Friday, September 10, 2010

Imagine this or that

I'm notorious for being oblivious to the obvious (is that a tongue twister or what?). Or I guess you can say I'm not "in the know". We've lived here for over two years now and it takes another Mom at school to inform me of this great indoor play area in MY neighborhood called, Imagine That!

We are sending Adelaide to school four days a week now because, well frankly, she gets bored on the days she's at home and I find it really hard to come up creative activities that I can do with both girls. Usually, I come up with something educational and creative for Addie, but it just doesn't work for Arabella.

For example, the other day we were making letters out of PlayDough, using an alphabet book for Addie's guide. It was over Bella's head and she very quickly got bored squishing the PlayDough in her hands. I got tired of telling her not to put the dough in her mouth and eventually having to pick wet slimy bits of PlayDough off her tongue. Addie ended up irritated that our activity kept getting interrupted and Bella runs off to get into something more age appropriate. Really, it's just sort of how it goes around here and it's mostly unavoidable to have one child get bored with our play. I try to tailor the activity for both girls. I'm not a teacher, just a Mom, so I do my best.

Anyhow, it's nice when Addie is at school doing her thing and I know she's having a good time. I get to focus on my youngest daughter for a little while. We play a lot at the playground. She loves it and so do I most days. Some days I don't want to play in the muggy, muddy, hot, playground. Imagine That! was a nice alternative.I'm still not sure if we are going to get an unlimited package ($80/month it was $6/hour). I have no idea if that's cheap compared to the places in the States.

Bella loved it. I loved that it was clean and air conditioned. They disinfect with Lysol and Mr. Muscle every evening. The play area was creative and bursting with opportunity for imaginative play. They offer classes like Kindermusic, which would be great for our little music lover.

I absolutely cherish the time I have alone with both my girls. It's such a special time to have our own laughs, games, and snuggles. It's really where the relationship grows. This place was a great find for us, albeit a little late on my part!

2 comments:

Rachel said...

Looks and sounds like an awesome place for Bella to learn and discover!

Bfiles said...

how great is that!
and I love your coat!