Pass or Fail Activities

OK, Grady.  I love how easy-going you are and how you tend to just "go-with-the-flow."  Even though most people see that side of you when we are out and about, you also have another side to your personality that shines through at times.  That wonderful side includes doing what you love to do with extreme focus and joy.  When this side comes out during play you either decide to walk away from an activity that doesn't interest you in the least (not humoring Mommy at all) or you become completely enamoured by what you are doing because you enjoy it.  When I say completely, I'm talking serious face, tongue out, playing for hours kind of serious.
I took this all into account today after reading a post about overcoming "Hands On" hurdles on one of my favorite blogs: Hands on: as we grow .  Jamie explains that when you are planning activities you need to really think about what interests your child and how they like to play.  I thought back to an activity we did earlier this week that "failed" in your eyes. I took a cereal container and filled it with Easter grass and soft chicks for you to find.  The whole 3 minutes you played with it, you gave me the yuck look - as if asking me why I was making you touch something so gross as Easter grass?

     
Then, I considered an Easter sensory tub that we did last week that had "passed."  You loved filling the eggs, scooping, playing with cups, and trying to open the plastic eggs. 

So, today I thought about those stacking cups that you love to play with.  I inverted a couple and filled them with plastic Easter eggs, pom poms, and chicks.  It was totally simple, but you loved it.  You played with them for an hour and a half.  You threw the pom poms, filled the eggs, and played hide-and-seek (another all time favorite) with the eggs and poms together. It was so nice to see you savor life's little pleasures!