Evening play with the Boy: we put the cards out on the steps, one at a time, sorting. We place Emily on Emily, Thomas on Thomas, and it’s all going quite well for the first few cards. E takes a card, looks at it, and places it on the right stack. Soon there are three stacks, and the accuracy decreases. Soon, with five, six stacks, he loses interest in place them on the right stack and simply begins tossing cards on the stairs.

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Later, as L is working on her homework, the Boy begins rifling through a pack of bandages. One variety: no sorting, but still there’s the question of manipulation, of getting them all in a stack, all in a row, so to speak.

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It’s captivating to watch, whether cards or Band-Aids, because we never really know what he’s trying to do, and I’m not sure he does, either. Patterns emerge that seem to be purposeful then disappear into new chaos.

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