Doing Laundry

Out of nowhere today I decided the little ones needed a clothesline and clothespins to go in their kitchen/housekeeping/babies area.

Within about five minutes I'd strung some twine through a half dozen clothespins and hung it up on a gate that separates the family room, where the kids play, from the kitchen.

I love clothespins and clotheslines.  When I owned Ditto Kiddo clotheslines were often incorporated in displays ... easy to hang stuff, looks casual, easy to manipulate and alter the function of, and generally just plain cute and "homey". 

If it wouldn't send the "aesthetics committee" (yes, for real) over the edge I'd have a clothesline in the back yard.  And I'd use it for laundry and for photographing quilts and for making fairy walls (lots of hanging ribbon, if you ask me) and for hanging bubble blowing targets and and and.

Immediately the curiosity of the kids was peaked.  I hung a few clothes and one of the little girls immediately took them down.  Immediately.  What was up with that?  Well, they weren't washed yet (shows what I know!).  So off they went to the kitchen sink to be rinsed and soaked, then into the washer, then back to the clothesline, where she practiced her fine motor skills and worked her muscles learning to manipulate the clothespins. Then the babies were dressed in the clean clothes and the process started again with the dirty laundry the baby dolls had been wearing.  The kids involved in this worked really well together.

After a half hour or so the kids tired of the game and moved on.  Currently the clothespins are holding superhero capes (out of shimmery tulle-like fabric ... girls have awesome powers too).  But they could also hold flashcards, if that's what interested someone that day, or a blanket to make a hidey-hole, or display artwork for a day, or hold a variety of items of different textured fabrics to feel and compare.

What most excited me about this was that (a) it was free and easy peasy and (b) it's versatile and perfectly suited for both boys and girls.

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