Learning

I recently returned to working full time with the single minded zealotry of the newly converted. Unfortunately, my dedication to my career has taken its toll on my normally fun loving and playful family. Add to that a long Midwestern winter in the semi-gloom of those same four walls and you have a recipe for the doldrums.
As the sun comes streaming in my windows and the children start to bounce with all that springtime in their blood, I am readjusting, learning to play again.
The best thing is the world is running barefoot through the grass with your children. (Especially if you were raised in the sticker infested yards of the west.) But the inside of your home should not be a place you escape from, it should not be static and uninteresting. A home with children needs to be a place to play and get creative, full of spaces that welcome activity and exploration.
We have learned that the only way to survive a long winter with children is to bring the fun of the outdoors in. Many companies make products designed for indoor play that keep little bodies moving and imaginations pumping. So get moving folks...get outside and look around...the world is still there. And if by chance the rain keeps you behind closed doors...open the windows, take your child's hand, and do something.
Play is not just an outdoor sport.