Imagine how appalled I was when I noticed that, on the back of the dollhouse family that arrived as a holiday gift, were instructions on how to teach your child to play with dolls. This means someone really, actually thinks that they need to tell us how to do this. That we really have forgotten how to play. (Present company excepted, of course- Joy Makin’ Mamas know how to have a good time!)
There is actually a Movement to Restore Play. Bobbi Connor’s book is packed chock full of enough games and activities to while away even the longest rainy day. Some of them are classics, of course- Miss Mary Mack, home made play dough, fort building, and dress ups, for example, but even the descriptions for these stand-bys may have some variations you’d never thought of- which will delight your little Joy. There are also hundreds of fun things you never thought of which require very little equipment and will spark hours of creative play.
I whipped out some wiffle golf balls and a packing tube and set Mister and Little Mister to work on the Tunnel Tube activity from page 7. They pretty soon got tired of just dropping the ball down the tube and built some more obstacles for it. Duct Tape was involved. Really, how can you fault a vehicle for a boy’s first experience with duct tape? I believe they eventually came up with a way to use the tube as a cannon and shoot the ball out of it.
The book admits to containing 710 Games and Activities. What it really has is 710 jumping off points for your own and your child’s creativity!
