I spend three days a week with a class of twelve children, ages four and five years old. As one of my boys was leaving the class to go home with his mom last week, I overheard her ask her son, “How was your day today?” Her son replied, “Great! All we did was play today!”
My nine year-old came bounding into the living room yesterday, weilding an unsharpened pencil and wearing his Harry Potter robe from last Halloween. “To your feet ye scallion and walk the plank or fix me snack…please!” I jumped to my feet, swooped into a low bow and said, “Please, my Lord, spare me the murky waters of the unknown and I shall prepare a lovely plate of apples and caramel dip to your liking…and thank you for using ‘please’ when you asked!”
To say it is never a dull moment in our house is an understatement. One moment I’m the queen of the castle, signing papers and watching magic shows. The next minute I’m the proud owner of a 3 year-old ‘puppy’ that looks strikingly like my younger son. Pretend play is probably the most important aspect of development for children at any age.
We were on our way home from our restaurant of choice (because they have an indoor play yard) with the kids one night, when our 2 year old son started shouting in a desperate voice, “DAD! DAD!!!!” Our immediate response was to find out what was so distressing that warranted a call reserved only for blood-related injuries. Read more…
