One of the things I find particularly magical about children is their ability to pretend and imagine the most amazing things with the least amazing materials. Their minds are unbelievably active and this contributes to both the joy they make and the joy they share. I’m very much looking forward to my son speaking and walking as his imagination will be more readily accessible rather than only in his mind.
When I was little a big cardboard box was a fantastic and wonderful thing. Forts were immediately created! Windows were cut, drawbridges were constructed using duct tape or dental floss, and unbelievable fun was had by all. The idea of children enjoying the box more than the fancy new present is a staple of sitcoms but it is also often true. Why is that?
One of the things I always resented about building block sets is that they gave you just enough pieces to perfectly build a spacecraft designed by some paid employee. What if you wanted to add another wing? There weren’t enough pieces. You couldn’t do it. This limited your imagination and ability to create. I much preferred the larger sets of generic blocks of all shapes, sizes and colors because they allowed me to create whatever I wanted. I wasn’t limited by an adult designer at all. There wasn’t an “end product” that I was supposed to aim for (making playing with blocks more like a 3D jigsaw puzzle). Instead the blocks could be something new every time I used them.
We often underestimate the power of simplicity. This week, after my son recovered from his fever, I was trying to get him to sleep and ended up using the sheets as a tent like structure. They were thin enough that the light from above was tinted and permeated the temporary fort I had created. My son thought, “Wow! This is different.” Then I quickly removed the sheets and he smiled and wiggled happily. We repeated this again and he now enjoyed being under the tent. He had a gigglefest. Sometimes the simple is the most fun. What simple things do you do?