Just looking through the pictures from today, I realized how Ouest’s imagination is working overtime these days. From digging for pirate treasure, to our tiny rock island with the feet melting water surrounding it, to the fish she was reeling in with her invisible fishing pole, to the rides we were taking all around town in the blue dinghy, and finally back to the boat for more fishing (this time with a real pole but a plastic Little People figure tied to the end of the line). It’s pretty much non-stop and utterly exhausting.
When she sees big fish swimming around the docks she immediately asks to get her fishing pole. She has no idea just yet that casting Lamar, the car wash guy from one of her toy sets, into the water is not going to score her a fish.
“Ouest, what are you going to do with that fish if you catch him?”
“Eat him! Me like fish tacos!”
2 Comments on “Imagine”
I love reading this. I’ve worked in an inner city elementary school for 15 years now. One of the things I often see in children now days is a lack of imagination and common sense. It goes hand in hand, when a child is allowed to think up things on their own (without stimulation from TV or video games) they learn how to reason and work out problems. When I see how successful and adventurous my own kids are, I can’t help but think part of it comes from me kicking them out of the house for at least 4 hours a day to play in the woods, build a tree house from scrap lumber where they could imagine the wind blowing the branches of the tree, to be waves moving their imaginary Pirate Ship on the sea. You guys are doing it right. Do you need more books? I have tons with no grandkids in sight. How about music? Do the kids get to listen to ALL kinds of music? Music also expands imagination. Have them interpret music through dance (I used to be a dance instructor.)
Love that last picture! Chuckling at the thought of how many fishermen would like to fish naked!