Creative Play

It's amazing to me just how creative my 2.5 year old son, Tre, can be when left to his own devices. I've seen him figure out that a Pringles chips container lid fits the smokestack of his toy train perfectly (something I wouldn't have even thought to try). I've also watched him figure out which of his magnetic letters will hold an M&M and which won't (hint: it frequently depends on the angle you hold the letter).

And as I just a moment ago glanced at him playing quietly next to me, he has an office chair lying on it's side, a fly swatter stuck into the center post between the wheels, and he's talking on the plastic swatter end, occassionaly "dialing" someone else by poking at the plastic.

Isn't it amazing what a child can think to do when not told they're not supposed to?

Modern Small Scale Treasure Hunts

I've just discovered something new that has piqued my interest. It is called letterboxing and it combines rubber stamp art with treasure hunting. You can read more about it and get clues to boxes near you at Letterboxing.org or Atlas Quest.

This activity has something for just about everyone. You can search for boxes that require long or short nature hikes or that are located in urban areas. You can get clues that are straight-forward and easy to follow or that are downright complicated and take a long time to figure out. You can go alone, with family, with pets, with friends. It can be done near home or on vacation in just about every country.

Anyway, the basics are that someone hides a rubber stamp and a logbook and distributes clues (often posted on the internet). The searcher has a rubber stamp and logbook themselves, along with an ink/stamp pad. The searcher follows the clues to the letterbox, stamps their stamp in the letterbox logbook and the letterbox stamp in their logbook. Then they rehide the letterbox for the next searcher.

Just figured I'd spread the word a little bit so others could be made aware of a wonderful activity.