On Tuesdays, we will write about “play” and how adults and children alike can have this in their lives.

I came across this and other pictures of Christopher Niemann’s New York-inspired lego creations today and just love them (click on the link to see more).  I will show these to my son when he gets home from school and see if we can play. 

Christopher Niemann also has a new children’s book that looks great — The Pet Dragon — A Story about Adventure, Friendship and a Chinese Characters !  What a fun gift book this would be.  

Posted under Books, Happiness Project, Kid Gifts, Play

Every Tuesday, we will write about “play” and how adults and children alike can have this in their lives.

A study released yesterday seems to show that children need more play and less work at school.  The study states that “ a growing trend of curbing free time at school may lead to unruly classrooms and rob youngsters of needed exercise and an important chance to socialize.” 

This is not really a surprise to me, as I believe strongly in the importance of play.   Play is the format in which kids learn life skills and develop empathy for others. As many have said before, play is a child’s most important work. This does not mean that you forgo math or spelling or other curriculum, but you should always make time for play. 

An excellent book that illustrates this is “A Child’s Work” by Vivian Paley.  

Posted under Play

I had never heard of the game “Don’t Eat Pete”, but as soon as I saw it here (with a free download of a game board), I knew my son would love it!  It is so simple, but sounds very fun.  Here’s how Candace at Sparkle Power describes How to play:

Send the first player away from the game board or into another room, then have the remaining players choose which one of the twelve people on the game board will be “Pete” for the round. Place one M&M in each square of the game board. Have the first player come back and begin picking and eating M&M’s from the game board. As soon as the player tries to pick “Pete” everyone yells “Don’t Eat Pete!” The player keeps all the M&M’s picked up before trying to get Pete. Refill the game board and play again with the next player.

You can use cereal or other small snack foods as well as any type of small candy for this game.

This cute gameboard designed by her husband looks great printed on card stock or picture paper! 

Posted under Parties, Play

Every Tuesday, we will write about “play” and how adults and children alike can have this in their lives.

This is one of my favorite stories that always makes me laugh — I thought I would share again:

My [at the time] 4 year old son, Keilan, is an only child and loves to play — as long as it is with someone.  He does not enjoy playing by himself.  He needs someone to appreciate how fast he is.  He needs someone to be the villain to his hero.  He needs someone to watch his made-up shows, to chase him around the room — someone to talk to while he eats his cereal.  That someone is me, or his dad.    

It doesn’t stop there.  When Keilan gets bored playing with me (ordinary mom), he wants me to be other people.   Not as in a character in a story, but actually pretending to be someone else as his playmate.  For example, if something new or exciting happens,  he wants to tell someone about it.   Well, since I (mom) have  already seen or heard about this new story, he asks me to pretend to be someone else so he can tell them (me) about what he knows.  For example, ”Mom, will you be Nana so I can tell her about this.”  ”Ok, I’m Nana”.  “Nana, did you know my mommy got me this new toy — look how cool it is.”  “Wow, Keilan that’s great.”  And, I will continue to be Nana until he feels he has told “her” enough details about the new toy. Then, he wants me to be Papa so he can tell him about the toy as well.  And so on. 

I do love the creativity and energy of my son, but it makes me tired. 

In my effort to combat his constant need for my attention, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea.  I would help my son to create an imaginary friend.   First, I suggested that sometimes instead of playing with Mommy or Daddy, he could have an imaginary friend.   He seemed to like the idea initially and thought of the name “Heffridge” for his friend.   A strange name, yes, but I did not inquire further for fear of slowing the momentum.  I explained to my son that Heffridge would always be there to play with or talk to if he needed him and, when he had something exciting to tell, Heffridge would always listen. We were on a roll.   

But then, I went too far. Read More…

Posted under Play, Random Thoughts

These tutus from Land Of Nod were reasonable compared to others we found ($29 and free shipping) and so pretty! These can provide years of play time!

I apologize for missing  yesterday’s post on “Play.”  I was working really hard to get all my kid gifts bought for the holidays.  I tried to focus on gifts that I thought would contribute to imaginative play, something I think is very important for kids.   Here are some of the gifts I found that I really like ( I can’t tell you what I bought for fear the munchkins can read!) 

