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My girls often travel to and from the art table, play kitchen, playroom sink, and bathroom sink. I can't even tell you how many times they do this throughout the day. They are always carrying pots and pans, tea cups, tea pot, etc. By being present and watching their play it led me to this invitation.
On the left hand side I have a big bin with various items: balls, blocks, playmobil people, animals, play food, etc. You can throw whatever you want in there. The middle bin has water beads. The white tray on the right is filled with various gems. Laying across the floor are spoons/ladles of various sizes. On the right side of the blanket I have clear empty containers of various shapes and sizes.
A few alternatives for older children:
Add stepping stones that they have to walk across.
Another alternative. This is an agility ladder that they can walk through without stepping on the "cracks". You can also just lay a rope down to act as a balance beam.
My 22 Month old was the first up and she went right for the spoons.
"Mommy spoon, Daddy spoon, Baby spoon"
"Water beans!!"
After her initial reaction she stopped, looked around, and said "Mommy, you made a mess!" LOL LOL! She then proceeded to put everything away. She literally put 80% of the invitation away. I had to set the invitation back up for my oldest!
Carrying water beads to the empty containers.
My oldest went straight for the water beads. Always a favorite in our house.
Nice and steady!
This invitation was left out all morning and they visited it as they pleased.
After breakfast my youngest thought it would be much easier to bring the empty container TO the water beads.....
and then dump it! The stuff they can come up with on their own! :-)
My oldest loved giving her playmobil people "rides to the beach."
Dumping animals.
My 2 Month old in the background checking everything out.
First, let me tell you my kids pick out their own clothes. My 22 month old decided to go Rico Suave today.
My oldest's solution to being able to carry more across?? Put them in her underwear! Now that is some problem solving. I just love watching their brains work.
Yes, we used clorox wipes to clean them after they were done playing. LOL
Playmobil people on the "other side" in a plastic egg carton.
While the older two were playing I was sitting down next to my 2 month old talking, singing, reading, and quietly observing.
RL
Looks like Heaven being with those girls <3
ReplyDeleteawww how fun!
ReplyDeleteI just love seeing how little brains work! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I am cracking up at your middle daughter putting away your "mess".
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! How do you store your water beads? In water? Dried back out? Or do you throw each batch away when finished?
ReplyDeleteLove the idea in this post. However, I hate to be the one to say it... I hope you will reconsider posting photos of your little girls in their underwear. As a mother I see nothing wrong with these - but sadly there are many people on the internet who would use these photos for not-so-innocent purposes. It's happened to other mommy bloggers with much more innocent photos...
ReplyDeleteI know that you are just showing concern for her children, but I have to put in my two cents:
DeleteGiven that limiting her photos would wipe A LOT of them (these kids always seem to be in their undies haha!) I really think we shouldn't let ourselves be scared by disgusting individuals. Yes the thought of photos being used inappropriately gives me the creeps, BUT it is unlikely that any of us will ever find out that it is actually happening to one of our pictures. Ignorance is bliss right?
So why should we suffer and sensor ourselves just because sick people exist?
Amanda, this is not my post, but I know RL pretty well so I hope she does not mind if I chime in. First of all, I can totally appreciate your concern and it IS something that we think about from time to time (hence the reason we try to keep our children's names confidential). However, its really no different than posting a pic of a child in a bathing suit to a blog or facebook wall...and did you know that some cell phone pics can be stolen as well. Yes - all very scary. We try not to live in fear of those things. We can also see the search words that lead people to our blog - nothing perverted so far. The first thing our children do when they get home from anywhere is take off their pants (typically). Yes, they are in underwear (if anything at all) at home 95% of the time. LOL Lastly, don't be afraid to say anything you feel here at PAHM. We don't take it personal and welcome all comments. Thanks for the concern. :) AK
DeleteWell, there was another mommy blogger who recently discovered that photos of her child (completely INNOCENT photos - NOT in underwear like these) were part of a child p*orn website and downloaded by numerous people... I wish I had the link to that post handy... I don't believe we should live in fear of evil people, but I also know that once something is on the internet - it is there FOREVER. When the child is old enough to actually have an opinion about these photos being public, there will be no way to delete them. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but it may to the child someday...
DeleteI stopped blogging because my 4 year old was getting targeted when "blonde toddler boy" was googled! =o/ It made me so sick I could not/did not/do not want to post ever again. And my pictures are all fairly innocent, usually fully clothed...
DeleteSorry guys, but I thought the same thing as Amanda; I as a mother see NOTHING wrong with the photos, but I don't want other people using my child, period. This is why my daughter usually is ALWAYS in a one piece & I am not like sgt. abt it but my boys usually always wear trunks & a swim shirt. A swim shirt on her is an option too, in my opinion. I just worry that posting a pic that I could otherwise just withhold from the public (yet still have it for myself), I worry that action could provoke another person on the world wide web to potentially harm my child.
Do you just not like... require they wear pants? It's not bad that they're in their undies ~ believe me, it happens here, too, quite often!! LOL I just try not to take pics of them unless they are fully clothed or modestly dressed, or try to crop things out, etc... IDK I may be waaay too paranoid, but I felt scared for your kids when I saw those pics. :( I know you guys would never intentionally put them out there to harm your children but I think I am just more keenly aware of how sick some people are, and how completely exposed our blogs are.
Just wanted to share since it hit close to home! I have followed you guys since you started and love all of the activities you do with your children, you guys have been very inspirational to me as a mom & teacher to my kids =)
This looks like much of my son's physical therapy! They are always putting the puzzle pieces or whatever on one side of the room and having him walk over/around/through things to get to the other side. He thinks it's the best game ever and doesn't realize he's working. :)
ReplyDeleteSweet and so fun! I love watching my son sort and compartmentalize things. He reminds me of how I used to have many "treasure boxes" and containers full of things. I get a kick out of what does and does not go together. Cracks me up when the use their underwear as a pocket! Many a day I've walked into the room and they are stuffed with an assortment of objects "to carry".
ReplyDeleteThe very first lesson I learned in my Montessori training was "how to carry a tray with a glass of water on it" How kids love to concentrate!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely activity and invitation!! It is no wonder that in such a happy and positive environment, your girls want to play all day!!
ReplyDeleteI love how you do the invitation. I have yet to try it. I think I'll give it a try this week after my girls get up from nap. Looks like fun.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad my son isn't the only one who stores things in his underpants. When he first started wearing big boy pants he said, "Wow, mom, look. There's a pee pee pocket."
ReplyDeleteI love the pic with the 2 month old just checking everything out. Looks like such a great time! I hope I have the sense to show some restraint when my daughter is playing and let her guide her play time too.
ReplyDeleteHi! Love the great ideas on this site! I am a homeschooling mom and am always looking for fun ideas for my 2 boys. I was wondering...in the picture of the little girl putting up the spoons, there is a board with clear bins hanging on it and also the hook for spoons. Does anyone know where I might find and board and bins like this? it would be great for our "school room" . It looks like RL has a really cool room set up!
ReplyDeleteFrom where u get this white sheet or you made this?
ReplyDeleteFabulous but with carpet? My waterbeads in Australia stain.
ReplyDeleteso simple and yet so fun. thank you so musc for your wonderful blog and sharing your days with us. So inspiring.
ReplyDelete