Games We Play

Now that I can stand for long periods of time, we've been playing some new games:

• Revolutionary War: We had been looking at a book on the Met with its Washington Crossing the Delaware and Bud decided he wanted to play. I was in charge of paddling, while Bud looked presidential. "Is this when he was president?" Bud asked. And so I explained all about the war of independence. And how there were battles very near here, with Washington passing nearby on the King's Road several times. "Can we find arrowheads?" he wanted to know. And I explained they used bullets and cannons, which didn't interest him much since swords and bows are his favorite weapons. Which is just fine with me. So we rowed--though he noted it was daylight and not snowing, just like in the picture, which we had read was historically inaccurate--then set up camp under our pine, where Sis, who is our chef, set up a campfire and made chocolate. Then the General discovered that sometimes the foot soldiers weren't fed well so he wanted snack and didn't want to share. He was overruled. We made a map of the area, with the Delaware River and Trenton, NJ, then set up our defenses at our rock wall, where Bud did build a cannon to fire at our redcoat neighbors. He was very happy to learn that Washington was "on our team" and won the war. Just when you think your precocious children have a grasp on the finer points of history, you realize they're just five years old.
• Han Gan: Han Gan was a real painter who lived in China centuries ago and was famous for the realistic horses he created. There is a story book, The Horses of Han Gan, which delights us with its tale of the horse in the painting that came to life but then chose to return to a painting. Bud loves this book, with both the Chinese and artistic themes. And so this afternoon, we played "magic paint brush" with the kids as sibling artists in China who could paint pictures that came to life (Bud drew, Sis painted). But instead of being a warrior requesting a valiant steed for battle, as in the book, I was a Silk Road traveler who would benefit from a magical horse that didn't need food, water, or rest. Then we all road magic horses around.
• Jackson Pollock: We also saw some action painting in that Met book and the kids concluded our outdoor period today with splatter painting all over the deck, the patio door, the deck furniture, each other, and, yes, some paper.
• Wizard Battle: I am a wizard who lives on the deck; they are wizards who live in the little house. Using our stick wands, we hurl spells at each other, like "Ickle, Tickle, You're a Pickle" or "Ala-ka-zam, Ala-ka-bam, I'm going to turn you into a ham." Then after several spells, we become friends.
• Doctor: Yay, my favorite game these days. Sis was my mom and Bud was the doctor, who tested every bit of me, including my sense of smell. "Mom" read a catalog and then filled out a form for the doctor and promised me a book when it was over, though she did think the appointment took too long.
• Escaped Zoo: An old favorite, where the kids--this time as a penguin and a bear--live in a zoo and I'm the keeper. Every night while I sleep, they escape, a la Goodnight Gorilla, and it's my job to round them up. They thought it was hysterical that I kept capturing them right outside their door. Then morning comes, I feed them and give them a check up, visitors come and go, and we start all over.
• Penguins on the Ice Floe: This developed out of the zoo game, as I finally succumbed and decided to lie down on the bed. The bed became an ice floe and I was the mother penguin. Soon my children penguins and all of our cousin and friend stuffed penguins came to join us. While I rested, Bud and Sis Penguin gathered up all the cat toys and decided they were fish for us, so they would throw them off the floe, feed them to us, and then throw them back in the water. Later, they gathered them in socks and determined they could sell the fish packets to other penguins, $1 a fish. They had a blast calculating how much each sock was worth--mine were the most.
• And, just now, Tooth Fairy: I was the kid and my "mom" and "dad" created a room for me, complete with nightstand for my glasses, bookcase, and hat rack (?!). Then, a cat toy stood in for my tooth and the Tooth Fairy gave me a strawberry coin. When I got up, I was fed soup from the cauldron for breakfast and now I'm at school . . . on the computers!

Those, in addition to a lot of drawing, frequent puzzle-piecing, some game-playing, and a bit of reading, are what we do these days. Not bad for not sitting or leaning or lifting.