A Teepee and A Few Snakes / Vigvam i nekoliko zmija

Big branches for a teepee... Velike grane za vigvam...

...small branches for little snakes... ... grančice za zmijice...

...some tied scarves for a big snake - Kaa (from The Jungle Book)...

...nekoliko zavezanih marama za veliku zmiju Ka (iz Knjige o džungli)...

...a flying (magic) carpet...  ...jedan leteći ćilim...

...a boy and his imagination... ...dečak i njegova mašta...

Not much is needed for hours and hours of unineterrupted kid's play. And a happy mama.

Nije puno potrebno za sate i sate dečje igre i jednu srećnu mamu.

The Water Way / Put vode

I saw this beautiful Water wall for the first time at the wonderful blog Let the children play - a perfect  'toy' for hot summer days! Since then I've been stumbling upon different water walls around the web, until we decided to make our own. Pouring water and watching it run down and through the bottles and pipes is not only refreshing but also exciting and relaxing at the same time. 


Prvi put sam videla ovaj 'vodeni zid' na fantastičnom blogu Let the children play - savršenu 'igračku' za vruće, letnje dane! Od tada sam nailazila na 'vodene zidove' puno puta na mnogim blogovima, dok nismo odlučili da i sami napravimo svoj. Sipanje i posmatranje vode kako teče kroz providne flaše i cevi je ne samo osvežavajuće, nego i uzbudljivo i opuštajuće u isto vreme. 

A Treehouse / Kućica na drvetu

So, where did this spider web lead? Actually - nowhere. Well, not exactly nowhere, but to a beautiful spot under a green tree top. The only problem was that one couldn't stay in this spot, since there was not a deck, a place to sit or stand. So, naturally, we decided to make a treehouse, and in a few days, papa V was done!

Dakle, gde je vodila ova paukova mreža? Zapravo - nigde. Ustvari, ne baš nigde, već do jednog prelepog mesta u krošnji drveta. Jedini problem je bio što na ovom mestu u krošnji nije moglo da se boravi, jer nije postojala platforma na kojoj bi se stajalo ili sedelo, tako da se ideja o kućici na drvetu nametnula sama od sebe. Za nekoliko dana, tata V je napravio ovo:

A Spider Web / Paukova mreža

Did I mention already that V is crazy about animals? Every day, all day long, he is pretending to be some animal. Can you imagine how happy and excited he was when papa said he was going to make him a big spider web, so he could climb like a real spider?

Da li sam već pomenula da je V lud za životinjama? Svaki dan, po ceo dan imitira neku životinju. Zamislite onda, koliko je bio uzbuđen i srećan kada mu je tata rekao da će napraviti veliku paukovu mrežu, po kojoj će moći da se penje kao pravi pauk.

This was a completly hand-made project and papa V enjoyed the whole process: going into the woods, finding a dry tree that could be used for the frame-construction, pulling the tree down, processing it: measuring, cutting, sanding it, and constructing! And finally, lacing the rope.

Tata V je uživao u svakom koraku izrade mreže - odlaženju u šumu, traženju i pronalaženju najadekvatnijeg drveta za ram za mrežu, obaranju drveta, njegovoj obradi: merenju, sečenju, šmirglanju i konstruisanju rama. I konačno, u razapinjanju i preplitanju kanapa. 

Both papa V and I love wood. And we both love things made of wood. They are so noble, vibrant, live. Just look at those beautiful colors! I suppose that working with wood, and creating things out of wood is a great pleasure. Maybe as much as climbing a natural spider web? And we are so lucky to have an opportunity to do so!

Tata V i ja obožavamo drvo. Obožavamo predmete izrađene od drveta. Oni su prirodni, plemeniti i živi. Prelepih boja! Pretpostavljam da je rad sa drvetom i izrađivanje predmeta od drveta veliko zadovoljstvo. Možda isto onoliko koliko i penjanje jednog pauka - u zelene visine!

(photos by papa V)

A Swing / Ljuljaška

Here is another handmade 'toy' that papa V made of 'the rope' and wood. A swing! I am not quite sure what kind of wood it is, but it's red-ish color is just so so beautiful! 


Ovo je još jedna 'igračka' koju je tata V napravio od dotičnog kanapa i drveta. Nisam sigurna koje je drvo u pitanju, ali ima prelepu crvenkastu boju!

V was so happy to help his papa make the swing (even though it just meant pushing the rope through the hole :), but even happier trying it out, which was not easy at all. This swing also (as the rope ladder) requires using a special technique - finding balance and using the strength of arm muscles, in order to sit and swing. At first, V seemed kinda disappointed not being able to swing immediately and easily, I thought he would dislike it and give up trying, but a little practice here and there, and mostly pretending to be  Mowgli, his favourite book character, and - voila! He swings like a small jungle monkey, (or should I say 'a little frog'?) and he loves his swing for helping him be one!


V je bio presrećan što je pomogao tati da napravi ljuljašku (iako je to značilo da samo provuče kanap kroz rupu :), ali još srećniji da je isproba, što nije bilo nimalo lako. Ova ljuljaška (kao i ove merdevine), zahteva da se savlada određena tehnika - da se pronađe ravnoteža i da se upotrebi snaga mišića ruku, kako bi se na njoj sedelo i ljuljalo. V je u početku delovao pomalo razočarano jer nije uspeo odmah da se ljulja, pomislila sam da mu se zbog toga neće dopasti i da će odustati od daljeg pokušavanja. Međutim, malo vežbe tu i tamo, a naročito uživljavanja u ulogu Moglija, omiljenog lika iz knjiga, i - voila! Ljulja se kao pravo malo majmunče iz džungle (ili treba reći žabica?), i obožava svoju ljljašku koja mu omogućava da to i bude.