My children both love bubble wrap. It doesn't matter how big or how small, but if a piece of the stuff arrives in my house, it instantly becomes a battle worth fighting over. Currently, the box the bubble wrap arrived in is being converted into a spaceship. All on a Friday night. Party. On.
I do believe that children have so much of life figured out. The innocence thing is cute and all, but it's the creativity thing that I love. When a kleenex box becomes a bed for Barbie and a box becomes a spaceship and when bubble wrap is enough to keep one busy for at least a good 15 minutes....that's creative. When crayons create and a pencil and paper is all you need ....when you can put on a pair of high heels while cleaning and instantly be Cinderella....that's creative. I still love to use my imagination and although I feel like my creativity wanes sometimes, like why I didn't post for three months *cough*writer'sblock*cough*, I still really do see watching kids play quite a miraculous experience.
In the past week, I've seen fly swatters turn my girls into Moth Killing Ninjas. I've watched small plastic creatures shaped like animals mesmerize my girls and take on character traits of their own for hours. I've seen them pull my ferns out of the ground and replant them in the sandbox as their new garden. I've seen my three year old run around with underwear on her head singing Adele. Of course, this same Thing 2 child also named her baby at daycare Dumb Ass so sometimes I would venture to guess her creativity needs a filter. Either way, it brings me to the question of when does that imagination simmer down to a fizzle? What age is it that we decide bubble wrap and spaceships are only for kids?
I know that research has shown children lose their honesty in writing around fourth grade because they start "worrying" about what the teacher wants instead of writing what they truly feel. Sad. Before that time, they write what they think...they make up wonderful adventures...they create. But then, once the whole "grade" thing kicks in for them, they stop. Does that happen to imaginations, too?
I've racked my brains thinking about my seventh graders and their imaginations. Honestly, sometimes there are a few who let it slip that there is an imagination behind that cell phone and e-reader. For the most part though, being creative equals work and many won't go there whether it's a grade or not. However, put a toddler with some legos alone with that same 7th grader and you'll see something magical. Suddenly, it's okay to be a kid again. Legos are cool. Making silly faces and voices are cool. Jumping and pretending are cool. But back to the real world and BOOM, gone. Sad face.
So the question hits me....how can I as a teacher foster and allow that imagination to flourish even when they're on the verge of being a teenager? And how can I keep my own Thing 1 and Thing 2 loving the simple part of life....like cardboard rocket ships? If you'll excuse me, I must go fight for my portion of the bubble wrap before it's all popped!
