I love stopping by to see what adventures the mom on Famiglia & Seoul is having with her little one. Her Memorable Moments Outside series is a favorite on mine.
After reading her wonderful guest post below, I am hoping you will take a moment and visit her blog.
I am so delighted to be able to share a playtime experience for JDaniel4’s Mom’s series Taking the Time to Play. There is so much to be said about interacting with your child on their level, while experiencing activities that they enjoy doing.
Being a stay-at-home mom has opened my eyes in more ways than I could ever have imagined. Each day my son teaches me lessons in patience, living in the present, and enjoying the simple things. Playtime is no exception. By closely observing him, he can communicate to me in so many more ways during play, than he can through words at this young age.
Some of his favorite things to do during the day are to go on nature walks and play with playdough. Today, we decided to combine the two by creating a wooden tunnel for his trains. He grabbed his little bag and we headed outside to collect as many little twigs as we could find for our project.
Once we gathered enough and got a bit of fresh air, we headed inside to begin our creation. I had a batch of playdough that didn’t turn out too well, so I covered our tunnel with it to create a sticky surface.
I started by modeling how to place the twigs on the playdough and my son jumped right in. Sometimes I forget myself and expect him to understand an activity just by explanation. However, over time I’ve realized how important it is to model your instructions. He often takes the lead and makes an activity his own, but he needs that gentle direction to get him started. For instance, he took it upon himself to bury the twigs into the playdough for a better hold, instead of just sticking them to the outside like I did.
It is so wonderful to watch their personalities shine through whenever they are in the middle of play. I’ve noticed how serious my toddler gets when he is putting something together or manipulating objects like blocks or loose parts. This activity was no exception. You can almost see the wheels turning in him head as he tries to work things our for himself.
He also amazes me with the little actions that he picks up when I am playing alongside of him. Even when I’m not specifically trying to explain something or in the middle of a teachable moment, he’s still learning and comprehending. During our construction I noticed him squeezing the twigs, only to realize that he was trying to snap them in half like I did for him when we started.
This one-on-one time is precious to me. Working together, exploring, and watching his imagination grow is priceless. That’s why I love including Daddy when we are taking the time to play. Whenever the whole family can get involved, I feel that it strengthens the bond and creates memories that will last a lifetime. This is why we were so excited that Daddy jumped right into our playtime when he came home from work!
I always try to keep in mind that it’s not the product that matters, but the process. If you take your child’s lead and allow them to enjoy the things that they love, the moments that share during play will help them (and you) grow in so many ways.
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That does look fun. I love anything that incorporates nature.
Great idea for the kids.
Visiting from sits!
Amanda Rose
http://sewmuchtosay.blogspot.com
Really enjoyed reading about her experience of playing with such a cute boy! And I loved that Dad jumped in, too!
=)
Awesome ideas for children. Thanks! Definitely will visit her blog.
I really like how tuned in she is to what he’s thinking and doing as he plays!