Working In An Office

Kids just want to get their hands on the things that they aren't supposed to touch.  It's their goal, plain and simple.  Why?  Because they want to be grown ups.  They love to pretend that they are adults.  That is why I chose to create and office for them to play with for the next few weeks.

I hit up several second hand stores in search of old office supplies.  I scored big time at The Farm Youth Thrift Shop in Snohomish.  My goal was to find lots of things with buttons.  

I had my sons with me while I was searching, and Ethan found these old tape cassette storage boxes.  They look like briefcases to me!

See?

The shelf holds the briefcases when they aren't being used, some business cards, calculators, some stackable paper holder things (what are they called???), some pencils... just office stuff.  I hung a couple of the clipboards on the wall.   

When I introduce new play ideas to the kids, it usually involves me showing them how things work and pretending a little bit myself.  They saw me pretending to talk on the phone and taking a message.  I popped that message into a file folder or into someones briefcase, and then proceeded to grab a clipboard and walk around the playroom to take inventory of the toys.  Doll bed- check!  Books- check!  Doing this will give the kids ideas of how they can play with these items.  They LOVE having the computer keyboards to play with.

I provided some ties so the kids can dress the part.  I still need to add some dressy skirts or something for the girls.  They like the ties, too.

Checking on things...

He was taking phone messages and typing out bills on the calculator thing that STILL PRINTS!  I even found an old phone message receipt book that they can write messages in and pull out the paper and pass it to who the message is for.  Thrift shops are the best places to find this stuff!! 

See the computer screen?  I just took a photo of my own computer screen, one of my desktop, one of a writing program opened up.  I printed the photos out and taped them to the back of some small size chalkboards that I had sitting around.  They can choose which screen they want to work with.  You could use cardboard and have the same thing!  This is my favorite dramatic play idea yet.  The kids were so anxious to play with it again this morning that no one wanted to eat breakfast.  "But we all need to eat breakfast before we go to work."  They listened.

 I won't be blogging tomorrow- my husband and I are heading out of town for our anniversary weekend.  Every year we go to a different bed and breakfast for 2 nights.  It's my favorite celebration of the year.  I'm closed tomorrow. 

♥♥♥Happy Thursday that feels like Friday!♥♥♥