Pet Clinic

I know that kids like to pretend while they play.  A recent trip to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum, however, has shown me that kids REALLY like to pretend while they play. 

Abby's favorite part of the Grand Rapids Children's Museum...the Pet Clinic.  That child took care of the same sick puppy for at least two hours.  We had to pretty much drag her out of there.

Much to my surprise, my boy, my through-and-through-Lego-obsessed boy, was caring for the animals in the Pet Clinic.  He dived right into the pretend play in ways that I had not seen him do at home.

Inspired by the Museum and how much my kids loved the pretend play of the Pet Clinic, we decided to make one of our own...

We set up our reception station and found all of our pets, which Eli checked in.

Checked-in pets were put in various recovery stations. 

A new receptionist was soon hired and she was thrilled to land a job in this tough economy.

Eli gave shots to Abby's pets using a Lightsaber from a Happy Meal...she cuddled them afterward.

Finally, recovered pets were allowed a playtime in the tunnel...an idea conceived by Eli.

We have played Pet Clinic several times since our Museum trip, sometimes with all the props and sometimes a more bare-bones version.  In fact, when Abby starts to drag the little table to the living room, I know that the next words out of her mouth will be, "My pet sick."  So, a big lesson learned for me:  I have completely underestimated the value of pretend play!  My kids LOVE it, which has encouraged me to look for more ways to incorporate pretend play into our days.

Kind of ironically, as a child, I had wanted to be a veterinarian.  Then, one day,  I saw my dad give one of our dogs a shot and I almost passed out.  I didn't want to be a veterinarian after that.  Lightsaber pet shots for stuffed animals, on the other hand, are a little easier for me to handle.