This "Tomato House" is a recent addition to Blossom's covered playyard. In early April, Collin told me he wanted to show me a "trick" when I picked him up. So, we went outside, and he proceeded to shimmy up the side of this
smooth tomato! It took quite a bit of effort (and grunting), and he was
so proud, sitting on top of the stalk! "Look at me!! I climbed on the Tomato House!" I asked his teacher later if it was ok for the kids to be climbing on the outside of the tomato, and she said that Collin is the only one who can even come close so they hadn't even contemplated a safety rule!
The next day or so, Collin wanted to show me another trick (which I have on video but no photo) ~ he is the first and only transition preschool student to ever slide down the playground firepole! Apparently he was watching the big kids one day and called to his teacher. She turned and said, "One minute, and I'll help you down." Confident he had her attention, he reached out from the platform as far as he could (the pole is almost as far away from the platform as his body ~ totally further than his reach!) and practically jumped onto the pole, properly wrapping his self around it. Of course, he had no idea that he should grip tightly to slow his descent, and he "fell" down the pole rather than "slid" down it. But he was beaming from ear to ear, even after he landed and fell flat on his back!! He repeated the routine several times, showing Kevin and I his feat at pick-up and drop-off for the next several days. Now, he is very good at it and trying valiently to climb
up the pole!
Collin's teachers and classmates are starting to call him "Spiderman" ~ he climbs on anything and everything! Walking along the street, he will randomly stop to climb on top of a firehydrant or someone's rockery. He has bunk beds in his room and almost refuses to climb conventionly up the ladder but chooses instead to pull himself up and jam his foot/knee into the top bunk rail like a rock-climber would a mountain side/crevice to scale to the top. It is hilarious (and sometimes scary!).
This "Tomato House" is a recent addition to Blossom's covered playyard. In early April, Collin told me he wanted to show me a "trick" when I picked him up. So, we went outside, and he proceeded to shimmy up the side of this smooth tomato! It took quite a bit of effort (and grunting), and he was so proud, sitting on top of the stalk! "Look at me!! I climbed on the Tomato House!" I asked his teacher later if it was ok for the kids to be climbing on the outside of the tomato, and she said that Collin is the only one who can even come close so they hadn't even contemplated a safety rule!
The next day or so, Collin wanted to show me another trick (which I have on video but no photo) ~ he is the first and only transition preschool student to ever slide down the playground firepole! Apparently he was watching the big kids one day and called to his teacher. She turned and said, "One minute, and I'll help you down." Confident he had her attention, he reached out from the platform as far as he could (the pole is almost as far away from the platform as his body ~ totally further than his reach!) and practically jumped onto the pole, properly wrapping his self around it. Of course, he had no idea that he should grip tightly to slow his descent, and he "fell" down the pole rather than "slid" down it. But he was beaming from ear to ear, even after he landed and fell flat on his back!! He repeated the routine several times, showing Kevin and I his feat at pick-up and drop-off for the next several days. Now, he is very good at it and trying valiently to climb up the pole! 
Collin's teachers and classmates are starting to call him "Spiderman" ~ he climbs on anything and everything! Walking along the street, he will randomly stop to climb on top of a firehydrant or someone's rockery. He has bunk beds in his room and almost refuses to climb conventionly up the ladder but chooses instead to pull himself up and jam his foot/knee into the top bunk rail like a rock-climber would a mountain side/crevice to scale to the top. It is hilarious (and sometimes scary!).
A side consequence of all this is that he's become a very able jumper, jumping a long jump over three feet, jumping from heights almost four feet, jumping down the stairs, two and a time. Did I mention "sometimes scary"?!
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