We are on winter break, and we have had kids stay at our house for the last 5 days. The most I have had at a time was 5, but two of them have been staying the night. It’s been nonstop activity, commotion, and needs. There was a brief moment today between dropping two of the kids off at school and another one coming over, where it was just Charlotte and me. I sat and gave her all my attention without competing distractions. She grabbed out these colored blocks that were given to us from a friend. Chuck hasn’t played with these in a long time, but she dumped them out and started making a door and then a fire. “Please help me build my fire.” Her polite little invitations to play are irresistible. She started building up in a square pattern. I followed her directions about where to put the pieces until it all fell down. I love the look of surprise that is disappointment and excitement all at once that comes when the blocks fall. “Oh no! Please help me build it again.” This time she was more specific with her directions. “I do orange. You do purple.” She then put three blocks on one side and three on the other. She is deliberate and certain of her building design. I had forgotten that we were building a fire till she reminded me that the blocks were sticks, and she started putting the sticks into the middle of the tower. And then…she got distracted by the container the blocks had been in and put it on her head and wanted me to put it on my head. She said the helmet made me look like Santa, and she wanted to take a picture of me. I let her.
All Mountains and Molehills 