Everything Becomes Play
October 28, 2010 by Linda
Filed under Parenting From Balance©
Most children, and some talented adults, can take practical life (getting dressed, for example) and turn it into a magical adventure. Everything is play, and everything becomes play.
Have you ever tried to hurry a little boy into his clothing and out the door? It is usually to no avail — the shirt becomes a pirate’s hat, and then his eye catches a forgotten toy — everything is so richly distracting to children, because they are still engaged so deeply in living life.
This is what is so easy to forget as an adult – how to be passionate and engaged and see the magic in life.
So why do we try to pounce it out of them? “Straighten up! Hurry Up! Come on, we’ll be late!”
What is the hurry?!!!! What could be more important than living? This is a great reminder for me. Whenever I climb back onto that treadmill of “earning a living,” I tend to forget how to slow down and BE where my son is. I forget how to take time to meet him there, in the moment.
And ironically, that is the gift he brought to me, by becoming part of my life: he is a lesson in mindfulness, and in living every moment fully.
XOXO
Linda
www.RivieraPlaySchool.com
Riviera PlaySchool in Redondo Beach, CA
TEACHING FROM BALANCE
A humanistic, constructivist, and mindful program for the “whole child,” inspired by the best of Attachment Parenting, Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Waldorf and Compassionate Communication.