More Simple Projects- a Bear Pillow

"Play brings together head, heart and hand. It is fundamental to each and every one of us and although it may change as we mature, it never completely disappears from our lives... play equips children ... to reach their full potential in the world." Creative Play for your Toddler, Steiner Waldorf Expertise and Toy Projects for 2-4years
Children thrive on play, kid-driven sections of the day where they can discover and explore. This is the message that I am getting from all the parenting books that I'm reading, and nowhere is it more clear than in the books with the Waldorf slant (which are suprisingly a lot right now from a wide variety of experts) That guy really seems all about protecting childhood and letting children develop at their own pace, an idea I've been working to implement in moderation just to help my kids be more calm. After we cut back on the out-of-home activities on our slate I had to get over my initial panic of what on earth am I going to do with my kids all morning/afternoon. I continue to be surprised that there is more than enough to keep my kids playing happily.
This book has some great ideas for home activities, including helping children get deeper into their imaginative play by making, (with mom) real life items for their dolls- clothes, hats, dishes, food, houses, curtains, trucks anything (cereal boxes, toilet paper/paper towel rolls all could have been materials of choice). Per my mantra I skipped their complicated ones and created an easy project I had items for. Using leftover fabric, old quilt batting I've inexplicably had for 2 years, large yarn needles and thick thread, we made bear pillows!

My kids absolutely loved this activity! I showed them how to sew (and tried to supervise them so things didn't get ugly) and they were totally captivated while they worked on hand-eye/fine motor skills. We had to do it over 2 days and they asked about it non-stop. They had so much fun tucking their bears into bed with them and talking to them during quiet time. Now they want to make blankets and beds and a house... these projects could keep us busy for awhile.