Child’s play

My children and I caught a bus to the local pool a few weeks ago. My 2 year old thought it was just the bees knees!

We got home and all she could talk about was the bus. It really was very exciting for the little girl.

A few days later I saw her playing with a toy cupboard from her dolls house. She’d filled the shelves with little toys and one was walking up and down the rows, finally it sat in the forward most shelf and the cupboard was being driven around while my 2 year old yelled “beep beep!”

Now at one point the apparent ‘driver’ gave all the passengers a kiss, I must have forgotten that part of our journey, and then said “thank you thank you!”

Her imagination really is amazing. Anything becomes a toy, even her hands on their own go walking and talking across the furniture.

I join in when invited but let her direct the play. Play is her work, it’s how she learns.

Being my two are 18 months apart so I really notice the difference such a small amount of time can make to a child. While the small one is bashing things together and pulling things apart the big one imagines them with voices, personalities and stories.

I swear yesterday Mickey was singing Twinkle Twinkle, or was it ABC?

You don’t need a lot of toys, and you don’t need a lot of plastic toys. Great wooden toys will last a long time. I knit toys for my two and they get a lot of hand me downs. This Christmas I’ve spent a whopping $150 on both children. Wooden blocks, train sets, good quality stuffed toys, textured blankets, wooden musical instruments, felted food, and books are all great choices.