Imaginative play with songs

Daughter has been really into imaginative play lately.

She loves to bring out her cooking tools to prepare delicious food for us, and uses her carpentry tools to build simple wooden structures.

I think I am getting used to hearing her hammering wooden pegs and stirring a bowl with spoons and forks. Initially I tried to get her to be quiet when she played with her toys. Then I realized that active, and sometimes loud, play helps her to develop her senses - sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. So now I don't stop her from banging on her things.

All praise be to Allah SWT, watching daughter exploring the world around her has taught me to be more patient with her.

When I try to get her to clean up her toys, it makes it more fun when I sing the clean up song:

Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere
Clean up, clean up, everybody, do your share

When I teach her about animals, I use animal magnets while singing songs about a specific animal e.g. Old MacDonald had a farm.

Now that my heart is set on helping daughter to learn about life, this quotation fits my feelings exactly:

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt