed ways to get up the hill. We came to the conclusion that perhaps a rope would help us.

That afternoon, we brought a rope to the Boulders and discussed how it would be used. A few children slid down Kitty Cat Hill and yelled, “I need the rope!” The children who were standing at the top grabbed the rope and threw it to the children at the bottom of the hill. The children at the top of the hill yelled, “Grab onto the rope,” and “Pull!” in unison. The child holding onto the rope was able to walk up the hill or belly slide with the help of the children pulling at the top.

The children relish the idea of being the rescuer as well as being rescued. One morning, a child was at the bottom of the hill and yelled for the child at the top of the hill. Their conversation went like this:
“Please throw the rope to me. I need it!”
“I’ll help you! Come on, you got it. You’re almost to the rope.”
“Thanks for helping me up The Kitty Cat Hill. You rescued me!”

The Kitty Cat Hill in the Boulders has become one of the children's favorite spots to play. This type of play has allowed the children to problem solve and work together. Playing on Kitty Cat Hill has naturally become a community building activity where all can all join in and help each other.