Our little one Floss has been quite poorly this week. You know they’re really not well when they’re not talking or moving and they are just still or asleep. This has meant that our rainbow shelves haven’t had hardly any use this week. When she’s been awake I’ve read stories to her and given her props or characters to hold when she’s been feeling up to it. Thankfully, as we’ve headed into the weekend Floss has started to improve. You wonder how much they take in when they’re poorly, but seeing that all she wants to play with now are the stories and characters we’ve had over the week makes me realise it’s totally worth it.
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Therefore, the rainbow shelves haven’t had a total transformation, lots has stayed the same, but I’ve added in some of the other props, characters and stories we’ve been having over the week for Floss to play with as she chooses.
Floss used to just hold on to animals and characters only and not be interested in what those creatures may be doing. There would be one in each hand and they would be transported around the house with her. Her play is definitely developing and you can see an increasing interest in what the animals and characters are doing and what props she can use to tell the story she is trying to tell. Bowls become feeding stations, cups for tea or hats to wear when going outside. Grimms rainbow arcs become beds for her characters to sleep. What I notice is that her play reflects the everyday aspects of our lives and the rhythm we have. So, alongside books and characters we’ve got loose parts for her to use as she wishes when retelling stories and telling her own stories through play.
I’m so pleased that I went to the library at the start of this week. While Floss has been unwell it’s been lovely to have our familiar books, but also new books from the library. One of the firm favourites has been ‘The Journey Home’ by Frann Preston-Gannon. It’s a beautifully, thought-provoking text about the effects our actions are having on our planet. Adding the wooden bowl to act as the boat for their journey really engaged Floss and she enjoyed finding different ways to fit the characters into the boat. We also used a piece of fabric to act as the water. There is a part in the book where there is a storm and moving the fabric up and down for the storm really entertained.
Since, the book I’ve just mentioned, there has been a rather large obsession with polar bears. We’ve looked at books which show the cold habitat they are used to. I’ve been wondering if she is interested in cold climates right now as it’s the opposite of the weather we’ve been having. I wish I’d managed to take a couple more photos of how her play developed with this scene. The penguins have made it into the scene today, I’ve explained that wouldn’t happen in real life, but that’s how the play is going right now. The Grimms bowls have been used for food and the cave has been a sleeping area for everyone. I’m going to be doing more of these scenes as she’s really enjoying them.
It fascinates me which words Floss chooses to verbalise straight away. Out of all the words and new words she must hear each day, some words she really enjoys and can’t wait to say. One of them has been ‘meerkat’. She loves hearing us say it and having a go at saying it herself. I’ve teamed the Lanka kade meerkat up with some arid landscape from Eric & Albert and the Grimms Casa Sole. I definitely need to dig out ‘Meerkat Mail’ this week, by Emily Gravett.
There’s an increasing interest in non-fiction books from Floss. She enjoys looking at the different pictures while I talk about them or read from the book. Matching the figurines she has with different pictures in the books and repeating the name of the animal is a favourite activity. I think the non-fiction books and talk are helping her to use props to play out different scenarios too. The lovely crocodile from Eric & Albert is still top crocodile this week!
We’re hoping for a week of normality coming up. Hope you all have a good week. Do drop me a comment below if you know any great books with crocodiles, polar bears or meerkats. Thank you.