Play Has Its Own Language

Playmaker Treka Hannah speaks it fluently

When Treka Hannah was a little girl, it wasn’t unusual for her to see NBA stars like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson playing pick-up games on the basketball courts outside her row house in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green Housing Projects. What struck her most about those experiences wasn’t the athleticism of the players, but how they took the time to connect and show love to the neighborhood kids. To have such famous people come to her neighborhood – one of the roughest in Chicago - and take an interest in her and her community made her feel seen, valued and special.

If these superstars could take the time to come and be with us, thought Treka, I want to do the same thing when I grow up to be a big star. I want to help others feel the same joy that I do.

Chicago was where Treka learned how to play. Though dyslexia made it difficult for her to learn at the same pace as the other children, she was blessed to have a powerful Playmaker in her life – her Special Education Teacher Miss Ukawa who helped her learn by using Play-Doh, colorful blocks and other forms of play. Treka realized that she was a visual learner which eventually led to her becoming a visual teacher.

After moving to Minneapolis with her husband, Treka began working as a preschool teacher with children who were struggling socially and emotionally. To help her students effectively manage their feelings of anger and grief, she turned to joyful physical play and breath work. This approach better enabled her students to build trusting relationships and gain a sense of control over their bodies. And once they felt more connected and calmer, their minds were better able to focus and learn.   

In the classroom, Treka set up obstacle courses that integrated movement into academic learning. She used Hula hoops, balls, cones and games as much as she used pencils, papers and workbooks to help her student become inspired learners. And there was always dancing in Miss Treka’s classroom. Treka loves to dance.

“Watching the children transition from Special Ed to a mainstream classroom meant so much to me,” she says. “Children should not be defined by their learning challenges.”

After seeing Steve Gross speak at a PICA Head Start event, Treka felt an immediate connection to the Playmakers. Her mother had always instilled in her the idea of servanthood—being accessible and giving back to your community. To her, being a Playmaker was a perfect way to do just that.

Her Playmaker training inspired her to get her Master’s degree and continue to explore how play can be used to enhance learning and emotional growth in ways that other approaches cannot. Treka sees play as a second language (PSL) that all teachers need to be proficient in to be successful. And her passion for play extends far beyond the classroom.

“We need play in politics and medicine and international relations, anywhere people feel invisible or that their opinions and ideas don’t count,” she says. “This is my heart, my movement, my love and I will advocate for it every chance I get.”

Treka Hannah – the little girl from the Cabrini-Green Housing Projects - did indeed grow-up to become a big star. To the children of PICA Head Start – some of Minneapolis’ youngest and most vulnerable – she is bigger than life. Playing with Miss Treka makes them feel seen, valued, and special.  And that’s what being a Playmaker is all about.