David's "Work"

My sister Sara was telling me that her friend, whose kids go to a Montessori School, said that using the term "work" with kids can help them better understand what a peer is up to -- and thus not grab their toy away. When David grabbed Jasper's toy (or vice versa), Sara would explain to David that Jasper was working on the toy, and that we should find other work for David. I guess the idea behind the theory is that, for kids, playing really is their work! They can conceptualize that another kid is also working, and thus should be allowed to retain the toy their are playing with.




In any case, David loves "working" on his train! We purchased a train table off of Craigslist (funny -- when I arrived at the home in Draper where it was being sold, I found that the woman I had corresponded with via email is married to an old Stanford Ward friend, Erik Oh! He helped me arrange everything to fit comfortably into my Honda Civic).




On the first day, David played with it non-stop. It has since lost some of its novelty, but he still loves it. Fun to see him captivated by something!