Keeping Children Amused With a Plank of Wood
It was the sight of the plank of wood, left by the builders, that made me wonder how we could use it.
Why not use it to make play equipment for the children.
With an age range from 2 to 12 there must be many applications waiting to be discovered.
I am also a believer in including our children in preparing something new.
They might make suggestions and they will certainly give their opinion if the do not like how it is constructed.
It was simplest to start with our youngest.
At the age of two anything different is an adventure.
Simply walking on a plank that was lying on the ground was considered fun.
Then raising one end on some bricks added more adventure to the game.
This was perhaps not surprising since many children's games used to consist of jumping over chalk marks on the ground.
The next step was more difficult and could only be started when she was sufficiently steady on her feet to feel confident.
We called it the wobbly walk.
We put the end of the plank on a cushion so that it wobbled slightly when she moved.
It is easy to maintain interest in something so simple by making it progressively more difficult.
Perhaps by using more bricks or a fatter cushion.
If several children are competing then these simple exercises could become risky if they are dared to make it more difficult than they can cope with.
We of course supervised them and held their hand if they needed help.
We are looking for other ways of using a plank.
One that comes to mind is that the plank is quite springy.
It will have to wait until our toddler is older and more confident but a spring board might work if we can anchor one end of the plank to the ground.
Then might it be possible to make a simple version of a trampoline.
It looks as though we will need more bricks as well.
Eventually even these novelties palled so that something more interesting was called for.
The simplest was to use the bricks to lift the centre of the plank so that as they walked over the centre it tipped back to the ground.
This one was in fact easier than the wobbly walk and we should have tried it first.
These exercises with our children we have repeated with our grandchildren with similar results.
It means that grandfather is expected to have something new for the next visit.
It is a continuing challenge for both of us.
Why not use it to make play equipment for the children.
With an age range from 2 to 12 there must be many applications waiting to be discovered.
I am also a believer in including our children in preparing something new.
They might make suggestions and they will certainly give their opinion if the do not like how it is constructed.
It was simplest to start with our youngest.
At the age of two anything different is an adventure.
Simply walking on a plank that was lying on the ground was considered fun.
Then raising one end on some bricks added more adventure to the game.
This was perhaps not surprising since many children's games used to consist of jumping over chalk marks on the ground.
The next step was more difficult and could only be started when she was sufficiently steady on her feet to feel confident.
We called it the wobbly walk.
We put the end of the plank on a cushion so that it wobbled slightly when she moved.
It is easy to maintain interest in something so simple by making it progressively more difficult.
Perhaps by using more bricks or a fatter cushion.
If several children are competing then these simple exercises could become risky if they are dared to make it more difficult than they can cope with.
We of course supervised them and held their hand if they needed help.
We are looking for other ways of using a plank.
One that comes to mind is that the plank is quite springy.
It will have to wait until our toddler is older and more confident but a spring board might work if we can anchor one end of the plank to the ground.
Then might it be possible to make a simple version of a trampoline.
It looks as though we will need more bricks as well.
Eventually even these novelties palled so that something more interesting was called for.
The simplest was to use the bricks to lift the centre of the plank so that as they walked over the centre it tipped back to the ground.
This one was in fact easier than the wobbly walk and we should have tried it first.
These exercises with our children we have repeated with our grandchildren with similar results.
It means that grandfather is expected to have something new for the next visit.
It is a continuing challenge for both of us.