Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! ~Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!
Who needs television when you have a limitless imagination?! I have mentioned this activity before & I will mention it again, there is nothing like a kid getting to pretend to be somewhere, do something, or be "someone". It really stretches their creativity & teaches them some priceless skills that are going to be so useful now & in their future.
I am not going to lie, for kids who don't tend to get read to a lot or watch a lot of television, pretending might take a lil' more practice & a lil' more modeling on how to do it from the parent at first. Books & dramatic play force a person to be descriptive & stretch themselves. With imaginations the possibilities are endless & the only limits are the ones we choose to put on ourselves.
Just recently the girls have taken a huge interest in the idea of the "beach" or "ocean". They have been once or twice before when they were a lot younger so the actual memory of how it is might be a lil' vague, but from books we have read they have just really been wanting to go visit the ocean. So, since we can't exactly pick up & go right now with a baby right around the corner we transformed 1 of their playrooms into a beach complete with an "ocean", beach chairs, sand toys, sand to build castles with (blocks), towels, & even pretend sunscreen!
At first I did model it for them by pretending to put on my sunscreen first thing & using my words to describe my surroundings ("Look at those huge waves", "The water is so cold!", "Look at all the fish", "The sand feels very wet & squishy between my toes"). After modeling it for awhile it is very important to step away & let them try to imagine. I love putting my ear close by to listen. Sometimes you might not think they are picking stuff up when in reality they have taken in every detail. In fact, they will probably elaborate on it even more!!!
The girls have also been emphasizing how ready they are to start driving..lol. While that is definitely not something mommy is going to let happen anytime soon, I thought it would be fun to create their own car together. We simply covered some tables with paper, added some chairs, put in a steering wheel (eventually they added 2 lol), & a car seat in the back & they were ready to go! Once again I modeled for them about what their surroundings might be like, different places they could drive to, & so forth before eventually stepping away & letting them try out this somewhat foreign concept of driving on their own.
You might think, "Well, I am not very creative", but pick your kiddos brains a lil' on what interests them & then scope out the interenet for ideas, books, or I would even be happy to throw a few ideas out there on how to make it happen. You never know until you try. :)
-M&M Momma
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| Just playing in the "ocean" |
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| Putting on her sunscreen, lol |
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| Working on her tan |
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| Trying to blow bubble in the water with a straw |
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| Checking out the beach from a bird's eye view |
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| Nothing like a packed snack for the beach |
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| Nice paint job! |
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| Changing the radio station |
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