Long Live the Skip Rope!
Near....
...Far!
Long Live the Skip Rope!
..and the Pick-Up-Sticks, playing cards, marbles, wooden blocks, Jacks, hopscotch....
In raising O, hubby and I are doing our damndest to get back to the basics.
Letting playtime be good old-fashioned playtime, which is brain food for children.
Avoiding the TV as much as possible... all other electronic and battery-operated gizmo's. Instead we try to purchase or create toys that will last throughout time.
They aren't the priciest toys, either. They are simple and leave limitless possibilities.
That is not to say that O does'nt pick up Adam's cell phone and start scrolling across with her finger while giving good, old Dad 'the look' when it doesn't work like an IPhone!
(no matter how much you shelter them, they will find a way!)
O LOVES watching kids skip!
She is not quite co-ordinated yet, but she can whip a mean double-dutch!
I have a red rope meant for a Christmas craft, that O keeps discovering.
Every time she brings it out, new games arise.
Today I paid close attention to how much she was learning from these games.
Estimating...
...distance.
We tied the ends to her chairs, so she could have a platform for jumping.
She took initiative to estimate distance, so that the rope would lift high enough for her to clear.
Tying
She watched me tie one end, which inevitably led to her asking if she could tie the other.
This could easily be expanded into a lesson on Knots.
Action Shot!
One-Leg Jump
She started by jumping over with both feet together.
But she concluded (again on her own) that this was too high, so she attempted One-Leg jumps.
Hand-over-hand
When we untied the rope, I initiated a game of 'lassoing' her in, with a hand-over-hand pull, while she held the opposite end. She laughed hysterically at being pulled towards me while she ran to keep up.
This was followed by chants of "My turn Mom! Take turns Mom!"
In a few short seconds, she taught herself the hand-over-hand pull.
The language skills (naturally) used in game or sport seems to amplify simply because there is a lot of action taking place.
Take turns.
Over-under.
High-low.
Near-far.
Tie.
Pull.
Plus the both of us were laughing most of the time, which is always a plus when playing with your kids.
Cost of rope: $2
Cost of quality time together: Priceless