I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. You should do it too! Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! Readers, check out their site, and start slicing!
Celebration Slices! Thanks Ruth Ayres for this wonderful link up!
1. “In 35 minutes, I’m going over to Granny’s.” H tells me. Then 5 minutes later. “What time is it? In 30 minutes I’m going over to Granny’s.” At 10:53, he was set. “At 10:56, I’m going.” He told me. Every Saturday, my mom takes one of my kids out for lunch and then spends some quality time with them. They each look forward to the time, and I’m so thankful for it too. Watching H race across the street, dutifully looking both ways was a joy to celebrate. What lucky kids I have… getting to spend time with their grandparents.
2. E wanted to use his gift card for a lego at the store. While we stood in the lego aisle, L looked up at the giant sign that said “BOYS.” She grimaced and said quietly to me, “That is so sexist.” I’m so proud that she noticed that, and that she spoke up about it. I hope she keeps noticing things and speaking up, louder and louder as she grows.
3. Yesterday my team celebrated Global School Play Day. Yes, we were a month or so late… but what a celebration! The students were excited, as they carried favorite games into the classroom: Monopoly, Pictionary, cards, Battleship, Clue. Kids these days are stressed and anxious, and they don’t get the chance to play enough. I was happy to dedicate a day to play. Even if play wasn’t the work of children, and wasn’t ripe for opportunities to learn, I would still think it was worth our time. But, play does create learning opportunities, and time for kids to learn how to be in control. Win-Win! One of the TED Talks I watched, by Jill Vialet mentioned the philosopher, Bernard Suits’ explanation of play: “Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” She goes on to talk about the work of play: “They choose it, it’s a challenge. No longer should you think of play as the opposite of work or the purview of slackers. It is the fundamental sign of our inner drive and ambition.” The other TED Talk was on the decline of play. Sad to watch, but important.
On a Thought 
I really enjoyed the details about your children–one counting the minutes to grandma’s house, and the other noticing sexism in the store.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 I appreciate the comment.
Plenty to celebrate! It sounds like grandma might be right across the street! My grandma lived behind us for some time, and I loved being able to go through the gate to spend time with her. We would play cards and hang out. I have fond memories of our time together. What a great routine to have special grandma-grandchild time carved out of each week.
Loved the idea for game day. I missed this one completely, but am wondering why we didn’t do this during the months of inside recess. It would have been fun!
Cathy
Yes – right across the street. We are super lucky for sure. 🙂
You can celebrate play day any day! The real day was in February, but our team wanted to do it last week. You’re right – doing it during the long winter or inside recess would have been a good plan too!
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
These celebrations made me think about all the little moments I should be stopping to record and rejoice over. Thank you for the inspiration!
Hi Lori – Yes, I love the celebrate link up for that reason… it helps me remember that there are so many moments to celebrate! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I enjoyed reading your post, especially the section about game day (which we totally missed, too!). Our family has just gotten back into the habit of playing games together, and it really is a wonderful (if not slightly stressful) experience that teaches so many important skills. We’ve been playing Clue, so it’s fun to see my boys try to figure out the mystery as we play. Also, thanks for the links to the TED Talks. I love TED Talks, and hadn’t seen either one you mentioned, so I will definitely look at those.
Hi Tricia,
Thanks for stopping by! Now that my youngest is 5, we are able to play more family games too – it is so fun, and you are right – can be slightly stressful too! One of the blogs I love has great reviews of games for families – you should check it out!
http://benandbirdy.blogspot.com/p/ben-and-birdy-our-favorite-games-master.html
Enjoy the Ted Talks!
🙂