While PK was taking a nap this afternoon, BB and I stole some time together at the backyard. He is funny these days. If I carry him near to the backyard door, he would start giggling, totally anticipating us to play outdoors! Some days, he would open the door (if unlocked) and get out by himself. For him, messy outdoor play is fun.
While I was watering the plants, he found these crystal-like glass pebbles on the rocks. Obviously, he tried eating them because I saw the dirt on his mouth. Evidence of him tasting those pebbles. And it is obviously not tasty because that was his first and last.
But he wouldn't stop picking the pebbles up. So I set up a container of water to wash the pebbles. Water! Of course, he loves it even more. He splashed himself all wet before I could do anything to stop him. Lucky the sun was out today.
And then he started picking up the pebbles from the water and drop them on the ground. So, I thought, why not transfer to a glass jar? And it was perfect!
The glass pebbles make lovely sound when dropped into the glass jar. And so he pick up the pebble one by one and drop them into the jar. This occupied him for 15 minutes. Before he realized the jar full of pebbles is another exploration if it's own.
And the next thing he did was to put his whole hand in to pick up the pebbles from the jar. Luckily his hand is still tiny enough not to get stuck in the jar.
And then he found something else in the backyard. A stool with a hole in the middle. Wow, he realized he can drop the pebbles through that hole too!
I'm so impressed by our little BB. He could think of these simple yet important fine motor skill activities by himself. Don't underestimate the power of free play.