A Good Play
We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of soft pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.
All made of back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of soft pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.
We took a saw and several nails,
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, “Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake,”
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, “Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake,”
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.
We sailed along for days and days,
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.
Robert Louis Stevenson
How to motivate children to clean? It seems to help if they have a vivid imagination and some initiative. Then, let them find some disgusting shed, pontoon, pony cart or chicken coop and allow them to sneak a broom and buckets out, so they think they are getting away with something. And then, leave them alone. It’s very hard to do that because I want to join right in. I can’t count how many times we did this when we were kids. What fun it was to make a clubhouse in an old shed or dig something out of the dump and bring it back to life for the day!
Well, the kids found Grandpa's pontoon and set to work cleaning it up so they could play in it. No need to put it in water. These boys were quite boat savvy as Eliah slams it into gear and Broedun shouts, "Hold on to your hats."
Grandpa Dale was happy about the whole adventure.
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| Can you hear Broedun whistle while he works? I believe Ava is just along for the ride this time. |
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| "No." declares Keyleigh. She's 2 1/2 years old, can you tell? |
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| "I'll spray. You wipe." says Eliah. "Okay, but I think this spot is going to need medical attention." responds Broedun. |
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| Who knew 2-6 year olds could be so productive? |
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| Captain Eliah getting it into gear with his piece of birthday cake in hand. |
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| This was just before Tom fell out and hurt his knee. No wait, it was just before Soren got bonked on his beautiful nose. |
Oh so cute! What a fun afternoon that was with all the little ones playing so well together!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think Eliah remembers how to work the gears on Island Grampa's boat. Precious pix. This is so fun to see my grandkids with their extended family...what fun they will have growing up together...let's see, all teenagers at once...driving...ok, let's enjoy the fun while we can!! Island Grandma
ReplyDeleteOh my, they'll be teenagers before we know it! I hope they always have fun together. It was a joy to behold this whole adventure. There was no doubt that Eliah was watching every move on your boat and Broedun had been around the lake a few times with his Grandpa Michael. They do pay attention, don't they?
ReplyDelete