Imagination vs. Reality

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I drafted this post several months ago when Violet was just about three and a half. I still chuckle over this story…

Violet’s 3 year old imagination has been exploding lately. It’s fascinating to see her come up with all of these ideas.. only I’m realizing that with that comes a responsibility as the parent to maintain balance between what is make believe and what is real.

For example, the other day Violet decided she would plant some beans (jelly beans) in the garden to grow a giant bean stalk (a la Jack and the Beanstalk, we’ve been reading a lot of stories lately). In attempt to foster her imagination and creativity I asked her what would be at the top of the beanstalk? She firmly decided that there would not be a scary giant up there but instead there would be a princess named Ivy (a la The Princess and the Frog). Great! So I gave her the little pack of jelly beans. She ate a couple then made her way out to the back garden and threw the jelly beans down just like in the story! Pretty harmless right?

Well, a little while later Violet decided that she would be going to Dora’s house for the afternoon to attend a party. Cute right? I asked how she would get there and she told me that she planned on jumping into the tv… which she later edited and said that daddy would have to give her a great big push to get into the tv. She was pumped about the party in which she said there would be balloons (her favourite), cupcakes, presents etc. and that she would meet Dora’s mom and grandma. She proceeded to pack her backpack with her swimsuit and all sorts of things. She picked fresh flowers from a vase in our living room and put them into a gift bag and made her way down to the basement, where we have our big tv and tried to ‘jump in’. The disappointment that ensued all came to a head when she realized that ‘IT’S NOT WORKING!!!’ Oh the disappointment!  I certainly learned my lesson in leading her on too far without explaining the difference between imagination and reality.

I was sort of enjoying the innocence but it was time to explain the difference between make believe and real life and that the stories we read and see on tv are not real. Part of me didn’t want to squash that imaginary world – it was so refreshing.. but I can’t have my kid thinking she can bust into the tv either! 🙂

 

Peter Catalonotto

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Just a follow up to my last post…

Love this statement Peter Catalonotto makes in his bio:

I believe a good book doesn’t explain everything. It’s a springboard, an open door and it gives readers some space to make their own choices and connections. To laugh. To cry. To be affected.

He certainly opens the door to a great discussion with Emily’s Art. I also found this Guideline for Philosophical Discussion which includes fabulous conversation starters. In fact this website is an incredible resource for other children’s stories that contain powerful messages.

Book Review 005: Emily’s Art

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Evaluating art is a dicey topic – particularly in relation to how teachers evaluate and assess the visual arts in elementary school classrooms and how that affects our children. Peter Catalanotto’s book Emily’s Art covers this subject appropriately by illustrating a story of a young inspired artist encounter a less than inspiring art contest experience.

The short story before the story sets the stage for what is about to happen.  The appropriately named teacher, Ms. Fair asks “Can anyone tell me what a contest is?” After a few guesses it’s agreed that a contest  is “to see who is the best”. Then it is announced that the school is having an art contest in which there will be prize ribbons to the best painting in each grade. The teacher goes on to explain that a judge will decide the winners based on which she thinks is the best. One of my favourite lines in the book is: “If I lose the art contest will the judge put me in jail?” But even better might be the line: “No, of course not. Losing an art contest does not make you a bad person… just a bad artist.”

Emily’s story is compelling and heart breaking. The principal’s mother is brought in to judge the art work. She justifies her qualifications by declaring “My cousin is married to an artist” – hilarious! She falls in love with Emily’s painting until she learns it’s a dog (not a beautiful rabbit as she thought) and proceeds to dismiss the art based on a bad experience she had with a dog!

When you consider all of the little kids out there that have been turned off of art because they don’t think they’re good enough or that their painting of a tree doesn’t look like a realist representation of a tree, it’s really sad.

This is most definitely a story worth sharing with your kids. My library copy is overdue. I most definitely will be buying this book for our collection.

I’ll leave with Catalanotto’s dedication which I just love: For all children who paint with their hearts.

A New Start

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Last year I was inspired and inspired to document my little girl’s first day of school…

On our way out the door this morning I made sure to capture the moment this year as well. My oh my, how quickly they grow!

Driveway Art

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There’s something very freeing about drawing with sidewalk chalk. Maybe it’s the large canvas or perhaps it’s knowing that it’s not permanent. Whatever it is, I have to say I was kind of impressed with the graphic nature of my husbands drawings!  They’re expressive yet so simple.

