Stahlke Adoption

Play

Before going to Ukraine, we read that children from orphanages don't always know how to play. That means that one of the parents' tasks is to teach this to their children. Jonathan and I found out very quickly that we didn't have to worry about this issue. In August 2005, when our oldest five children (ages 6 to 11) landed in our home, almost nothing remained untouched in those first few days. The children took things apart to see how they worked. They also played with games and toys in their own ways, since they didn't know the American methods and rules.

We quickly locked the basement door so that there was at least one place in the house that we could put things that were off-limits. Unfortunately, the door to the master bedroom did not have a key. I had to collect our mail each day before the kids arrived home, or it disappeared into their rooms. Any games we left out were disassembled and used for creative purposes, then scattered. Dolls lost their legs and heads, knitted and crocheted items were unwound, my desk, dresser drawers, and closets were explored, and almost everything that the children touched was left where it landed. They climbed all the trees, the windows served as escape hatches to the roof, and the furniture cushions became building blocks for countless forts. "Concerts" were enhanced by costumes of all kinds, including my own shoes and clothes.

You may wonder how this happened. Even with four adults in the house (parents and grandparents), five active and curious kids can do a lot. It's impossible to watch them every second, and you can't lock every door. Meals need preparation and clothes require washing; never mind jobs and errands. I'm thankful that our children survived that first month with no major injuries. The angels must have worked overtime!

It's much easier now (four years later) that the children have learned some limits. In fact, they often yell at each other when one of them is breaking the rules. But the kids continue to play with household items in ways that I could never imagine. Yesterday I glanced into the backyard and saw David poised to throw a spear into a cardboard box. What item had he chosen for this game? A dandelion weeder with a 36" handle! And since I had purchased enough weeders for the whole family, he had gathered several more to hurl!

posted by Stahlkes @ 9:20 AM