Setting up play

I wanted to share with you how I set up play for Rosemary each morning.  Our morning routine can either run two ways, smooth or chaotic.  I prefer smooth.  As I mentioned in a previous post, Rosemary is learning "in", putting objects "in" things.  One day when I was observing her play, I realized that she was taking out the play kitchen sink (which is a metal bowl) and dropping objects down the hole.  I have since taken away the sink and left the "hole" permanently.  Each morning, I set up a few items on the shelf of the kitchen and within a few minutes of her coming downstairs, she makes her wake to her play kitchen and drops each of the items down the hole, that's part of her work and routine.  She's very sensory seeking, so the sounds the wood makes with this kitchen set suits her perfectly.











The rest of the morning while she's waiting for the bus to pick her up for school is spent playing with any other musical toys/objects in her space.  She is also very musically driven which has been a wonderful reinforcer for her.



Once everyone is out of the house except for Nathaniel, I set up different activities for him to engage in.  This morning, he spent most of his time working on building this tower.  I grabbed my video camera and managed to take some good footage of him doing his work.  The video is here.



This "setting up play" is always changing, always evolving, and always amazing to me.  Watching all of our children learn and grow has been one of the most rewarding experiences of being a mom and ultimately their first teacher.  I am always looking for ways to nudge them a little farther down their path of growth in this world, to give them just enough challenge to stay engaged and curious and to keep learning exciting and fun.