'New' table, and proof that anything truly CAN be anything!

I was reading this great book called Heaven on Earth today - the one with the bits about dolls not having an expression.  In discussing toys the author kept saying - Anything can be anything!  This is true if the toy or plaything is plain enough - for example (in the book): if a child has a fire engine w/ lights, sounds & remote control, it will ALWAYS be a fire engine.  But if they have a plain wooden truck it can be a fire engine if you put a small wooden ladder in it.  It can also be a truck full of produce going to the farmer's market or food co-op, a dump truck in the dirt, a truck for moving the 'blankies' to their new home after the dinosaurs ate it (as happened in our house today, and yesterday....Jam is into the dinosaurs & Tweeters really isn't!), etc etc.  Do you see the potential for creative play, expression, and divergent thinking?  A beautiful thing!

Back to the table...today we finally picked up our big, old, heavy wooden table that we haven't been able to use for 7 years.  It has been in storage at my in-law's house, but now it is home :0)  I liked our other table, but our family has grown since we bought it and it doesn't fit all of our friends & family.  One of our amish friends made benches to go on either side, but I forgot to tell him not to put varnish on so they are banished to the deck til I figure out what to do about the fumes!  Anyway, love the table.  Right away Tweeters took to it, and brought over a little something to celebrate: a jar of strawberry wine (she made that up! It is the big column block) & a cup to pour it into (a small flowerpot from Hobby Lobby).  The silver dish has some velcro wooden food & it is all presented so sweetly on a small white wooden tray.  She was so pleased!  She served everyone in the house - AND - if you were a child like little brother you could just flip the 'jar' over & it was grape juice!  Anything CAN be anything!!!  Love it.  The more I read, the more I see so many things in Waldorf really are careful observations and sweet ideas for making our family & personal lives richer and more peaceful.

What about you?  What have you noticed in your children and their pretend play?  Are their playthings flexible enough to be anything?  I look forward to reading your comments!