Success with kids!

Well, I’ll have to say (and my kids agree with me) that these first few days of my “bring more play into my life” experiment have been a good success!  I have probably laughed more in these past few days than I have in a while!  And I do have my children to thank for this.

When I first mentioned this project to them, they emphatically agreed that this was sorely needed.  They were also quite enthusiastic to participate in the experiment and to be my guides/mentors/teachers.  (I’m so lucky!)

A very good friend of mine upon reading my first post said that in my true nature I “lay it out in full seriousness.”  And I am taking it seriously – I am not trying to deny my nature or completely change who I am, but I do want to be a more relaxed, lighter – not so serious!  At the same time, I want the play side of me to be authentic – not forced.  Although, some of my approaches will be a bit forced – such as learning jokes (beware dear friends – I may try some out on you!) and doing at least one spontaneous thing each day (tonight I was outside and my kids were calling me in and then I repeatedly walked into the glass door to try to get inside – this made them laugh!).

Being true to my nature and as a researcher, I am approaching this very systematically.  My first method of primary data collection was naturalistic observation (observing the subject in its natural environment when they are unaware of your observing) and participant observation (you are observing, but also participating in the act).  I’ve got some other good data collection methods lined up for this!

First off Brook decided that I needed some formal schooling, so she set up a classroom and got to work!  After having me look up the definition of "fun" and "play" and a bit of desk time, we hoola-hooped, pogo-sticked, threw a frisbee, hit a ball, and threw a football.  There were definitely some good laughs there!  Beyond this, we have danced to Christmas music, bowled, listened and sang to Michael Jackson (something that has always brought me up!), they taught me some jokes, gave me some very creative ideas for my spontaneity exercise, and have shown me to be much more present (and get out of my head a bit!)

One unexpected benefit of this whole experiment is that it is bringing my kids and I closer.  I have never felt like I was not close to them, but I admit that I haven’t generally been closely involved with their play time since they were quite young, and my role is often telling them what and what not to do.  At the end of the first day, one of the most satisfying parts was when my daughter said, “Mom, I don’t think you’ve ever been this fun!” 

We made some great videos, which I will edit and post (hopefully sooner than later) and I must say I am grateful to have such great kids/teachers.  My only concern is how I will keep it up when they go back to their dad’s – this will be much more of a challenge.  Any suggestions on this will be greatly welcomed!

What follows is a photo-documentary of our adventures!

When I picked up the kids, this was laying in the parking lot next to the car – I thought, “How appropriate - this must be my little guide!”

The first thing we did was go pick out our Christmas tree – this is the one Oliver wanted!

Some down time – but Oliver is playing “Heads or Tails” and I join in!

Well, there are things to get done too – Oliver paints the wall where him and his friend were playing a little too hard and made many holes in the wall!  He was quite willing to make it right though!  We also threw and stacked wood.

Brook & Oliver’s school - I have great teachers!

Watch out!

Here’s Brook getting very focused on the task at hand, and then falling off the deck!  

That made us all laugh!

We ended the day at Parker Pie and the antics continued – I tried to tone it down a bit, but we (or they, really!) may have been a bit much!  One man said, "They don't get out much, do they?"  :)

Another approach – today I wore fun socks!  This outfit backfired a little bit and I had some clothing malfunctions though, which added to the humor of the day. 

This fun and play stuff is messy business!  I’m generally a bit of a neat freak, 

but working on letting this go a bit too!