KJP - I find what you wrote about your son and the snow family to be interesting. A similar experience at the library the other day prompted my daughter to leave a group of girls because "They don't play right." The girls (all 3-4yo, except my daughter who is 2y9mo) were playing with dinosaurs. The other kids were just taking the dinosaurs out of the bin, standing them up, and then putting them back into the bin...not really engaging with each other...more parallel play. My daughter, on the other hand, wanted a mommy, daddy, and baby dinosaur to have a conversation while eating a spaghetti and meatballs dinner. After trying a few times to get the other kids to play, she just got up and left even though she loves dinosaurs...she keeps telling me her favorite is triceratops!
So, thank you for mentioning your son's experience. I'll have to see where they incorporate creativity because my daughter does enjoy being creative.
