This trailer was used to haul up an all terrain Ranger for romping around the mountain roads and paths near our cabin. But, it was also used for something else. A pirate ship?
The ship had a crew of seven little pirates with very, very active imaginations.
The cabin deck sat high above the ship so the adults could easily keep an eye on all of the activity going on on the ship and in the surrounding waters!
The kids spent hours and hours on the ship. There were battles to protect the ship using pine cones as their weapons. They each had a job that was given to them by their nine year old captain. My granddaughter in the blue skirt who is six was the "butler". She told us what her job was as she came to the deck out of breath after hurrying up the hill and up the stairs to get the captain a drink of water. We were feeling sorry for her but as she headed back down the hill she said "I love being a butler!" She returned several more times throughout the day in her capacity as the butler.
We could hear many commands being made by the captain and we could see the crew working together to man and protect the ship. At one point the entire crew got upset with the captain and jumped ship. The captain was left alone to man the ship. Negotiations were made among the little pirates to work through the issues and before we knew it the ship and the seven little pirates were ready to set sail again!
The children were having a great time playing with their siblings and cousins but they were also learning some important life skills through their very creative playtime together.
Here are a few skills that I thought of:
Leadership
Problem solving
Listening
Unity
Work ethic
Team player
Patience
Resourcefulness
Negotiating
Communication
Forgiveness
Can you think of any more?
When I was a girl I grew up surrounded by citrus groves. We loved playing in the orchard and our imaginations turned the orchard into our own little town. The canopy of the trees and the high branches served as houses, businesses, schools, forts, and more. How about you? Where did your imagination take you as a child?
When I was a kid, our back yard was a Western plain. Sometimes we were the settlers crossing by covered wagon. Sometimes we were Indians. Then we played house in the garage or under the shade of a tree. There are lots of ways to mark off rooms, and our playhouse could be different every time we played.
ReplyDeleteMy grandma had a wonderful garden in her backyard with flowers, fruits, and vegetables. I especially loved her hollyhocks. She would let me pick some and we would make dolls. The bud would be the head and the blossoming flower the skirt. We connected them with toothpicks.
ReplyDelete