Texture Runway

Kz is officially moving! He crawls in and out of every nook and cranny that he can squeeze himself into. I've tried to carve out some extra space for him to roam in our apartment but finding a good stretch of land for him to tear through has been a bit challenging. He inevitably ends up crawling towards the corners of the walls, the bathroom, the standing lamp, the electrical cords...just about anywhere that is bound to have him bumping his head and crying for help. (Yes, our apartment is "baby-proof" but there are just some things that can't be safety-fied).  Anyway, I decided that I would create a space that Kz would be free to explore without having to worry about me coming over and pointing him in another direction. While Kz took his first nap, I scurried around the house gathering different materials that had unique textures. My mind started racing as I imagined creating textured floor boards with glued objects, textiles and strings. Then, I got ahold of myself and settled on some crumpled packing paper, an oversized plastic bag, some reused bubble-wrap, a thick blanket and my underused yoga mat.

I set Kz at the start and watched, poised with the camera ready. He sat up, carefully eyed the runway and looked up at me, puzzled. Right. Some incentive. I ran to the other end and motioned for him to come. And he did!

He was a little uneasy at first as he tentatively covered the foreign terrain. He moved slowly, occasionally stopping to prop himself up on each of the different textures. He would touch them, crinkle them and shake them before venturing onto the next. 

 I learned a little something about Kz during this experience. While he participated in the activity and seemed interested enough to play, he was a bit cautious. I'm not much of a risk-taker but part of me expected this little boy to barrel right through the runway without reservation. It was interesting to see how instead, he carefully navigated his way through (and sometimes around) the different materials. I was most curious to see what his reaction to the bubble wrap would be.  I specifically placed it on the end because while I was making the runway, I accidentally stepped on it and the popping noise scared the living daylights out of me. I figured that Kz would either hate it or absolutely love it, but putting it at the end would at least ensure that he would try the rest of the runway before making the decision. 

Drum roll please...

 

Wait, oops. I should have taped that down. Let's try again. 

Do you know what this face means? Me neither. But it isn't accompanied by tears, so we have to assume that he doesn't totally hate it. 

He hung out on this section for a while trying to figure out what was making all that racket. I showed him by popping one or two of the bubbles with my fingers. Then I picked him up and set him down at the start again. He crawled with much more vigor the next few times and all in all I think the texture runway was a success.  Here is a closeup of the different textures I used but be creative! Anything goes (as long as it wouldn't be uncomfortable or unsafe for your child to crawl on, of course).