It was a typical weekend at our house. Not much going on, but just enough to keep us moving from one thing to the next. The movement from task to task wasn’t mechanical, but it was nothing much to look forward to. Ho hum dee dum da dum. This. Then that. We were going through the motions.
Then this happened:
Ms. the Teacher had fiddled with our day in a most delightful way when she introduced us to Owl Sandwiches. A most fine and welcome surprise.
I’m not sure where she got the idea, although she did mention, when I asked, that she saw a similar picture on Pinterest, a web site of visual bookmarks. It’s a neat discovery tool for keeping track of discoveries around the Web.
She just needed a few seconds with the picture to make a plan – and several owls – out of the normal, ordinary, dare-I-say boring stuff that we usually have on hand for lunch.
And in that simple act of play, she changed the day. The rest of our afternoon and evening was full of giggles, and of the sounds that owls make when eaten (I know, that’s odd. But imagine a giggling four-year-old laughing and hooting her way around a sandwich. While her older and younger sisters do the same. Magic.). The children, several weeks later, don’t ask us “What’s for lunch?” They ask when the owls are coming back. They’ve yet to make a return appearance, but they will soon enough. And, of course, this time, the raw materials will be on the table, and the children will make their own owls, or tigers, or other creatures they choose to build.
The raw materials for creativity and play are everywhere when we remember to look for them.
As I write this now, I’m hoping there’s play in mealtimes and other habits and routines in your home. Where are you raising wonder and excitement during the routine of your day?
How are you playing with your food?
