This is Ashton’s creation, from start to finish.  All I did was find her the materials she requested, and write the words for her.  She did have a few more words in mind, including, “Ariel play. Tickets for free. Nevertheless, kids in the play.  Adults watching.  No babies allowed in the play.  Babies watching with adults. Come here for the play and ice cream.”  We shortened it a bit.

Often she spends a lot of time planning and talking about “the play” but not actually performing it.  Today she went a few steps further than usual and found a costume and some neighbor kids.  I didn’t see a play happen, but they did have fun playing outside in the nice weather.

Oh yes, and this was the first time I have seen her use paint for the purposes of coloring-in her drawings (generally we’ve used it on blank paper, in printing, on hardened clay, or for smearing all over the body and then washing it all off in the bath).  I’m impressed by the vividness of the colors and the care she used.  We used tempera cakes, which I like for their ease of use and cleanliness.