It's pretty fun to help them start off with a few props that are sitting around the house and watch as they quickly get carried away and lost in the make believe. All the pirate-superhero-mermaid swords and hats we made for my four year old's birthday party were still in use months later and the rocket ship is still going strong after nearly three months of constant preschooler abuse. It's well worth the effort to be a facilitator for make believe I have found.
An easy one for my youngest daughter, who is newly potty trained and loving her superiority over the diaper wearers, was to give her the empty Kandoo butt wipe box (we used one box and a refil as a bit of a trial before I figured they weren't really needed) to use as a potty for her doll. Now that she is wise in the ways of the bowels, she can have fun imparting her knowledge to her dollies and high fiving them when they c**p in the can.
Last week we the peddle barbie corvette that we got for $5 in a yard sale last spring was pronounced dead, following a collision that rendered it's stearing unfixable without welding gear. On the weekend the kids got to play at being mechanics in the sun while the grown ups were taking apart other scavenged electronics for parts for future projects. They spent a good two to three hours unscrewing all the screws on it, some whilst lying on a skate board under the car like the real mechanics do. Later that evening my four year old daughter says to us "after dinner, can we go outside and screw again?" You try not laughing. FAIL.
Monday heralded an experiment in home dentistry. Both the kids are interested in the dentist after a trip a couple of months ago, the younger one was quite nervous about the genuine dentist's trip though, so I thought maybe some playing at being dentists with her sister would make it less scary. Turns out a four year old's booster seat makes a great make believe dentist's chair, and an old blue dress shirt of mine that had already been used to be a nurse worked out as the costume. They decided they needed goggles too. We got a cup of water and a bowl to spit the rinse in and they brushed each other's teeth and counted each other's teeth and my older daughter took great pleasure in telling my younger daughter all about how to look after her teeth.
The best ones are when you get to just sit back and watch the crazy unfold. This month the kids have been obsessed with volcanos (we did the classic volcano science experiment a while back). They have on several ocassions lately, declared there to be "a volcano in twenty minutes!" and then crammed all the stuff from their bedroom into the home made space rocket to escape/evacuate. The most recent volcano wasn't nearly so troublesome because aparently "the aliens say that we can stay with them for a while". One of the previous volcano evacuations was hampered by someone being stuck in a tree full of mice (I swear this is the stuff I deal with daily and I am going to be so sad when it inevitably starts to subside with age). In the mean time, we need volcano insurance.
What make believe fun do your kids go for?
7 comments:
Make believe is the best, I love the way you facilitate it in your home!
My kids are mostly into pretending to be animals, making pretend food, and acting out scenarios with their toys. I can't wait to see what they come up with as they get a bit older.
Oh my gosh, you guys are so cute & fun. Love the Kandoo wipe potty!! :) I have been linking to your blog a lot on twitter... hope you are getting some new readers!
Where do I start? Most recently, it's been Let Us Give Birth To Dollies In The Maternity Ward and Have Visitors Bring Presents. Sometimes they do dentist, doctor, baker, teacher, and other normal, harmless stuff. Then they try and marry each other and play Wedding. But you're right - it is fascinating to watch how their minds work. And I LOVE the idea of using the carseat as a dentist's chair! Must remember that next time they swipe all the pillows in the house for this. Thank you!
Can I come and play at your house? What fun!! Love the dolly potty, I'll be making one of those. And that dentist chair is great. Perfect for my 3 year old who is ready to go to the dentist soon. Love it!
My son is really into telling stories right now. He is currently in a band who has broken instruments and noone knows how to fix them. Ah, the drama of the rock world!
Your pictures are priceless. I especially love the last one! Too funny!!
As for our house, it's lots and lots of animals. Sometimes Lions, often Cheetahs. It's funny when they play Doggies -- Lucy (the 2-yr-old) joins in on that one, crawling around on hands and knees while panting.
On the car seat chair, do you just pop the whole back off and lay it down?
The carseat is a Graco high back turbo booster thingy, Karin. The back is detatchable for when you just want the booster part, and when it's out of the car it's easy to just recline the back of the seat on some pillows so the whole seat and back lie at the angle of a dentist's chair.
Thank you to everyone that's shared their kid's make believe games. I love hearing about this stuff.
And thank you Heather for twittering about us. It's always good to hear from new people!
Post a Comment