Playing House Verses Building A House: Which Game Will Win?

Today I taught Zander's Joy School Group at my house and during free-play-time there was some serious work going on. While in kitchen making Zander's lunch (yes for Joy School, I rarely get it made before Joy School when I teach, that's what free-play-time is for) I was tuning out all the general chatter coming from the play-room, except of course, for the occasional yelp of pain or plea for help. Then somehow the chatter wormed it's way through my zoning-out and mid-peanut-butter-spread I hear clear as a bell, "This house is going to be done in a couple minutes here, Tiernan."

Curious, I listen for a minute and basically what I hear are the sounds of a construction zone in my living room. Play sawing, hammering, painting, and drilling are going on in all corners of the room. My filing cabinet is getting a coat of black paint with a hand broom (pretend of course) and fake wood and real left-over trim wood is getting scotch taped to the cabinet. The side table has been moved to the middle of the rug and with some hand-weights stacked on top it is now the fireplace.

Meanwhile the book shelf is being cut down to the appropriate size with a Skill-Saw (pretend of course). What size would that be, you ask? Well, the perfect size for Tiernan's new house. That's right, forget playing house, these 5 pre-schoolers are building the house. For Tiernan. Apparently his crib was too small and cramping his style.