Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Play With Me, Mommy!


These are the words that meet my ears the minute the front door is open.

I'm met by my entourage. Both dogs flank my sides, leaping and whining for attention and affection. And a little blonde-headed boy, my Sasha, stands right in front of me, offering a ball, box of blocks, a spaceship...whatever the toy of the moment is.

And now, when he says play with me, he definitely means it.

Gone are the days where "play with me" meant sit beside me but don't touch my stuff. Now when he dumps out a box of blocks, if you aren't participating he'll hand you a few peices and make suggestions on where you might place them on the structure he's building. When he has out a playset, you have little men who are supposed to interact with his in the imaginary world he's created I very rarely understand. Thanks to a bin of dress-ups he received as a birthday gift, some of the time his imaginary worlds reappropriate items and people from the world around him with little notice or explaination.

Now we've begun playing more structured games with him. It's been helpful for all of us because we adults have an easier time understanding what's going on. Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots was a first attempt. Oh, how he loved it! And as a bonus, it's a battery-free game (we're trying. Dead batteries are a killjoy, an unnecessary expense, and an environmental problem. I'm having pretty good luck finding obnoxiously loud toys with flashing lights that wind up). Next came regular jigsaw puzzles, not the kind that come in a frame--just loose peices in a cardboard box. Another score! Then Memory. Another win!

I've stocked a few for the summer so that he and Dad can play together in a way that frustrates no one and a few other items to make summer more fun (sprinkler, wading pool, new sandbox sand, etc). I hope to start having some playdates soon, as boardgames and sprinklers are created to be done WITH someone and will help his little 'sharing problem' (he's 3. I know it's normal to not want people touching his stuff). We'll have lots of options for group play!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good ideas for play time! Might have to try the Rockem Sockem robots sometime here!

BTW, LOVE the new blog look!

caramama said...

I love the greetings I get when I come home! Best part of my day!

We got a couple board games for the Pumpkin's birthday, but she doesn't really get them yet. I keep meaning to buy Hungry Hippos, cause I think she'll like that, and Memory. I should look into Rockem Sockem robots, too. And we are having great fun with puzzles!

I've been waiting 3 years to start playing game games with my girl! I'm so excited.