Do you make your littles play certain things?

[lovinmyboys]

DS5 and DS3 play imagination things almost exclusively. They never play playdough, legos,paint, puzzles, bake, ride bikes, etc. All they want to do is "play." If I get out crayons, instead of coloring they have one crayon talk to another. When they play outside, they run around and pretend things. All they ever want for presents are playmobil, imaginext, little people, etc. DS5 does about 30-60 minutes of school a day-just phonics, math, and handwriting. They both have a few chores and I read to them before nap and bedtime. They have screen time for about 30minutes while I make dinner. We also go to storytime, the museum, zoo, aquarium, etc. and they like to play board games.

 

Do I need to make them play other things? Playdough is supposed to be fun, so I feel kinda weird requiring them to play it. They don't go to preschool and I don't want them to miss out on preschool type things, but they just have no interest. It is a good problem to have-imaginative play is really good for kids, they have great verbal skills, and they entertain themselves well.

 

Should I add 30 minutes of "school" a day and require them to play playdough, paint, blocks, etc even if they resist? I just hate to turn fun stuff into a chore. We have all the stuff, it just never gets used.

[ChristusG]

My girls (6 and 4) sound about the same. They LOVE imagination things. With Play Doh, they bring their people and animals to the table and make things for them (hats, food, blankets). They do color sometimes though. I wouldn't force them to do it....imagination is good for them.

[Sherry in OH]

I incorporate coloring, cutting, and puzzles into math and handwriting. Otherwise, I try to cover art in some form once a week. Some weeks it is "draw a picture of your science experiment."