Our weekly trip to Children’s Grand Park. What has been cool about these trips is that they really allow me to see how both Seoul changes through the seasons and how August has changed from week to week and month to month. Today we spent our time at the water table in the children’s museum – out in the ‘regular’ museum and not the toddler area. In a way he has outgrown the toddler area, and the water table (even the 36 month and under one) seemed way too big and unusable for him a couple months ago. And then we spent a couple hours outside, where he walked and explored much more than he ever has. Along the way he discovered ants for the first time and was really focused on the outdoor musical instruments – sure, he still likes the slides and swings, but those are now a small piece of our park time.
The full day:
Pretty typical morning. Woke up at 6:30 – a very happy wake up, which was nice. Most of his playing at home now involves putting things together (he loves lids) or reading books. Today was no exception. We left the house at 9:45, getting down to the children’s museum a bit past 10:30. The first floor was packed with school groups, so I thought the water area would be as well. I was wrong. We were the only people in that area for about 45 minutes. August took right to it and didn’t slow down during that time. He loved moving the water cannon, but also loved grabbing and tasting the balls and putting his fingers in front of the spray. He splashed himself a lot in the face but that didn’t deter him. We left after a big school group showed up. It was about time, anyway, as I thought August would be going to sleep soon.
We went to the book room, where I changed his shirt (wet from the water running down his arms) and we had a snack and played for awhile. He gave me a scare when he managed to pop a piece of a plastic toy in his mouth, but he spit it back out.
We left and started to walk around. He didn’t, however, fall asleep. We found a ledge and grass area by the performance hall and had a drink. He then walked around and discovered ants for the first time. They were big black ants, and it was cool to see him stop to process what he was seeing. He ended up touching 3 ants before we left.
We were probably there for a half hour and then we packed up and tried again for a nap. It took awhile, but we had a nice walk through the center of the park before he fell asleep. I went to the coffee place and managed to read two chapters of the book I am reading off their shelf before he woke up. Only 40 minutes, but it was now 1:40, so he would be able to make it to bed on that.
We now went to the Adventure Playground area and were there for the next 2 hours. A little sliding and swinging, and a lot of playing around. A 7 (Korean age) year old boy came up to us and started talking to us. He told me how he had been looking for bugs earlier in the day. He would end up playing the outdoor instruments with us, showing us a bee on a flower, and telling us about an insect museum in Seoul. I also met his mom, who learned English (and German) while studying industrial design in Germany for seven years. I thought that was pretty cool, but she said it wasn’t a good choice for Korea, where that whole industry prefers men (ugh).
August also did some smelling of both bushes and flowers, and practiced a little walking. He ate a long second lunch up in a flower-filled area behind the playground. I had had to change him once after leaving the children’s museum, and had to change him again before leaving. He ended up wearing an entirely different outfit from the time we arrived thanks to the water table and a leaky diaper.
We headed home; the subway ride is easier all the time (knock on wood). Beat Carly home by about 20 minutes. He was getting impatient for her to get home, so we went out wandering the hallways. We were playing with the mailbox when Carly arrived.
He practiced more with the salad spinner this evening. He is now really into the baby book and Old King Cole book that we got on our last shopping trip, and has suddenly developed an interest in the Dr. Seuss ‘There’s a Woset in My Closet’ book, which he has ignored for several months.
Waking up:
First time at the water table:
Figuring out the magnet:
First outdoor stop:
Admiring a bush:
Discovering ants:
Second outdoor stop, in and around Adventure Playground:
With Jungho (sp), the boy who likes insects:
He then took a couple steps, which I missed getting on vieo, but I got the last step and him clapping for himself:
Back home. Some more methodical practice with the salad spinner: