Say "yes!" to someone else's kid
Sometimes I feel stuck in a rut with how LP & I play together. There are things I wish we did that she's not interested in yet and things she wants to do for hours that I am not that interested in. And there's the whole getting stuck in a rut of interaction.
But oh - other people's kids are such a great opportunity! I've been finding little happy "yes" moments recently and the energy from those interactions is inspiring me to try and be more open to unexplored possibilities in LP's play.
(Added to this is being inspired to stay more present on the playground...my thoughts got going after reading an entry on the SimpleKids blog)
At the playground recently, a little girl we didn't know came over to join our sand-soup making. After something else caught LP's attention, the little girl and I began banging our shovels together to make music. A wonderful thing about this moment was LP came back to check on us and joined the band by singing "la, la, la!" I sing to LP a lot and she asks for music often and I hear her sing to herself but this was the first time, she's initiated herself singing in interaction with others. That's a pleasure!
On Wed at the Farmer's Market, I was playing with a friend's daughter and realized that playing with her, brings out my clowning training in a way that I never think to use with LP. Just a little bit of widening my eyes and slightly over-reacting to things was such a fun game. I forgot how enjoyable clowning is!
AND saying "yes" in the world builds community. A simple moment can rescue an overstressed parent/caregiver, can let a child have a new and different experience, can trigger your own creativity....I want to feel as comfortable (actually more comfortable) in saying "yes!" and engaging in play with other kids as I do intervening if there's hittitng/biting/etc going on.
But oh - other people's kids are such a great opportunity! I've been finding little happy "yes" moments recently and the energy from those interactions is inspiring me to try and be more open to unexplored possibilities in LP's play.
(Added to this is being inspired to stay more present on the playground...my thoughts got going after reading an entry on the SimpleKids blog)
At the playground recently, a little girl we didn't know came over to join our sand-soup making. After something else caught LP's attention, the little girl and I began banging our shovels together to make music. A wonderful thing about this moment was LP came back to check on us and joined the band by singing "la, la, la!" I sing to LP a lot and she asks for music often and I hear her sing to herself but this was the first time, she's initiated herself singing in interaction with others. That's a pleasure!
On Wed at the Farmer's Market, I was playing with a friend's daughter and realized that playing with her, brings out my clowning training in a way that I never think to use with LP. Just a little bit of widening my eyes and slightly over-reacting to things was such a fun game. I forgot how enjoyable clowning is!
AND saying "yes" in the world builds community. A simple moment can rescue an overstressed parent/caregiver, can let a child have a new and different experience, can trigger your own creativity....I want to feel as comfortable (actually more comfortable) in saying "yes!" and engaging in play with other kids as I do intervening if there's hittitng/biting/etc going on.
posted by Susan at
6:45 PM
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