Looks on in wonderment, as kids in playground did? (8)
I believe the answer is:
seesawed
'as kids in playground did?' is the definition.
(children in a playground might seesaw)
'looks on in wonderment' is the wordplay.
'looks' becomes 'sees'.
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'in wonderment' becomes 'awed' (struck by awe or wonder).
'sees'+'awed'='SEESAWED'
(Other definitions for seesawed that I've seen before include "Switched backwards and forwards" , "Vacillated" , "went from one extreme to the other" .)