I will be honest: I am rubbish at Playing. I have no imagination anymore. The other day my son made a helmet out of cereal boxes and the joy on their little faces when I put it on and became a scary alien trying to kidnap "human children" was just the best... but it's not my default setting, and that kind of stresses me out a bit. I want to to inspire my children so they learn how to play long into their teens and adulthood, but with time pressure and mental health ups and downs I've lost most of my ability to have a child-like creativity, so how can I do that??
The best thing is when I discover a game they can play together. There is a 6 year age difference so it can be tricky but they adore each other and love to play so I was thrilled when I discovered the game we are currently obsessively play: blind assault courses. And no, it's not as dangerous as it sounds!!!
It is super fun and takes 1 minute to set up and they will play for ages so it's a win win for a tired mama who wants to see her kiddies smiling. Plus, you can play from sitting down!
Set Up
Get items from around the room and create a simple assault course. A little pile of pillows to step over, some blocks to walk through, a long blanket for a 'plank', an item of clothing to put on like an oversized coat or shoes etc. Then find a way to blindfold them. You then give directions to help them move through the course safely: "right a bit, left a bit, walk straight" etc. We have a hat at the end of the course which they have to put on like a winner's crown! You could do it in one room or all through the house!
When they have a go, their imagination will kick in. Milo began to add his own ideas such as blocks which you had to build into a tower (blindfolded). It kickstarted his mind and that is amazing for a little boy who is obsessed with Minecraft!
If you have more than 1 child they can then begin playing the game together after a few goes of learning how to do it with you. Milo also really enjoys doing it with his little sister and walking her through the course, holding her hand, whilst she is blindfolded.
They can even design their own course on paper and then go around the house collecting items up to create their own Super Assult Course! (On the proviso that they put the items back afterwards...this is not about adding to your list of To-Dos but to help the children have fun with (or without) you and give you that time of CALM Play together.
Let me know how you get on and tag me in your photos @the_calm_mummy_method
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