Imagination

November 19, 2007 · 5 comments

While I was helping out in Matt’s class last week, his teacher and I got talking about imagination and how a lot of kids don’t seem to have much anymore (although there are a few students in her class that are very creative!).  And then today, Blog Antagonist wrote about the same topic, including imaginary friends.

This is a subject I am somewhat torn on.  Yes, I agree that kids have a lot of their creativity handled for them via television, computers and toys that play for them, but I also think those very things can increase imagination if handled correctly.

I was always a very imaginative kid; my imagination often worked overtime. Still does, just in different ways.  🙂

Matt is very imaginative.  For months now he has had an imaginary friend that he refers to as his grandpa.  At first, we thought he was just confused about what his grandpas can and can’t do (he does have 3, so it is understandable).  But then it finally occured to us that he calls his friend his grandpa.  Lack of knowledge of other names, or just the fact that he admires all three of them, I still don’t know where it came from, but either way his grandpa is a person of many talents.  He flies an airplane, he lives in California, he taught Matt how to play hopscotch.  The list varies based on what is going on in Matt’s little world.

He and his brother play a lot of made up games, with made up rules; make toys out of anything.  The interesting part, though, is that they take inspiration from things they’ve seen on television, but only use bits and pieces.   Prime example?  Tonight the two of them stacked up every cushion and pillow they could find on top of the couch to make the “tower of power” – a direct pull from a Backyardigans episode.  But imagination at work, no matter how you look at it.

Do I have a point?  Not really, I guess.  I agree that imaginative kids are fewer and farther between these days, but I don’t agree that it has to be that way.  A simple look at the clouds or stars in the sky and I can’t help but see things and use my imagination.  And I’m trying to encourage my kids to be the same.

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

liv November 19, 2007 at 5:02 pm

then I suppose you\'d really dig it if you knew my son had 2 brothers–Jackie and Jack who are 20 and 29 years old, respectively. He has also decided that his sister\'s name is Katie…. um, yeah. the mind doth boggle.

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liv November 20, 2007 at 12:02 am

then I suppose you’d really dig it if you knew my son had 2 brothers–Jackie and Jack who are 20 and 29 years old, respectively. He has also decided that his sister’s name is Katie…. um, yeah. the mind doth boggle.

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Michelle November 20, 2007 at 8:02 pm

You know having an imaginary friend is supposed to be a sign of intellegence 🙂

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capacious November 21, 2007 at 7:28 am

My youngest had a friend named DeeDee Hingle. DeeDee was neither boy or girl. DeeDee was always falling into holes and breaking a leg. That was because he/she wandered around construction sites at midnight. DeeDee\'s grandmother once fell into hot lava and got dead. My son said she was going to come over on Tuesday and his brother said, \"I don\'t want to see her.\"

Sweet boys, I miss the imaginary friends.

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capacious November 21, 2007 at 2:28 pm

My youngest had a friend named DeeDee Hingle. DeeDee was neither boy or girl. DeeDee was always falling into holes and breaking a leg. That was because he/she wandered around construction sites at midnight. DeeDee’s grandmother once fell into hot lava and got dead. My son said she was going to come over on Tuesday and his brother said, “I don’t want to see her.”

Sweet boys, I miss the imaginary friends.

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