I love playing with children. The inner child in me is always on the surface ready to have fun. I recall when my oldest daughter explained why she thought I had five children, including one fourteen years her junior. She said, “Mom I know why you had another baby. We outgrew you. Don’t worry, you’ll have grandchildren before Daniel grows up.” I did and know my kids note how fast I leave the adult table to sit with the kids.Take time to play and be ready to have fun. Books are a great source of play as you can connect to an idea in the book and make up a game, re-enact a scene, or pretend to be the characters you read about in a favorite series.

I always loved playful and imaginative books like Christina Katerina & the Box. Such great imagination of taking a refrigerator box and transforming it into a castle,clubhouse, race car, and even a dance floor when it flattened out. When I visited my grandson on a play day the mom in charge brought out a stack of vegetable cartons. Kids started stacking them and made an igloo. As it busted apart I helped them make a long roadway to jump from one box to another. Ideas kept coming up and we had so much fun.

Tips on play:

• Be playful and ready to laugh.
• Take photos!
• Read a book and chat about the book and what game or activity it makes them want to do.
• Keep a scrap box of assorted materials to use in play.
• Keep a chest or drawer of accessories for costumes and play.
• Look the child in the eye and grin or laugh.
• Read with inflection and make up voices for the character’s dialogue. Be excited about the book.
• Children love parades, picnic blankets, and boxes. Plan activities around these and other favorites.

Have fun!

Blessings,

Karen