When I was just a wee little lass, full of health and joy, I liked to pretend I was an adult, and copied my elders just about any way I could.
When I was a toddler, I talked on my bright colored toy phones. I typed on my dad’s whirring Selectric. I pretended to read books like my dad, and I sure hope I did not pretend to smoke like my mother. I have a vivid memory of “driving” a grocery cart to the store with my children (baby kittens) in the “car.”
When I was a tween, I had a bikini swimsuit. I occasionally wore the swimsuit top under my clothes pretending it was a bra. Imitation is a form of learning, and I liked to learn.
One thing all adults seemed to have that I didn’t have as a child was a wallet with a lot of cards and papers in it. I saved my allowance a few times and bought a wallet. I loved filling out the blank identification cards and fake credit cards in the new wallets. It was great.
Well, the years moved by quickly it seems, and I have my own little girl and boy. My children are just like I was and all children are. They like to pretend. They like to pretend to be animals. My daughter’s fond of making her baby brother play “doggie” and she plays “human” and they play fetch together.
Watching my kids pretend play, I never forgot how much I enjoyed the wallet toy. When my kids were really little, I gave them old wallets of mine. I laminated wallet size pictures of friends, family, pictures of food, and articles of clothing. I gave them those “cards” and the wallets, and they seemed to enjoy the wallet toy. And, I got to use my laminator to boot!
When my daughter turned 5, she started carrying her purse around everywhere. I decided to do what I could to get her real cards. What could it hurt?
At the age of 5, the Broomfield Library allows kids to have their own library cards. (I do have it set up in my computer so I can check to see when her books are due. She is only five.)
The next card she acquired was her “driver’s license.” I asked her to put on her prettiest clothes and she picked out a nice dress. I combed her hair and put two pigtails in and made sure her face was clean. I dug up her Social Security card and her birth certificate and we went to the driver’s license bureau. She felt like a big girl as she signed her name, had her index finger print taken, and her picture taken. They had to get a stool out for her to stand upon since the camera wouldn’t adjust that low. Her “license” came in the mail about ten days later and she loved it. She put it in her wallet. She’s had it for six months and she hasn’t lost it yet.
My 3-year-old son is getting bigger and he wanted a driver’s license. So, I found a non-stained shirt for him to wear. (That was a big challenge since he’s all boy and I’m not so good with laundry.) I actually styled his hair and put product in it and some blue spike gel, so he had blue spiky hair and looked really cute. My son was not as well behaved waiting for his turn at the driver’s license bureau as his sister, but we made it through. He also enjoyed signing his name, having his finger photographed, and having me hold him up high for his photograph. He had a big grin on his face.
State IDs in Colorado are currently running $7.60, and the moment he lays eyes on it, it’ll be his heart’s delight.
Labels: education, educational, fun things to do with kids, parenting, Tammy Vass
