Play with mom – child

How do you have everything out and in glass containers without things getting broken or destroyed?

 We know that seeing some of our “Environment” pictures can be overwhelming and seem completely undoable.  It takes time, effort, TRUST, and patience to have everything accessible to the child, but its soooooooo worth it in the long run.  Not only is it empowering to the child, but it also strengthens the parent/child relationship because in essence we are telling them – “you are capable”, “I trust you” (that must feel so good to them).  We draw inspiration from the Reggio Emilia Philosophy, which is all about inspiring environments and having materials readily available to the child.  Our play rooms have been built brick by brick, per say.  Whenever we introduce a new element or material, we explore it, talk about it, and learn about its function and how to handle it together.  We have taught our children from a very young age how to handle things with care and how to respect their environment.  Accidents are just learning opportunities and messes are not typically an issue because our children have been gently guided to use the materials in functional ways.  We don’t shy away from dumping and pouring (messes), we just give them appropriate outlets to do so.  We are admittedly present with our children most of the day – and there was lots of supervision in the playrooms when they were younger.  Give it a go, take baby steps, and you will see amazing things happen!

Elaboration on Dumping and Pouring

Yes, our children dump and pour with the best of them… some more than others.  Ak’s son and my oldest were never big “dumpers”.  My youngest was a different story.  She LOVED to dump.  This probably went on between 11M-16M??  Instead of taking away or limiting her environment and taking away something from my oldest… we explored together.  Everything that was available to my oldest, was available to my youngest… despite their 17M difference.  I also do not plan on taking anything away from them when our newest addition gets here in less 2 weeks. Everything will be left out to explore and create!

My oldest (17M) and AK’s son (15M) exploring a dumped container of acrylic shapes.  Yes, you may dump that.  Yes, we will explore it together!

20 Months

Giving them other appropriate outlets to dump and pour also helps.  “I know you would really like to dump that.  That would be LOTS of fun!  Let’s get some bowls and cups to dump with.”

22 Months and 5 Months

“You want to dump those?  Those look like they would be fun to dump on the light box!  Let’s bring it out and turn the lights off!”

9 Months

Exploring a dumped container of gems.  Yes, obviously you want to be fully present when they are this young.  I often like to lay out a white blanket to explore on.  It makes the background simple and the objects they are exploring really stand out.

15 Months

An empty container was always on hand when my youngest was going through the “dumping stage”.  “If you would like to dump that, you may dump it here.”

I love the look of wonder on her face here.  It is amazing the things that can happen when we put our trust into them.

These next few pictures were taken today. My youngest is 20 Months old now.  I am so happy that my camera was upstairs!  I love when I can capture moments like this to share with you.  This really touched me this AM and just reinforced my love for child led play.  My youngest is now over the dumping stage.  Yes, you can get there, too!  Sorry for the half nakedness and crazy hair!  LOL  It was early.

Before I got to my camera she took out a piece of paper, glue, and glitter.  The picture below is her now going for the colored pasta.

Carrying it to the art table.

Adding to her masterpiece  🙂

Putting it back after she was done… with no prompting or guidance.  Yes, your child can do this, too!

When I asked her what she was making.

“Rain, Mommy.  Rain, rain, go away”

What a beautiful rain shower it is!

This is why our materials stay out at all times.  This is why we put in the time and effort to teach and to explore together.  This is why we trust our children.

Give them an opportunity and YOU WILL see amazing things happen.

Play with Mom – Kingergarden

Its always fun finding new materials to use on the light panel.  These glass tiles (from Michaels) did not disappoint.  My son built with them several times throughout the day.  It was interesting watching and tracking his play.  When we talk about something that encourages patience, this would be a prime example.  His creations fell – a lot – and I was there to support him through his frustrations.

He always builds “garages”.  This was his first attempt.

 

 

I continue to be impressed by his accuracy and focus – these things are not easy to stack.

 

 

The larger version fell, so he built another garage – with “stairs”.

 

He needed to put a person in his garage.

 

 

 

Again, that structure fell, so he started again and it became a “house”.

 

 

 

CRASH!

 

“When something falls, we just fix it.”

 

Another “house” with the playmobil girl inside.

Play With Mom – A childs Perspective

My daugher LOVES to take pictures. Seriously. Which is one reason I’m incredibly greatful for digital pictures. She has been taking pictures with my camera and phone for years…and she’s only 3. Ok, so maybe for 1.5 years. Still. She loves to take pictures.

She usually takes multiple pictures. And sometimes they’re quite funny.

Other times they peek my curiosity: What is it she’s seeing? What is she thinking? What is she trying to capture?

After a recent shopping trip I flipped through the pictures and found these:

I was a little taken aback by these; walking away, distracted. I wanted to delete them even though I remember having quite a good time laughing and playing with her on this excursion. But still, it struck me in that odd sort of way certain things do. What does she think when she sees me do this?

I try to remember that viewing life from her perspective not only means seeing the world through her eyes, but also through her experiences and emotions. And in reality I can only see so much, and for everything else I can only be curious; and I am really curious!

It really struck me: this is how my daughter sees the world and the things around her; it is how she sees me. It seems so obvious, really. But there was something about these pictures that really brought her perspective clearly into my vision…literally. I am in awe of her ability to create in me such a strong sense of self reflection. Going back through my pictures more thoroughly I discovered something I already knew…I love her perspective. I love that I am suddenly more aware of her perspective in a way that is all at once surreal, ethereal, and grounded, all at the same time. A perspective different from my own. I love that she has this wonderful interest in capturing the world as she sees it. And that she wants to share it with me.

How do your children uniquely see the world?

Note: Addi takes a lot of pictures. She’s still honing her skills. Lest you think she’s a child prodigy, here are some of her other pictures!