Pretend Play

Pretend play is such a significant part of a child’s life because it helps them explore the world on their own terms.  It helps them build their communication skills, and vocabulary (esp. when playing with an adult), and helps them understand others better, as they get a chance to BE the firefighter, or dancer, or mommy.

There are several DRMY sets that offer children an opportunity to learn about, explore, and pretend to do new things, be different characters, and develop the creative, out-of-the box thinking needed for good problem solving skills.

  Mary Bridget’s Surprise – In the book, Mary Bridget and her little sister, who always wears butterfly wings, must clean their room, so decide in the process they are going to run away to grandma’s house.  So they have to pack all the things they will need on their adventures they come across as they get there.  Imagination bursts out of this story and illustrations, which include seek-and-find boxes on the corner of each page. 

The CD is chock full of fun songs I remember from girls camp, like “I love the Mountains…”  “This Land is Your Land”, “The Water is Wide”, and “Grandma’s Feather Bed”, as well as some Kindermusik songs, “Let’s go Riding Together”, and some original songs, like “Butterfly Wings”.  

This is a great set for having fun on a long trip, esp. if you are going to Grandma’s house, and esp. if you also purchase the cool roller suitcase with fanny pack, and ”keep cool” water bottle. 

  Tressa, The Musical Princess – The book features Tressa, a girl who is most certainly sure she was born a musical princess, and somehow mistakenly got switched at birth to be with this family, which just recently acquired a new little loud, cranky dragon (actually baby brother).  It shows how she finds ways to use her magic to tame the dragon and make a peaceful family.  The CD features a young girl singing these all original songs that focus on issues from the book.  This set also comes with a pink tulle tutu that plays music and turns on and off with the touch of a button. 

   Kindertown Fire Brigade – The book features an all-animal fire brigade, and their adventures in the fire house, as well as rescue missions, and actual fire-fighting.  The animal work together as a team, and even the smallest member plays important parts in the job of being a fire brigade.  The song features a lot of originals about fire-house life and animals, and songs about rescuing a cat, and “Our Brave Local Heroes”.   Any child that adores firefighters will love these songs and stories, and will enjoy playing out their parts in the coat and fire hat that accompany this set.

  NEW !   Rupert, the Wrong Word Pirate  – Rupert has a way of saying things that get all mixed up sometimes, which has a way of thwoing his ship and crew off course.  The CD’s hilarious, swashbuckling crew members sing about the finer parts of pirate life, Aargh!  Complete with hat, eye patch, and durable foam sword.   James saw a child’s version of “Pirates of Penzance” before he turned 3, and immediately was searching for something in my purse that he could draw on a mustache.  This fascination lasted for months and months of fun.  I wish I had these songs to sing with us back then!

Butterfly Shirts

It’s so much FUN to be a butterfly.  You may have seen me in my silk Batik’d Butterfly shirt through the last weeks of October.  It is so flowing and fun to wear.  Many of you have asked how to find them, so here it is:  www.earthharmony.com .  I met the lady who designed these at a music festival a few years ago, and she does fabulous work with material. 

When you get on her website, go to the search box in the top right, and type in “butterfly”, and it will take you to all of the beautiful designs she has.  Be aware, there are only two sizes, small (for children and petite women), and large (I had the large on – the sleeves were much longer which I liked for me).  When I checked, they were all sold out of the smaller size.   

Butterfly, flutter by, flutter by up in the sky !