A few days ago the girls asked me to put some stuff out in the play room for them in the morning because I hadn’t done it in a while. I set out some paints, some play dough, and a couple of the Spielgaben trays. They painted and played happily all morning but the loose parts were barely touched.

It sat like this until late afternoon. And I thought it looked so inviting! I even put the cushions there, I mean come on kids! LOL

Alas, they weren’t interested. UNTIL…I came and sat down in the play room that afternoon. All of a sudden this was the place to be!

‘We’re doing team work here Mum!’

They chatted away to me and each other about what they were making as they chose where each piece would go. They ran outside to gather rocks and flowers to add to their creation.

Seriously, how cute are the little fairies!

And all I had done was sit there, taken an interest, asked a few questions. It was a great reminder of the power of attention. I really value independent play, and I value boredom too. Sometimes the greatest ideas come out of having nothing to do and having to use your imagination! But some time each day where you just sit and observe and be present is really valuable too. Try not to direct the play, solve their problems, or suggest things if you haven’t been asked. All you need to do is be there and enjoy yourself.

Some helpful phrases:

“That looks interesting”

“I love watching you create/play/have fun”

“Can you tell me about it?”

“This looks fun”

“What’s your favourite part?”

Or say nothing and just observe.

Happy playing! xx

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The girls are creating with our Spielgaben set in the above pictures. An 11% discount is available from Spielgaben for all Happiness is here readers! For a limited time there is also a 30% discount on the printed version of the Spielgaben learning resources. All you need to do to claim your discount is send an email to info@spielgaben.com mentioning Happiness is here and you will be provided with a discount coupon.