Two days ago I noticed P playing with her animal figures in a different way…it looked more “real”. The cows were on the grass going “moo” and she moved the animals so they would jump and gallop in a more realistic way.
I bought her a Melissa & Doug castle about 4-5 months ago. I bought figures, animals and a hodge podge of things for her to play with. She liked putting the figures into each room or stuffing them into little crannies but the play didn’t imitate “real life”….which is totally fine. Because her play wasn’t “real” I didn’t care if there were Littlest Petshop mixed in with stuffed animals, cars, etc and nothing matched theme or size. I actually bought the castle to strengthen her motor skills by putting things in and out of windows, doors and spaces. She wasn’t taking to the puzzles which are meant to strengthen these motor and space related skills.
I was amazed to see her play go to the next step. I started thinking how I could contribute to the development. We visit Pierce College’s farm on a weekly basis. I noticed P plays more with her animals, so a barn seemed like the best choice for her. It’s also summer and I wanted to play more outside where she can get muddy and roll with the pigs.
To my delight, I found a wooden barn on Craigslist! It was perfect. Even better, I did a trade for my Learning Tees! Two tees for a barn!!!! The minute we got home P was playing with all her animals and tractors in the barn and in the mud. This has furthered her intent/desire/development of imitating real life in her little barn….which I think helps her to further her curiosity and knowledge of the world. And by playing outside we got to see beetles, birds and butterflies. I’m happy, she’s happy, she’s developing.
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