Intrepid Murmurings

While I still haven't read very much of my new copy of "Playful Parenting" (I've heard such great things and keep meaning to dive in further!), I'm trying to pay more attention to what and how my kids play, these days.  I want to take more time to stop what I am doing and play with them, too -- they are generally so good at playing by themselves or together that I don't think to join them.  And, I am so tempted to snatch and savor every minute of my "free" time when they are not obviously "needing" me.  But, I know that its important that I do stop and really play, somtimes - to connect with them, to have fun, and to bring new ideas and new scenarios into their repertoire... 

But for the most part, I feel like they are having a lot of fun, and doing a lot of cool, creative stuff.  Here's a snapshot of my girls favorite toys and games, currently (for reference, Elsie and Delia are newly two, Emma just turned four): 

• Baby dolls (and stuffed animals) -- dressing them, putting them to bed (again and again and again), helping them sit on the potty & changing their diapers.  Also nursing them, though bottle feeding is accepted as a fine alternative food source in this household as well!  Emma has her dolls and animals do a lot of other things, too, like playing games, going to school, having arguments and Big Problems that require solving.   She has always been a fan of all things baby, however, and really likes to play the baby scenarios with Elsie and Delia, too.  
 

 

• Imaginative play about "going to sleep" and "riding in the carseat" (this is mostly Elsie and Delia).  They LOVE this and play it together off and on ALL DAY LONG.  One is the sleeping baby, one is the mama/daddy putting them to bed.  And then they are both the babies.  And then they are both going to the park in their "big girl carseats" (we just turned them around in the car from rear-facing to forward-facing). Its really quite cooperative, with them chattering back and forth about what they are doing.  So cute.



• Emma has her own imaginative play narrating her own stories.  She has a host of characters, and narrates a story (with words like "she exclaimed!" "she cried" "she moaned" after her kids say something, ha ha!).  She is just off in her own world, sometimes, talking, talking, talking (and playing with props, toys, etc, related to her story).  But then if you talk to her during this, she adapts it to include you into the story too, which is cool!

• Playing with the animals from our new wooden Noah's Ark.  The giraffes are the most popular.  Thanks Grandma Elena and Grandpa Tony! 

 

• Fisher Price Little People (the smaller, vintage kind, yo!).  These can hold their attention for SO long sometimes, so I am putting them on here, though they are gravitating towards other doll type things lately, particularly.... 

• The wooden dollhouse.  Oh, the hours spent at the dollhouse.  Sometimes all three are at different sections, narrating a mile a minute, all at the same time. 

• Water play (filling, dumping and pouring).  Now that summer has officially started here in Seattle (as of yesterday afternoon, ha!), this will be a lot more comfortable!  Though they are champs about powering through the cold to keep playing in water.  

 

• Books.  These girls love their books.  Emma likes longer "big kid" stories, and chapter books with pictures.  Elsie and Delia are going through an obsessive Maisy phase.  Oh, Maisy!  We love you so.

• Blocks.  Elsie and Delia like to build "towers" with both the wooden blocks and bristle blocks, Emma builds much more complex houses (and bathrooms for playgrounds, ha) with the wooden blocks.

 

• Cooking, eating, and shopping in the play kitchen.  Most popular foods right now are the birthday cake and ice cream set that they got for their birthday from Grandma Cynthia.  Ice cream is eaten many, many times a day around here.  Cake is served daily, as well!  

• Outdoor physical play, mostly swings, slide, and climbing wall.  They are such great climbers!  

What kinds of play are your kids into right now?  How often (and how long) do you play with them?  What things do you play together, and what do they do by themselves?