I have been trying to focus on one blessing for my entry for about 15 minutes, but I am distracted by Katie's intricate imaginery conversation with plastic animal figures. She has been carrying on like this for at least 1/2 an hour, and she has forgotten that I am even here. At this point there is a Mommy horse who is busy mothering a lion, a gorilla, a zebra, a pig, and a cow. The lion and zebra have just begun to argue, and get this, the zebra is winning. Regardless of what she has seen or learned about how these animals relate to one another, she is imagining her own universe without concern for reality or correctness.
As a mother, I am amazed at the detail in her imaginery world. As a high school science teacher, I wonder what happens to children's ability (or maybe it is willingness) to think outside the box. Most high school science students have lost that capacity for tolerating errors. It reminds me of a great lecture by Ken Robinson. He describes our education system-and actually nearly all the education systems in the world-as educating the students right out of their creative capacity. He is one of the most charismatic, thought provoking speakers I have ever heard. Give it a look!
Blessing #59, June 25, 2010
Today I am thankful that Katie and Chip are still able to get lost in their imagination. I am so hopeful Trey and I will be able to nurture and protect their creativity, and that their teachers will as well.
Showing posts with label imagination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label imagination. Show all posts
Friday, June 25, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Crossing Over to "Sir Fartsalot"
Today was mine and the kids first day of summer. We went for a long walk, did a little shopping for a birthday party Katie was attending, and enjoyed living at a leisurely pace. While Katie was at the party, Chip and I went to Borders to let him spend his gift cards. We've been carrying them around since November, and just haven't had the time to drive to Borders, much less shop there. Chip loves to read, and he is very good at it, but I still wasn't prepared for what happened when we got there.
Chip went straight to the Independent Readers section and began to hungrily pick up books and read the back covers. The last time we were at Borders he was looking at the Stage 3 Beginner Reader books. The books he was drawn to today were several hundred pages long and had complex plots and vocabulary. I am actually thinking of reading one of them when he finishes. We had enough in gift cards for him to pick 3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (volume 1), The Last Airbender, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice were the three he chose. It was wild that I wasn't even necessary at the bookstore. My only role was to get him there--well, I did steer him away from a book that had the words "Sir Fartsalot" in the title, but my involvement was minimal.
It just felt like he had crossed over into a new stage of adolescence. I am thrilled that he is growing up and that his imagination is blossoming, but it is bittersweet. I'm sure it will feel like only a few minutes pass before he writes his first essay, takes his drivers test, and graduates from high school.
Blessing #38, June 4, 2010
Sometimes as a parent I have these odd moments where I meet my children again for the first time. I realize that sentence doesn't make sense, but it's the only way I know to state what happens during a moment like the one we had today. What a blessing that each time my children have crossed into a new stage, I have only been sad for a second. The new child-the one graduated to a new stage-is even more exciting, amazing, and complicated than before.
Chip went straight to the Independent Readers section and began to hungrily pick up books and read the back covers. The last time we were at Borders he was looking at the Stage 3 Beginner Reader books. The books he was drawn to today were several hundred pages long and had complex plots and vocabulary. I am actually thinking of reading one of them when he finishes. We had enough in gift cards for him to pick 3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (volume 1), The Last Airbender, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice were the three he chose. It was wild that I wasn't even necessary at the bookstore. My only role was to get him there--well, I did steer him away from a book that had the words "Sir Fartsalot" in the title, but my involvement was minimal.
It just felt like he had crossed over into a new stage of adolescence. I am thrilled that he is growing up and that his imagination is blossoming, but it is bittersweet. I'm sure it will feel like only a few minutes pass before he writes his first essay, takes his drivers test, and graduates from high school.
Blessing #38, June 4, 2010
Sometimes as a parent I have these odd moments where I meet my children again for the first time. I realize that sentence doesn't make sense, but it's the only way I know to state what happens during a moment like the one we had today. What a blessing that each time my children have crossed into a new stage, I have only been sad for a second. The new child-the one graduated to a new stage-is even more exciting, amazing, and complicated than before.
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