Playing pretend with a three-year-old

Jack, ferryboat captain

    The most fun playing with a three-year-old is their imagination. I recently hung out with our grandson Jack after he broke his leg on a trampoline. Despite his red cast he scooted around the house, rolled, and spun, laughing and narrating his games. The toy I brought him was a familiar kitchen item: an empty paper towel tube. He immediately knew its purpose and over several days put it into action: a sword, a telescope, a stick for his bongo drum. Among Legos it became a house chimney, an airport control tower, then a tunnel for tiny race cars. When he called himself a ferryboat captain I asked if he could see a lighthouse. 

    "Umm ... yes. There!" he said, aiming his spyglass at the dog. 

    I look forward to when Jack and I can read a Cabin Creek Mystery together. He's a little young now but I'm sure he'll be able to imagine a giant Pacific Octopus, a shark, and the tall haunted lighthouse.

click here