Magic Marker Monday: Magic Hands

One of the things I love about kids is watching how they interact with their world and use everyday objects uncommonly. As James grows and becomes more engaged, I take special delight in watching him play spontaneously.

Like the visit to our Town Green, where he played with the water in the water fountain in a new way. James started his relationship with these enormous structures years back by falling in the water (poor coordination). That did not deter him from coming back to try sticking his hands into the water and trying to walk along the bottom (which as a good parent I try to discourage).

Last year he moved on to throwing handfuls of gravel into the water the moment I wasn't looking. We took a break until he could control himself better. Then he ran races along the top of the expansive walls and mastered stepping across the intermittent steps from one side of the fountains to another. Hooray for advances in foot-eye coordination and balance! He started to pick fallen leaves out of the water and tossing them back in. Definitely better than gravel, so I usually let this pass. The look on his face as he sends one over the "waterfall"? Priceless.

This Summer, James started noticing that he could "paint" with his wet hands. I helped him write his name, and he had fun making prints with his hands. Pure magic for about 10 minutes!

For more great masterpieces or to share some of your own, visit 5 Minutes for Special Needs for more Magic Marker Monday.