If I’m not mistaken, this one is called ‘Scary Monster’. Art Directed by Violet. Illustrated by Daddy.

Big Sister Bracelets

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I’ve been dying to post about this but didn’t since we didn’t make our baby’s gender public prior to her birth. It’s a long and complicated story.. husband didn’t want to know, I did.. which made for a bit of a dilemma until we decided I would take a peak into the envelop provided by my midwives and keep it a secret unless he decided he’d like to find out. It was hard but I became accustomed to referring to baby as ‘baby’.

What was strange, however, was that I’d sneakily buy some things for the baby at which point I’d be at the cash register with my big pregnant belly and the sales clerk would say “So! You’re having a GIRL!?” In which case there was no point in hiding it.

One such situation was at a local bead store where I picked up beads to make customized bracelets for my big sister and little sister. I’m so please with how these turned out that I decided to also make bracelets with their names on them. They loved them! Especially big sister ;).

Introducing…

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Baby Evelyn!

Baby #2 (as she was formerly known) arrived last Sunday early morning weighing a healthy 8lbs even just like her big sis. How unusual is that?  The *exact* same birth weight.  She’s an absolute angel and has already brought so much joy into our home.

Her arrival has also renewed my interest in early days infant and child development.  I’m currently reading Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three. Stay tuned for posts on that.

The Importance of Free Play

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Violet taking Big Rupert and Little Rupert on a Train Ride

A lot of research and articles exist talking about the value of free play for kids. The Ontario Kindergarten curriculum highlights it’s new play-based program, IKEA has done extensive research studies discussing the importance of play for families and child development in their Play Report and this article published just a few days ago called “Busy kids need free play, warns experts” covers the subject once again.

The key line in this entire article for me is what is described as the result of an overly scheduled child:

“Tiredness, anxiety disorders leading to depression and eating disorders, obesity, and a lack of initiative and creativity are the downsides to an over-scheduled life.”

That’s scary. Especially considering that’s the result of parents thinking that they’re doing a lot of good for their kids? Talk about good intentions back firing. Ouch.

It’s so easy to get carried away signing kids up for this sports program or that art or music class and I do feel there’s a lot of value to doing so, BUT in the last few months I’ve really started to see the value in letting free play happen or in other words providing time where we’re not doing anything which results in a ton of imaginative play that I wouldn’t have even thought of.  It absolutely amazed me to see what Violet does with that free time where she just PLAYS. She starts to sing; she’ll talk in a sing song to her bears; she takes them on adventures in pretend cars or trains; she picks up her play piano and decide that she must put on her ballet leotard and shoes in order to dance – can’t dance without the outfit!

As much as I value exposing her to all sorts of new experiences, places, arts and sports activities, I’m just loving observing how she fills that time in between.

The Hundred Languages of Children – Poem

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In all of my reading and research of teaching and learning philosophies, the poem below (written by the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach) has stood out more than anything. It encapsulates my excitement in watching my little girl explore and learn through the ‘hundred languages’ and my fear in what school and culture might do to harm her ability to exercise those languages.

It’s beautiful but it’s scary.  It is my hope that if I can do my part to prepare my child to be one that will say:  “No way. The hundred is there!”

No way. The hundred is there.

The child
is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.

A hundred always a hundred
ways of listening
of marveling, of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.

The child has
a hundred languages
(and a hundred hundred hundred more)
but they steal ninety-nine.
The school and the culture
separate the head from the body.
They tell the child:
to think without hands
to do without head
to listen and not to speak
to understand without joy
to love and to marvel
only at Easter and at Christmas.

They tell the child:
to discover the world already there
and of the hundred
they steal ninety-nine.

They tell the child:
that work and play
reality and fantasy
science and imagination
sky and earth
reason and dream
are things
that do not belong together.

And thus they tell the child
that the hundred is not there.
The child says:
No way. The hundred is there.

– Loris Malaguzzi (translated by Lelia Gandini)
Founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach

Through a Child’s Eyes

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Ever have those moments when you think you see something but your eyes are playing tricks on you? Say the lights are dim and you think you see an image of a dog reflected in the shadow of furniture or you might see an image in the clouds.

Well, the other day getting out of the car at the mall parking lot Violet started laughing and kept saying “look at the laughing, smiling face!” It took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about until I looked up at the street light in the nearby highway and saw this huge grin smiling down on me!

Ahh, to take a moment to see things through a child’s eyes. To just slow down enough to let our imaginations have some fun is a real treat!