COME OUT AND PLAY...

School holidays and the library is packed. We have children everywhere. Playing on the games, on the computers, watching the puppet theatre, coming to the special Storytimes.

Last week I had a Teddy Bear's Picnic and encouraged everyone to bring their bear along for the day. Fifty three children came, almost everyone had a bear.

I met Twinkle Bear, Princess Bear, Blue Bear, Bert, Isabella, Minnie Mouse who thinks she is a bear, Blanket Bear....I met a lot of bears. Each had their own personality, their own voice and their own definite character.

Of course I had to pack a picnic basket and my bears.

I set out a picnic blanket, set out plates and cups for my two bears. In fact one little girl set her bear down next to one of mine and they 'talked' throughout all the stories. Another little girl took a fancy to one bear and he kept 'vanishing'. (It happens a lot, always have to double check where my bear/ puppet / book has gone and hope it comes back...without too many tears)

My bears got to share an apple and a banana - even then my apple went AWOL for a while. (kids with sticky fingers)

It was good fun. We got our bears teddy bear teddy bear turning around----we rockabyed our bears---we even were jack in the boxes and threw our bears up into the air. That was very popular.

Afterwards, after our activity, when I began the mammoth task of cleaning up, one mum with twins stayed behind to help. The twins were talking away and the boy told me he wasn't coming to the library tomorrow. He was going to Kinder instead and he was going to play.

I said I wasn't going to the library tomorrow either, it was my day off.
He asked if I was going to my Kinder.

I told him no, I was at home.
What will you do he asked.
Without thinking I said clean my house, that's what I do on Fridays.

He looked at me for a moment then said, but aren't you going to play?

Isn't it sad that as adults we do lose that ability to play. I don't mean sport or computer games or chess or monopoly...but simply have fun and play.

Although I do tend to welcome my inner child at times...my monkey blog is proof of that - or as my daughter likes to tell me 'You're broken.'

But do I play when I write?

No. Majority of time I have my list of what I would like to achieve for my Wednesday. (This one will be a bad example as I've had my sister stay the night and we've talked and talked, and I'm planning on buying some cold and flu tablets and snuggle back to bed)....BUT most Writing Wednesdays I have my list which looks something like this...

Edit chapter six.
Work on ballet shoe poem.
Picture book reviews - 2

I know what I intend to do and I work at them. Sometimes well, sometimes not so well, sometimes with horrid results. But I don't sit at my desk and say 'let's play.'

I work much more structured than that. In fact I wonder what would happen if I decided to do just that.
Have no set idea of what to write, but to simply play.

Play with words and structure and form and rhythm and rhyme and plot and storyline and setting and tone and voice and dialogue and point of view and place and.....

I wonder if I can, or am I too set in my ways?

Vicki
http://vickithornton.weebly.com/