Singing in Marbles on the Dining Table

Did you love the preschool years? I really did.

So much that I plumb forgot all the racing after twin toddlers and cleaning up endless messes and feeling like I was losing my marbles. And, oh, how tired I was back then! Younger with less wrinkles, but definitely more tired.

Through it all, I loved my toddlers and preschoolers. Every new day brought an adventure. Every morning rose with the promise of a new accomplishment and a new discovery.

Those days were filled with mixing bowls and banging pots and pans in time to music, racing on scoot cars through the house, and dancing on floor puzzles while listening to songs. I played music pretty much constantly, except when I was reading to my kids back then. Now I cannot get to the CD player in the closet, it is filled up with boxed puzzles and kid toys. All the way to the ceiling. (You need a lot of toys when you have twin babies!)

Do you play music for your young ones?

Do you sing to them too? Isn’t having young children such a wonderful license to play again? You can get right in there with them, roll up your sleeves, let your hair down, and play!

I think you could sum up my children’s early years as always having a soundtrack.

There was one particular song that caused my daughter to race to her rocking horse, without fail. Another song told my kids that it was bath time. They knew that song so well that I would put the CD on and both babies would start crawling for the bathtub from wherever they were in the house.

So bear with me for a moment as I take a slight diversion. I promise this relates to music and singing. Did you ever play with marbles?

Children love marbles! Each marble is a unique treasure and a joy to stare at. So I would pour marbles out onto a big aluminum sandwich tray we have, and then pick a toddler up and set him or her into the middle of the tray. Then we would get a special mommy-child time, there on the dining room table sitting in a pile of marbles looking at the pretty little whirls and swirls inside them.

And, we would sing together.

If you have preschoolers, think about doing something really fun with them. Something you really love to do yourself. Enjoy that time together. Time goes by so fast and if you do take the time to do fun things with them, you will forge a bond between you and you will also have wonderful memories to treasure when your children are older.

Do you (or did you) do a special activity with your preschooler or toddler that you really, really enjoy yourself?

I linked this post up with the Mommy Monday Blog Hop. . .

and I linked up this post at this week’s Weekly Homeschool Blog Link Up at the Homeschool Review Crew.