It never ceases to amaze me how the simplest, non-toy-factory-made things can keep a little person entertained for hours (ok, hours is an exaggeration but you get my drift).
Take the other day for instance, Aiden and I were in Mom and Dad's room and he found an old box of mine that I was meaning to sort through. He figured out how open it and suddenly I heard "Wow" followed by "Coin" and then "Ball". In amongst old necklaces and earrings, Aiden had discovered some coins, a little yellow bouncy ball and some small erasers. He was in little-treasure-hunter heaven. As he dove further an further into his newly claimed treasure chest he found paper clips, bobby pins, various figurines, photos and an old watch. With every new trinket he found, he'd take it out of the box, examine it as if he were deciding on its value on the open market and either put it back into the box or put it in his pile of loot. It was amazing watching him sort through all of the items and make a conscious choice of which ones he liked and which ones he didn't like. Once he had his pile of goodies, we spent some time going through the items, naming them and talking about their colours, shapes and textures. It was a wonderful, impromptu, unplanned activity which kept us occupied for a good forty-five minutes (which I'd say is the equivalent of hours in big people time).
I encourage you all to put out an old box of miscellaneous stuff for your little person to discover so you too can marvel at your little person's capacity for decision making and curiosity.
Happy treasure finding,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)
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