Wednesday, June 8, 2011

~Imagination~Exploration~

If there is anything I NEVER want to hear my boys say its, "I'm bored."
There is nothing that makes me more crazy than people whining on facebook about how boring Casper is.
All I can think is they must not have had parents like mine.
The Gillilands didn't get bored.
The one reason is because if you said you were bored my dad found "something" for you to do.
This something was usually picking up after the dog, or cleaning a bathroom.
So instead of saying those words we became explorers.
Our backyard was a mountain, the Oregon Trail, or raging rapids.
I remember playing outside for hours and never watching TV until right before bed.
And those were the days our parents were at work.
On the days they were off we were fishing, prairie dog hunting, rock collecting, or just enjoying Wyoming for all it has to offer.
Moving on from my childhood to what I want to instill in my boys.
This time last year my dad said, "I'm glad you don't buy Krew a lot of toys."
I looked at him and thought is he serious?
Then he went on to point out that my son was 1 and playing with cars like a 5 year old.
His own dialogue that none of us could understand going along with the play.
Since that day I have been very mindful of the toys I do buy the boys.
My rules are: 1. They must be kid operated. By this I mean it can't be a toy that just lights up and spins. The boys must do something to make something happen. 2. IT MUST encourage imagination or exploration. That one is pretty self explanatory.
If you've ever been to the site fatbraintoys.com they break it down for you :-)
That being said while at my mom and dad's last night I was lucky enough to watch Krew explore their back yard with a stick, and a ball.
I will probably never know what he was discovering, but I do know his imagination was in full force.
Here is a little peek at Krew's birthday present, which he was given a moth early.

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