Tag: creative play

Categories
4 years and beyond

Marriage Organised?…Maybe Not

Dolls kissing, not the twins but nice pic. Image courtesy of Toa55 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Dolls kissing, not the twins but nice pic. Image courtesy of Toa55 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The other day after picking up the twins from pre-school I was told that one will marry one of the boys at school. I asked why this was so, and she said that they like each other and they both have decided to get married. I was rather taken back to say the least. I know this is just play, they are four years old and soon to be five so not like they are running away to get married just yet. Well I hope not!

I asked the other child if they are marrying anyone and she mentioned the same boy. I told them that two people cannot marry the same person. They got angry at me and told me that I did not get it, and they were marrying the same boy.  Not sure if the girls are taken with them or if the boy has used his magic and the girls are under a spell. This boy is very nice, kind and gentle and the girls are good mates with him and have a great time. It is a nice friendship.

Yesterday I arrived to pick the kids up and while putting them in the car they told me that they kissed this boy and he kissed them, as they were going to be married they said married people kiss each other. I explained that just because you kiss someone hello or bye does not mean that you are marrying them. Not sure if they are thinking that all people who kiss need to be married. If this is the case all of you that are not getting married are in trouble! You should put it right and go and get married NOW! Well according to the girls that is.

Maybe it is a school crush? However the girls still don’t like boys on the whole. Only some boys are oaky, and this one must be super special to get a kiss and for him to kiss the girls.

Have your kids done the same? If this is pre-school I shudder to think what kindy and the rest of primary school will be like. Send in your comments.

Categories
4 years and beyond

Imagination an Essential Ingredient

Creative Car Play
Creative Car Play

Yesterday my girls decided to go on a hunt for a blue tongue lizard that talks. They were insistent that they would find one. I thought how amazing their creativity and imagination.  I did wonder where this idea of finding a talking lizard had come from but like most things the girl’s games are out there and are made up, so obviously from their very creative brains.

The twins have interesting names for toys and characters in their games it sounds like a foreign language. Not sure where it came from again other than their amazing imagination. All this creativity got me thinking, what benefit does a very creative imagination have on your education and life?

From looking on the internet I found that imagination and creative play help the following:

  • Teaches kids to be better problem solvers.
  • Allows children to communicate better socially and with creative play give the child a way to practice new conversation and skills in different situations. Practice real life skills.
  • Intellectually the child is better off as creative and imaginative play help the growth of abstract thought. This in turn creates a person who is a creative thinker. Creative thinkers have been proven to be more successful than people who had less imagination.
  • Allows your child to be themselves and try new things in a safe environment.
  • According to the brainy-child.com website imagination can do the following for your child: Develop social skills and intelligence, enhance the power of self-confidence, boost and promote intellectual growth, develop linguistic abilities, create balance and order in life, treat both bad and good experiences with an equal measure, and achieve excellence in classroom.

Einstein said, “Knowledge can get us from A to B. Imagination can take us anywhere.” How true is this quote, without imagination, buildings would not have been built, books written, artwork created, new technology thought of and made, and so on.

I value creativity and of course imagination as I believe it has a lot to offer the twins and of course us as parents. Hubby and I play made up games and participate in the girls colourful and creative exercises. We have made sure to add fairy statues to our backyard to help with the fun. A while ago now, mushrooms sprouted and they were all red and pink (not sure if good to eat so we did not), the girls saw it and asked daddy what it was, he told them that it was mushrooms but in actual fact it was the fairies home. He told the girls to not touch the mushrooms as the fairies would be upset that their home would get destroyed. The girls agreed and the mushrooms or fairy home was left alone.

I make sure to have puzzles, paper and pens/crayons for drawing, paint for painting, make our own play dough, take walks and have adventures, create stories, read books, play in the backyard, go to the park, and let the girls have some creative unstructured play (basically just play in the yard and do what they want).

In case you are interested I have gained inspiration and have read the following links:

Have your little ones been busy creating or making games that you have no idea what is going on? Well mine definitely are. Do you come in and find that a room is suddenly rearranged as a fort or at least a cubby house?

What games do you play with your kids to help with imaginative play? Do you start them off and leave the tools so they can create themselves?

Why not continue the discussion on our twitter or facebook pages.

Categories
3 years and beyond

Planet Pooh

Today the girls have had heaps of energy. We decided to have lunch outside as the day was so nice, not a cloud in the sky and lovely blue skies. Although not very warm it was warmer than it has been, the second day of spring is making me think that summer is going to be warm. Yes finally a warm summer to look forward to.

Now back to the girls. They were running riot, racing around from one end of the house to the other. Running races, kids were pretending to be rats – (they are rats in the Chinese Horoscope and we have told them this so now they play rats) while pretending to be rats daddy and mummy were referred to as mumma and dada rat.

Lillian then decided that she was a rocket and was flying around the garden; she then had to fly to the bathroom for a toilet stop. Once she flew back to the backyard she flew just past the clothes line and then announced she had run out of petrol. Thank goodness the chair next to her was a petrol station so she could fuel up and be on her way to “Planet Pooh!”

Daddy and I had no idea that Planet Pooh was in our backyard and that the girls had their own personal rockets to fly there at a moment’s notice.  Then all of a sudden, no more rockets and no more Planet Pooh, it was Mr Whippy. Lillian decided she was Mr Whippy and she got out the truck that their cousin gave them and zipped that around the yard as if she was off on deliveries.

Mr Whippy or Lillian did get upset at various times as her ice-creams were lost when her helpful assistant tried to clean the truck and melted the ice-creams. Then the girls swapped and Julia was Mr Whippy then Lillian was a customer.

The outside play today ended by the girls making mud and mud pies. As you might have imagined this ended with very messy kids and an annoyed daddy as he had to have them in the shower and clean the bathroom due to the mud. I suppose the kids were just trying to make him feel loved on Father’s Day.

We did have an incident at the supermarket when one of the girls lost it and had a temper tantrum, and this one child has been a sensitive little person all day. Maybe she is just very tired? I am hoping that they will just go to sleep without a hassle and not play the game of can I get a book, a drink, need to go to the bathroom every second and want to come out to tell you something that they have already told you a million times.

As I write this there has been another meltdown about a block. The same little girl who I believe is tried from yesterday is creating issues. We went to my nana’s (the girls GG) for lunch to celebrate her birthday. It was a long day and as there have been many meltdowns and problems I really think it is the fact she needs to have more sleep. Let’s hope this happens, currently she is in her room for time out as she was very naughty.

Have your kids had heaps of energy today? If so what have you done to exhaust them?  Has it worked? Send in your comments.