Be sure and check out Family Dollar for great deals on simple, fun action figures ($3) !

Anamalz! These environmentally friendly creatures are so fun --for boys and girls alike! Their imaginations will Roar!

Kid-O Bilibo -- It can be Anything! My 6 year old son saw this and played with it 5 different ways before I made him put it away for wrapping.

These personalized books by Frecklebox are so fun and reasonable! They also have coloring books, activity books and more!

Gap Tees -- I know it's not "play" exactly, but believe me, the kids will feel like super heros in these!

Posted under Play

Every Tuesday, we will write about “play” and how adults and children alike can have this in their lives.

Today was a mandatory stay at home day.  My son was sick with a fever. You know, the kind that flares up right before school starts then is down all day so that he just wants to play — with you!   So, of course, we played today — quiet games that he could play on the couch or in the floor.   I have never played UNO so many times in one day.  Every time I would win he would say in his best villain voice - - “I demand a rematch, Mom.”

We also read the rest of Desperaux (coming soon to a theater near you) - a book about love, acceptance and heart.  I loved that he wanted to read during the daytime with me — a rarity when he’s not sick.

It was actually a very good day - if you are allowed to say that when your child is sick.  Playing and reading together was an important way for us to do what we could to get the ickies out (and help me stop worrying about what I wasn’t doing on my to do list).

One of my favorite parts of the day came when my son decided to make some cards to give to people — we have decided to make some notecards using his artwork through Kids Art Inc.   The last time we did this, he was in preschool and he drew a picture of himself kissing a porcupine.  Cute, but not exactly the kind of notecard many people love to send.  So, I asked him to think of something you could send for any holiday or just for a note.  

He drew two designs.  The first had a heart in the middle of a circular path and read “LOVE NEVER ENDS.” The second one had pictures of books with the words “Storys . . . are Magical!”  

I couldn’t have said it better myself.   His heart makes my heart smile.

Posted under Play

Every Tuesday, we will write about “play” and how adults and children alike can have this in their lives.

A favorite game of ours is The Storybook Game by Fundex.  I believe that the ability to tell stories is a very important skill for children and adults to have in today’s creative world.  ”Narrative imagining — story — is the fundamental instrument of thought.” Mark Turner, Literary Mind.  

This is a great game to practice your own “narrative imaginings.” 

It is a game in which funny characters, such as a monster or an alien, and everyday items, such as a bus or a carrot, are depicted on cards with the word below the picture.  The rules included with the game are that each person takes a turn drawing a card and adding to a “once upon a time” story without looking at the previous cards.  If you forget part of the story, you are out.  We bought this when my son was three and he had difficulty doing it this way, so we adapted it. 

The way we play is that each person gets 5 cards and has to turn them face down.  The player begins by saying ”once upon a time. . . ” and turning over the first card to begin the story.  The player then turns over each card one by one and tries to add it to the story.  It is a non-competitive version which creates many laughs and silly stories.  It allows kids to practice talking in front of others, practice their story-telling skills, and is a great way to play one-on-one with Mom or Dad.  And, it’s fun!  We have played this game many times with kids ages 4, 6, 8, 10 and 17, and they all had a blast.   

It also comes in a great lunch box style tin which makes it so easy to take on trips.   This would make a great gift for kids or for a whole family — the gift of stories, what could be better?    

Posted under Happiness Project, Kid Gifts, Play, Storytelling

Play is not always getting on the floor and playing Barbies or superheroes, but can be something as simple as hugging your child and saying, “oh, sorry, I love you so much I’m never going to let you go.” I play this game with my son, as suggested by Dr. Cohen, and he loves it. He will ask, “But, how will you drive? How will you sleep?” and I’ll come up with silly answers to make him giggle. It’s playful and we are hugging the whole time.

As children grow and we are no longer required to hold them to take them from place to place or feed them, the hugs and holding often become much less frequent. Even if we try to show affection, they start asking for you to stop kissing them in public (gross, mom!). But, using playful parenting techniques allows for many ways to connect with your child by touching without obvious or “gross” affection. It may take the form of wrestling or being silly and holding them “forever” or some other fun way to connect. Your child needs these connections even if at times he or she can’t ask for them directly. Read More…