Morning Uptown with the Trio

Yesterday I took the trio to Discovery Place and ImaginOn library. I wanted to do something special with them since Jackson was having his egg hunt at school and a pizza lunch. The museum was full of school groups, so we stayed in the kid's area most of the time. 

James has always been a thinker. He's very serious and concentrates hard on things. He especially likes to build things and manipulate objects. I loved watching him put together this wooden block puzzle. It wasn't especially hard but he was very intentional, looking at every face of the block to see what would match.

I especially love watching his pride when he finds a solution or completes an activity.

It's been many months since I've let the trio play at the water table. The smocks fall off and they inevitably soak their clothes. They don't even go in the water section anymore because they know it's off limits. For whatever reason, I encouraged them to play in the water yesterday. They were so interested. They used to just playfully dump water everywhere, but this time they really studied the cause and effect of pouring water to make objects spin or turning faucets to fill up containers. It was interesting to watch them explore.

We only spent a few minutes outside the kids' area, due to the large volume of older students. There was a museum volunteer holding a python that kids could touch and feel. James and Maddie looked from a safe distance. Amelia was eager to feel it, exclaiming, "I touch the snake!"

I normally park at Discovery Place and walk the streets of uptown afterwards. It was pretty windy and chilly, and the kids still managed to have wet spots on their clothes. Rather than walk, I decided to load them in the van and drive a few blocks to the library. We arrived just in time for story time, which was a completely unexpected bonus.

There was a time not long ago when all three toddlers would sit on my lap during story time. Now they sit together, directly in front of me, and participate in the stories, songs, and movement.

Maddie is always quick to jump up and retrieve scarves, bean bags, etc when it is time. Amelia and James are more reserved. When they won't go up, Maddie will go back to get one or two more items. She's equally excited to return the items and she'll sing, "Clean up. Clean up."

James' rarely participates in the movements. Song and dance are not his favorite things. However, his whole face lights up when it's time for bubbles.

After story time the kids are more interested in "reading" their own books. You would think they would be ready for something else, but it must motivate them to want to read. Amelia was so thoughtful to pick out books for everyone based on their interests. She deliberately looked through the board books and picked a tractor book for James and a baby faces book for Maddie.

Our hour and a half of free parking was nearly up so we returned to the van. We managed to spend three hours at the museum and library without misbehaving or using the wagon. It was a successful, engaging morning with my favorite toddlers.