THE Summer Pastime

Never mind about the toys.

All my children need to be happy, at least in the summer, is a Wading Pool of Unusual Size:

They pop in and out of this behemoth all day, every day, in swimsuits, play clothes, various states of undress, and occasionally in no clothes at all. They add more water using the hose, scoop water out with buckets, splash each other, swim, play ball and ponies in it--for extra fun, add soap! 

It's reminded me again of how little my little girls still are, and how they thrive, still, in such open-ended, exploratory play. I've made it a point this week, as we've started school back up, to also set out each day a large, messy, process-oriented creative project for the girls to engage in at their leisure.

Yesterday they painted our front door. Today, I think I'm going to get out the woodworking supplies.