On a whim Billy made these for the kids the other day. He took an 18-inch dowel rod and taped a 3-foot piece of floaty sheer ribbon to the end. (It was actually ribbon I had cut for gifts :)) These have been the most-used toys at our house ever since. They have been used for everything from dancing to whips for Santa's reindeer. It's amazing how differently Silas and Elizabeth play with the same toy. Elizabeth uses hers in all sorts of girly ways (dancing, twirling, making circles) and Silas uses his in all sorts of boy ways (popping the end, driving imaginary reindeer and horses).
Remind me again why we buy them toys?
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5 comments:
Because we all bought into the idea that children want something other than a smaller version of the things they see us use on a daily basis! ;o)
Ethan is satisfied with anything that he sees us use, and it holds his attention MUCH longer than all of his toys, which get dumped out and left in 15 seconds.
You know what is interesting, that is one of the things they teach in the Montessori method...Give your kids smaller versions of the real things that you use daily--not non-working toy reproductions, but child-sized actual tools.
Exactly! Our boy won't be fooled. A toy phone, hammer, or screwdriver just won't cut it. But he will pretend to talk on a real phone for twenty minutes, or play with his stubby hammer for an hour, which is a real one with a short handle. He will get my little screwdriver and go "tighten" every screw he can see or reach.
They are programmed to mimic us in every way...which often makes me cringe with thoughts of how slack we can be at times in living out our faith!
Yes, it is amazing, isn't it? Emma wants to do everything we do. From typing on the computer keys to screwing little screws to talking on the phone to getting out the pots and pans.
The toys? What are those for?
I actually wrote about this in my personal journal this past week. I was wondering if I should feel bad that Emma doesn't play with toys, and therefore, has very few of them. We haven't bought her more than a few toys in all of her 17 months, simply because she doesn't play with them. She'd rather read, follow me around, and do what I'm doing. I'm not worried about it, either. She's learning in perhaps a better way by copying me and seeing what I'm doing.
It sounds like you are doing great with Emma. Kids developed for centuries without many toys. We rarely buy toys for our little ones either. The ones they have come from grandparents and friends. They would rather read, draw, or help us most of the time too.
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