Letting Play Evolve

This week, I have not been able to organise any great craft or activities for the girls. I am so exhausted, in great pain and just in a state of 'leave me alone', so I have been resorting to getting out the bubbles and paints and letting the girls run around outside being as messy as they want.

Then, the brilliant (and sometimes infuriating) Mister Maker had a wonderful idea of bubble paintings. Of course, I've done paintings like these before, but somehow the idea of combining this week's art into one, new activity never crossed my pregnancy addled mind.

Unfortunately, said pregnancy addled mind somehow mucked up the easiest directions in the world while making the paints.

Instead of ending up with the lovely bubble pictures I envisaged Ellie ended up tipping her watery paint out onto paper and let it run while Kahlei mixed her paints together and painted her legs. Watching them took me back to when Ellie was younger and I planned many activities that simply never went how I had planned.

Paper left unpainted, but a toddler with blue arms, legs and bellies or carefully cut out pictures piled up one on the other instead of neatly collaged. Knocked down towers before they were barely begun. At first I felt so frustrated. I was putting in so much effort and felt it was wasted.

Then, one day I started thinking about my job as an Assistant Co-ordinate of a Supported Playgroup program and how one of my more important jobs was to demonstrate appropriate play for children who, maybe haven't had much in the way of adult interaction during play.

I took a step back and realised that Ellie eating her paint, painting herself or stacking glued papers was her learning through play. We all know babies/toddlers explore the world around them physically and this was just the same. It didn't matter if the activity I planned went a completely different direction because it was the experience she was receiving through delving into play using her senses that mattered.

I decided from that moment to never stop arranging crafts/games/activities but to allow my children to play how they will, all I can do is watch their joy and show them appropriate ways of play through how I approach the activity myself, since I doubt eating paint would be perceived as proper once they're at school ;) And, funnily enough we don't have paint eating sessions anymore.

Play is so much better for all concerned now that I am relaxed and letting their creativity lead them where it will.  It took me by surprise that, once I became a mother, I forgot what I knew about how children learn and play and went down a road that I never thought I would.

Letting play evolve is a natural way for children to learn and grow and Mumma's too :)

We Play: Shopping

Ellie received a doll in a tube with lots of little odds and ends like a potty and play food boxes for Christmas last year, I decide to put the extra pieces away until the girls could play with them without Kahlei trying to eat or ruin them. The other day, while the girls ran around the yard, I decided to set up a little shop on our coffee table and see what happened.

I put out all the pieces from the tube as well as some of our empty boxes I was keeping for crafts. Then I got them each a shopping bag out of the Dress Up box and put a 'credit card' (ie. old licence, medicare card) in them as I have yet to make them some money. I set up Ellie's Buzz Lightyear laptop as the cash register and waited.

Once they were inside and had seen the shop they picked up a bag each and went shopping. The shop stays set up at the moment, sometimes I change things up a bit to keep it fresh, but mostly they are just happy with how it is. I have enjoyed watching how play has evolved from stuffing whatever they can grab into their bag before the other can get it to actually looking at it as a shopping experience.

Ellie will even take a list, which I find fascinating since I rarely write a list because if I do I leave it at home or forget to get it out of my bag. Or worse still, I use it and still forget things. Once she's filled her list, she pays Buzz and takes her purchases home (that's their house to the left of the photo). The cold things get put in the Huggies Fridge and then she is able to use the milk from the fridge to make drinks with her Cappuccino machine.

I get a sneaking suspicion she shops like Nanna, as she often runs out of milk and has to run to the store.

Kahlei likes to buy things for her babies, like milk and bottles. She will feed them, sooth them then say "Bed? Yes?" After which she gives them a kiss on the head, takes them to her room and tucks them in as she says "Goodnight. Weet Deams."

Now, I am constantly looking for new things to add to see what will eventuate and how play will develop.

What have you been playing?

Come play at the Childhood 101 We Play link up.

Come and find more fabulous play ideas with The Play Academy

Also, don't forget to enter my Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue DVD giveaway!!
And please note the IKEA Expedit Bookcase in the photo for the  frills in the hills competition

We Play: With Leaves

On Monday morning, Ellie, Kahlei and I rugged up and took a walk up our street to collect leaves, flowers, pods, anything that caught their attention. We brought home a lovely bucket full of leaves and since then our collection has been involved in many different play situations. We've had cooking, sorting, and drawing to name a few.

This morning, I thought I would get out some Plasticine along with the leaves, some paddle pops, flags and such. I put them out on the bench and let the girls at it. They really enjoyed it and I was able to get started on some sorting in the kitchen while they played, explored and created.

Ellie asking for some 'Big black eyes' for her creation

Eyes and all. Ellie named him Mr Shuffles
(after I showed her some photos of him last night taken by Mel Hobbs)

Kahlei did some experimenting

Before making and 'drinking' a cup of tea,
complete with slurping noise

Ellie baked a cake, so she could practice blowing candles out
for her birthday next month

I got a birthday cake and birthday song,
even though my birthday was 2 months ago..

What have you been playing?

Come play at the Childhood 101 We Play link up.

