Starry Night Pattern
You pause by the door to the room, leaning against the cool door jamb. The room is almost dark, lit only by the firefly glow of the soft night light. Inside, there is whispering.
You lean closer, trying to catch the sounds of the sleepy child inside. Shifting positions, you can barely see the mounds of chunky knit blankets cozily snuggled around a tiny form. Little hands play with a dolly, making the wee toy bounce over the hills and valleys created by knees and toes hiding under the blankets. You smile, about to move on, when you overhear something that makes you stop.
“Look,” the child explains to the dolly. “I’m gonna teach you how to read.” You realize that black and white toys you made years ago are now scattered across the bed; in the darkness, you had not noticed before. You watch as the child carefully manipulates the doll’s hands, pretending to pick up each block and move it into place. You hold back a chuckle, seeing how they make the doll stagger under the great, pretended weight of the homemade toy. A careful line of Love Letter toys is being created by the doll’s extraordinary efforts.
“Tch Tch Tch.” The little one shakes their head. “You almost got it right. I made that mistake too when I was learning how to read.” They stroke the doll’s hair. “Don’t worry. Let me show you how.”
Your eyebrows raise, realizing the little one is repeating the same lessons you gave them a few days ago when you snuggled together on the same bed and sounded out letters to read special phrases. You lean closer, trying to capture every word as the lesson continues.
It isn’t easy. The voice is so tiny. You can barely make out the sounds of vowels strung together, with an even teenier voice as the doll’ replies.
Finally, you can see the little ones’ finger pointing to each block as the ‘dolly’ slowly sounds out each word. In the faint night air, you hear,
“Y…O…U…. H.. AAAA… VE…. MMm… Y….. Hhhhh… EA… RT.”
The child proudly hugs the dolly as you close your eyes, leaning your forehead against the doorjamb, smiling.
The black and white Starry Night pattern makes classy and beautiful toys.
Black and white blocks are WONDERFUL teaching tools for newborns, who need stark, contrasting colors to help their visual and neural centers grow. But black and white Love Letter Toys will also grow with the child. First, they help develop motor control, then become toys used for imaginative play, and, finally, can be used to teach your little one how to read. After that, they retire to become beautiful decorations, brought out to spell funny or special phrases for holidays and special occasions.
The black and white Starry Night pattern is classy and beautiful. The Cozy Black BridgeWood paint is not harsh but warm and inviting. It pops against the honey-hued wood, making it easy to read letters or to see character shapes, even from across the room.
Starry Night pairs well with the Sweet Dreams Pattern. See how they come together in the ‘Happy Halloween’ picture above!
