Creative Playtime

Swinging with Grandpa  

We played with Bella on the Camp Foster playground while Remi went to his well-baby checkup. This time she wasn’t interested in swinging because there were two other little girls over at the slides. They slid and slid, climbed up and down, and played hide and seek. A tip: don’t wear Squeakers (sneakers with noisemakers in the soles) if you’re trying to hide from someone. Since the older girl was four and her sister three, counting before seeking was an issue too. One, two, three, six, ten. We laughed and laughed.

Easy and Cheap Educational Equipment  

I am amazed how patient and coordinated this two-year-old is. Probably more patient and perhaps more coordinated than I am at this stage of my life. Mary gave her a bowl of Ford Hook Lima beans, an ice cream scoop and a soup spoon, a muffin tin and a tray. She has played and played, “making soup” and “scooping”, often alone but sometimes with me, moving beans from bowl to tin to tray, via scoop or by dumping. She also has a little broom and dust pan, so once in a while, she and I sweep up any spilled beans.

Sorting By Color  

The other toy I think quite clever is the little colored puffballs and a couple of bright plastic bowls, actually a pink and a green set of doggie bowls. Bella loves to sort the balls by colors, knowing white, yellow, blue, and pink.