if you need to reach me,
you can find me here with my people later today
Sep4
“the world is a playground, and life is pushing my swing.” – n. kocsis
if you need to reach me,
you can find me here with my people later today
Tag Archives: play
Aug25
spending the day with thing one and thing two
it’s early
and mom
has headed off
for her first day ever
teaching school
so
peaches
is over
playing
with
babies j & b
and
already
all of the cans
are out
to make music
and bubbles
are
all over the kitchen
from making
bubble soup
and
cupcakes with sprinkles
and
goldfish crackers
are for breakfast
and it’s not even
time for our
tie-dye
adventure
yet
hopefully
mom’s home a bit late
for
it’s a cat in the hat kind of day
in the house
—
—
credit: ‘the cat in the hat’ – dr. seuss
Aug8
a grownup is a child with layers on. ~ woody harrelson
all ages, all genders, all comers kickball
we brought
the shades
the kids
the headbands
the colors
the kicks
the neighbors
the knee socks
the diapers
the power
can’t touch this
time for a rematch
bring it
—
the playing adult steps sideward into another reality;
the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery.
~ erik h. erikson
Jun29
the world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful. – e.e. cummings
children and the young at heart
are encouraged to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty
in honor of International Mud Day.
a man is getting old when he walks around a puddle instead of through it. ~R.C. Ferguson
—
image credits: letthechildrenplay.com, firefliesandmudpuppies,g2goutside.org
Jun14
Sometimes, a winner is a dreamer who never gave up. – Unknown
while much of the globe is preoccupied with the world cup from june 12-july 13,
here is an alternative championship that could give fifa a run for its money.
the world toe-wrestling championships.
in 1976, when pubgoers in derbyshire, england grew bored with arm wrestling,
they began locking big toes and trying to pin their opponent’s foot to the ground.
rules state that competitors must yell out ‘toe much!’ if they want to throw in the towel.
competition is serious.
world champion, alan ‘nasty’ nash
has come home with broken toes nine times!
—
just play. have fun. enjoy the game.
michael jordan
—
credits: cameracrewgermany.com, bbc news, mental floss magazine
Apr19
It is a happy talent to know how to play. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
the family told me that i’ve established a pattern of putting the grand babies inside of all kinds of stuff.
i say, we are in it together and they put me up to it.
we all had a great laugh when i was giving one of them a ride
in a large plastic container
and the glowing safety sticker on it said,
‘not a toy. this is not meant for play.
do not put your child in this.’
well, i didn’t have my glasses on,
how was i expected to read that?
———
You’re never too old to do goofy stuff. ~
(From the television show Leave it to Beaver, spoken by the character Ward Cleaver )
Mar16
double trouble
baby j – i knew i had seen this guy somewhere before –
i’m officially on spring break for 16 days and i get to play with the babies today while mom and dad run
the st. pat’s day race.
when we get together, we have energy to burn and we’ll be running our own race,
at least a marathon, all inside the house, i’m quite sure of it.
we’ve got mischief to make.
run, family, run.
Aye, I’m tellin’ ye, happiness is one of the few things in this world that doubles every time you share it with someone else.
Mar13
sharing the night with the pink ballerinas
even the flamingos came out at night to play – dominican republic
“We are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil. Serenity is contagious. If we smile at someone, he or she will smile back. And a smile costs nothing. We should plague everyone with joy. If we are to die in a minute, why not die happily, laughing?”
Swami Satchidananda
Jan11
the kids who went up a slight grade and came down a mountain
finally all back together in school this week, and the kindergarten made the most out of enjoying what mother nature had left behind for us to play with. we headed out to go sledding on a ‘hill’ that could best be described as no more than a 23-degree angle, though to see their eyes upon approaching it, it appeared to be their first encounter with the swiss alps. even so, it was a challenge to get to the top, as the snow was quite deep and their legs were quite tiny. but motivated they are, and they hiked up to the summit, over and over, jumped on sleds, headed down, and marched back up.
all except for one little guy. he stayed on the sidelines, even when invited up, and instead rolled around and ran around and laid in and laughed and ate all the snow he could handle. when it was time to leave and stomp back in, he began crying and yelling out, ‘you didn’t let me go sledding!!!!!’ his outburst was met with great understanding by my class who simultaneously burst out laughing. it was at this point perhaps, that he realized he had made his own choices, and this was not a great argument. the sobbing stopped.
There’s no fear when you’re having fun – Will Thomas
when everyone made it back inside, they warmed up, had a snack, went to music class, made puzzles, read books, ate lunch and suited up for another trip outside, this time to the playground. once out there, they saw that their familiar playground had been turned into a winter wonderland. there was fresh, fluffy, deep, white, sparkling snow everywhere, totally untouched by any other kids!
they jumped in it, rolled in it, made snow balls and snowmen and snow castles, played with ice chunks, went down the slides covered with snow, filled buckets with snow, made snow angels, snapped icicles off of their playhouse, climbed things, tried to run in the snow, and loved every minute of it. after a long time spent playing on our ‘winter beach’ we headed back inside once again. after taking off all of our layers and hanging them to dry, everyone was absolutely exhausted. it was nap time. and we had earned it.
image credit: mnh.si.edu
When you’re really having fun, you’re always doing it a little bit in a way that you’re not supposed to.
That’s when great things happen.
Dec30
nun the wiser
one of my favorite christmas eve memories, was when my aunt, a catholic nun, mother superior of her order, came to town for the holidays. she came over early, to chat and hang out at my place. the rest of the family was running late, so for some reason, my daughters and i decided to keep her busy by playing a holiday game of ‘quarter bounce.’ open-minded, liberal nun that she is, she asked the rules and played right along with us. she actually did quite well, and we secretly wondered if she might have played once or twice before.
later, when the whole family arrived, we decided to play ‘would you rather?.’ imagine our joy and endless laughter, (including hers), when the card she drew asked, ‘would you rather – a) have no breasts but saucer-sized nipples -or- b) huge breasts and no nipples? could there have been anyone better in the family to have drawn that card?! sometimes the universe just lines up perfectly and offers you an unexpected and joyous gift. she chose the huge breasts option, by the way.
Life must be lived as play. – Plato
I didn't have my glasses on.... 