The Story of Us: Playful Toddler

I remember graduating from college with my education degree and wondering if I had in fact learned all that I would need to know to be a successful teacher. There was just so much information thrown at me over those four years....the test was soon to come and I would quickly find out whether or not it had all sunk in. Shortly after graduating college, I took a position teaching two year olds, as well as a preschool class of four and five year olds. All that I had learned in school came back to me fairly quickly and was finally able to be applied. I remember thoroughly enjoying my job as I watched in amazement all the stages children go through. What was even more exciting for me though, was thinking how great it would be to watch my own children one day and all the stages they would go through. Well...almost 4 years later and here I am, loving every minute of it!! As I watch Kaelyn daily as she changes and grows, I am often reminded of many things I learned in college, and really appreciate all that I have taken from my past experience as a student and teacher.

Recently I was having one of these moments as I observed Kaelyn playing in her playroom. I remembered my days as a college student, learning all about the stages of play in children...especially "pretend play". It's the most fun stage of "play" to witness in young children because right before your eyes you're seeing that they are making sense of the world around them. As I watched Kaelyn playing that day in her playroom, I realized that even though she's only 15 months old, she's making sense of her environment and watching the things we do all the time. She's modeling our behaviors and applying them in her playtime. For instance, the other day she walked over to her toy crib and pulled out her favorite baby. As she pulled her baby out, she said "baby", gave her a hug, and sat her in the play swing. She began pushing it back and forth. It was absolutely adorable to see her playing in this way. While her baby swang, she walked over to her kitchen set, pulled out the cup, put it up to the fridge (where there's a play water dispenser) and then put it up to her mouth.

When Kaelyn was young she enjoyed batting at toys, looking at them, squeezing them, and of course the ever so popular....chewing them. However, over time she developed the understanding to use toys correctly and even engage in a little "pretend play" of her own. This was the first I had seen of it with her, and I have to say, I really look forward to more opportunities in the future. It's so fun to see her learning new things and growing into such a smart and fun little toddler. ;)

I'm leaving you with a few photos of Kaelyn over the past year and the stages of play we have witnessed. It's fun to see how she went from being an observant newborn to an interactive toddler. :)

2 Months-Grabbing For Toys