Now that the weather’s turning cool (and rainy-boo), Jude and I have been stuck indoors more than I would like. Because we’re (almost) condemned to playing indoors all the time, Jude has been watching a fair number of movies per day, and I’ve been having a bit of an internal struggle over that fact. I honestly do believe that children are capable of self-regulating when it comes to pretty much everything: tv, food, video games. Some kids are simply visual learners–they get a lot out of tv shows, movies, and video/computer games. Even though I *know* all that, I was still questioning my not even two-and-a-half year old’s self-regulating ability. Some days he doesn’t even *think* about movies, let alone ask to watch one. Other days, all he wants to do is watch, watch, watch. We’ve been in that “watch, watch, watch” phase for a couple of weeks now, I think in part because of the crummy weather.
In light of our present situation, I recently asked for indoor play suggestions from the people who are on a Unschooling listserv I’m a part of. I got some great suggestions for toys and for different ways for Jude to experience the kind of “big movement” play that he gets outdoors, indoors. Regarding the amount of screen time he’s engaging in, I got what I think is the best piece of advice ever in the history of the world:
“Make sure that the tv/dvd player isn’t the most “sparkly” option in the house.”
So simple, yet so true. Of course the “toy” that plays fun songs and depicts cool-looking talking vegetables is going to get the most attention. I mean, honestly, if you give me the choice of either putting a puzzle together or watching an episode of Firefly, I’ll pick Firefly every time. Or 99% of the time, at least. (I <3 Nathan Fillion.)
Josh and I talked and decided to go shopping for some sparkly, hands-on toys for Jude. What we came home with… well, what we came home with is a ball pit big enough for two children. Also, three hundred (300!!!) plastic balls!
Oh! And an indoor sandbox (filled with rice) and a new Play-Doh set. I can’t begin to describe how big a hit these new toys have been.
Jude loves playing in, under, and on top of the ball pit (though we try to discourage the “on top of” part). He loves throwing the plastic balls and putting them in boxes. He loves dumping all three hundred of them on the floor. Jude does not love picking the balls up at the end of the day. This doesn’t surprise me.
The rice/sandbox gets used on the counter while Jude stands happily on his Learning Tower. Sometimes we put a sheet down on the floor and put the box on top of it and the yoga mat along side it. Jude will sit on the yoga mat and play with the rice for minutes upon minutes! The sheet underneath makes for easy cleanup. It’s wonderful I tell ya!
Play-Doh is always a hit around these parts, and this Picnic Set is no different. Jude has finally started experimenting with using more than one color of Play-Doh at a time, and though we no longer have any of the true colors we started with, it makes me happy to see him combining colors and making new things.
So, needless to say, we’ve been having a great time playing at home lately. Earlier today, we hosted a play date at our house, and saying the kids had a blast might be the understatement of the year, but more on that later. Right now it’s lunch time, and my son will not be kept waiting!
Hope everyone’s enjoying Autumn!


















