PLAY for ALL at the Child Safety Fair

I had a wonderful time spending time at my 2^nd Child Safety Fair. And from my continuously packed table, I think kidlets did too! The Child Safety Fair is a community event sponsored by Savvy Parents Safe Kids and the Bellevue Police Department. As you can see from the poster it the event

the event was supposed to start at 11am. Well….I didn’t quite get that far. As soon as kiddos saw I had some activities for them to DO, they were ready, willing and definitely able to PLAY! I didn’t get near as many pictures as I’d hoped because I was busy facilitating! As what has happened at my PopUP PLAY Dates, I had parents ask:

“Are you going to be here every day?”

hmmm, maybe the Market Place at Factoria should think about that!

Getting into the PLAY ZONE:
Some kiddos stayed put for an hour plus; others played, left and came back for more; all of them completely and thoroughly engaged in the PLAY they were doing. One mother even told me her son wanted to come back to my table instead of staying out at the inflatables!

A New Meaning for Multi-aged PLAY:
I witnessed examples of how PLAY develops social skills—children asking for this or that as well as sharing with others that came to the table; I saw how multiage-aged groupings help younger and older children—both learning and growing in unique ways. There was even intergenerational PLAY with (another) grandparent getting involved!

PLAY is the WAY:
I observed a little gal experimenting, firsthand with cause & effect. It was really a case where all developmental areas were touched on by this one simple activity!
     

In PLAY Time Fades:
I was shocked by how fast time went. Checking my phone, I saw there was about 15 minutes before the event was to end. And there were still several kiddos in line for record player art! I assured them they’d be able to get their turns, as they’d waited so patiently, but that no one else would be able to get in line.

And then it was time to do what I always do: Give kiddos a heads up singing “5 More Minutes” and continue the countdown so one is surprised when it comes time to clean up! Unfortunately we only got down to 3 when the organizers came by saying it was time to pack it in because the Aid Car needed to be driven out… and guess whose table was in the way?! The kiddos were awesome though. They immediately started helping me tidy up!

I had given ‘High 5s’ to the kidlets when they finished their record player art and/or were leaving the AromatheraPLAY dough table and was in the process of giving ‘high 5s’ to these last kiddos when one little boy wrapped his arms around my legs in an embraced for a big hug. After he released me and was walking off his mom, he turned around and exclaimed:
“I love you!”

To which, I replied:

“I love you too!”

And I do—I love it whenever children are PLAYING because #PlayMatters in Childhood!
Yours in Play!
Teacher Karen