What Chaos!!! not really.......

I am posting this to show how crazy our room can look when the children are in the middle of playing. Sometimes we walk through and pick up so they don't fall on things...but mostly this is what it looks like during the day. So here is what is going on. If you look at the posts that follow this one, you will see what they are doing up close. The children are usually in thier own little worlds doing their own little things. For the sole reason of blocks...they were all migrating to this part of the room. So, the two in boxes are 'floating' around in boats, and watching along with the one in the jacket. The rest are busy building a large block creation that they started. There are a few behind me in the other room....but I am always amazed, every day, that there can be 9 (there is one on the other side of the blocks) in this one small space and everyone is getting along brilliantly!! This is my testiment to the fact if given time...lots of time...kids will be more patient and more willing to sit and watch and wait and get along with each other. Their imagination will sprout much larger if given the time to do so. We play....all day. The children choose what they want to do....I love my job....I love, love, love it!

bunnies, string, and fire.....

Awww....I know, cute!

The other day I was putting some string away and Quinn said in the cutest little boy voice he could find; "Annie, can I have a piece of that string?" Sure Quinn, I said...and the imagination began.

Of course they asked Quinn where he got the string and the ripple effect had begun....Everyone 'needed' string...even the 15 month old.

Bryan and Quinn were working hard and pretty soon they were 'fishing'. They 'built' fishing poles and fished. I am not sure what the chairs had to do with it all...but they were catching some cool stuff!

Here, they are casting their hooks! Later...they needed a fire. To cook the fish of course...so I headed to the closet of odds and ends and got some red tissue paper. "Great!" Bryan said..."This is just what we needed!" Bryan started building his fire.It's a hot one and more wood was needed!Sooo...where there is fire, there is the need for people to put the fire out and who better than the local firefighters.

I love when play is an all day thing. We started out with string and ended with firetrucks....with a whole lot of learning (via, language and risk taking) in between!!Over in the science area I added some big circle mirrors and plastic 'fall' items including leaves, pumpkins, and nuts. They are great sorting items. Loralei especially loves it over here and has a fascination with the sparkely things...the mirrors especially. She uses the mirrors alot...and yes, they do break. One actually broke today, but we just picked it up carefully and threw it away. She now knows you can not kneel on the mirror....we do not let the babies in this part of the room :)

Phones

There are a few rotary phones in our room. The 'old school' kind. The kind we used when our phone numbers started with letters....mine was AD2-6812. They like these, and use these, because they love to talk on the phone....and because they make a cool uh..uh..uh...uh..sound when you dial the numbers.
But...when I found two cell phones that no longer worked and placed them in the room....watch out! Oh my goodness. Everyone wants one. Just like mom and dad...and brother or sister. And they know excactly what they are doing. They are texting and talking and flipping up to answer, and putting them away in their front pocket. If you don't think your kids are watching you closely...give them a play phone and sit back and watch...and listen. One is texting and the other talking (very sweetly to his mom) and then seconds later they switched roles.
I love it. Your children make me smile from one ear to the other! They are great.
I asked Brian (who works at T-mobil) to bring in some broken phones....because 2 is just not enough!

Salad....

"I'm makin salad"
Indeed he is...he has been working on it for some time. The rule in the yard is no picking leaves and flowers off of the living plant, but if you find them on the ground, they are all yours. I have seen them sometimes...pull the flower off, ever so gently and sneekily, then quickly drop it to the ground...."Look, I found this on the ground!"...I just remind them the plant won't be pretty if they keep picking the flowers off....then let them use it...what else can I do....
But he found this all on the ground...It's hard to see, and I think he might have put that big rock (tomato?) on top of all the greens, but it was rather colorful.
And very yummy by the way.