We Play: With Chalk

Now that the days are getting colder and as we're currently visiting Nanna - where the weather is quite a bit cooler than at home - our outdoor play time is being cut back.
However, as soon as it is warm enough outside to play we rug up and rush out. With Uncle Max home, we figured a bit of chalk drawing on the cement was in order.

My girls love to draw. They'll take any opportunity to do so and exploring new canvases and mediums is something they take real pleasure in.


Ellie's starting to make more deliberate drawings - less scribbling. Every picture has an elaborate story these days :) She is also starting to remember colours othan than blue and yellow now.

On the other hand, Kahlei is much more interested in the feel, taste and texture of the chalk.

I drew a hopscotch court and Uncle Max showed the girls how to play. Kahlei showed no interest, but Ellie thought it would be fun to play. In her own way, of course.

And no day would be complete without annoying the cat, by drawing on her!

I wrote an 'I miss you' message for my hubby, as he's gone home for the week.

Come play at the Childhood 101 We Play link up.

Kahlei's First...

Kahlei is really growing up fast now. Yesterday she had her second tooth cut thru (middle, bottom, right) and started 'bopping' to music. Over the past few days she has started to crawl backwards and can get from one side of the room to the other quite quickly.

Today she did two new things that I am excited about. Firstly, she fell asleep on the floor. This might not seem like anything exciting, but somehow it is. Ellie was always such a pain to get to sleep anywhere and Kahlei is very routine orientated, but if she wants to go to sleep before her normal time she starts to whinge. Today, she was playing on her mat while Ellie and I got paint and morning tea ready. When we were ready I told Ellie to go and see if Kahlei was ready while I put everything on the tray. As I came around the bench Ellie was saying "Are you sleeping?" and I just assumed that Kahlei was facing away from her, but when I looked the little darling was fast asleep. So, Ellie and I went outside and sat on the veranda while Kahlei had her little nap.

Once Kahlei was up we sat on the grass to have some morning tea and do some painting. Kahlei has been interested in watching Ellie paint previously, so I had the brain wave to let her join in today. I gave her a paint brush, which she waved around, had a bit of a suck on and then discarded in favour of playing with the paper. When she started reaching for the tubs of paint I had another brainwave - as Ellie was finished painting - I tipped all the remaining paint onto the tray and let her get her hands dirty. She LOVED it. Ellie joined in, squishing the paint around.

I remember doing something like this with Ellie at about the same age as Kahlei is now. She spent the whole time eating the paint. Kahlei spent the whole time exploring the feel of the paint between her fingers and watching as she mixed the colours together. At the end of it she had lots of paint up her arms and barely any on her face. They had a blast.

I, of course, have some happy snaps that I wanted to share here, but for whatever reason our gallery won't upload them and my resident computer man is currently working on someone else's computer problem via phone (ie James's mum needs help, too). So, once he's done that I will get him onto this. Poor thing ;)

Monster Me

Both James and I have been suffering from horrid headaches for over a week now, today I felt the worst I have in a long time. Sick in the stomach, dizzy, splitting headache and generally drained so we had a relatively quiet morning reading and doing puzzles. After Ellie's sleep she had plenty of energy to burn so we ventured outside so that she could do her thing while Kahlei and I sat in the cool. I put some colouring in the remaining paint mixture and let Ellie go nuts with that.

Three pictures down and Ellie started coming towards me, laughing and waving her 'paint brush' at me so I grabbed the closest paint brush to me and started painting her arms.At first she seemed quite shocked and possibly a little offended. She looked at me, looked at her arm and then a great big smile broke out on her face and lit up her eyes. I did some more on her arms before she decided to go and pick up a paint pot to decorate my arms.

It was cold on my skin, causing me to make funny noises, which she found completely hilarious. Once I had one blue arm and one orange arm she was satisfied with her work and had a run around leaving me to entertain Kahlei with some silly faces and songs.

Halfway through one nursery rhyme I noticed Ellie picking up her pot of paint and sidling over to me, a little tentatively but with a gleam in her eye that can't be mistaken...

Apparently, she had decided I needed a makeover. My lovely multicoloured arms weren't enough. She placed a sweet little arm around my neck, said "Plop" and pressed her blue paint covered sponge to my nose. I feel like she had really been thinking about doing it before she took the plunge! So, we painted each other's faces while Kahlei looked on, slightly amused and very clean.

She was very precise with her application.

She loves these messy activities where she is given free reign to let her imagination run wild. I love them, too. I, personally, believe these kinds of things are really an important learning curve for toddlers. They get a chance to explore uninterrupted while working on their fine and gross motor skills, as well as encouraging cognitive and language development through their play. Sure, it makes a little more work for me as I have to make the paints, clean up the pots, and then soak the clothes before I wash them but it is so worth it! Watching her in these activities is pure bliss.

Ellie and I ended up looking like monsters while Kahlei stayed clean.

We decided we looked like monsters, so we may as well run around roaring like one, too.

After a swing for my Little Monster Kahlei started to grizzle, so we went inside and popped Kahlei in bed before running a Monster bath for Ellie.

PS Did you notice that James actually graced us with a post?? I'm very excited. I am forever telling him that it's not becky.com... and he just replies with "I'm behind the scenes"