We had a family get together yesterday afternoon as part of the never ending 7th birthday celebrations for James. We went over to Grandad and Grandma’s house for a big afternoon tea.
Pauline’s mum had a number of large cardboard boxes from Ikea which were dropped in the middle of the family room after all the eating. James, Emily and the cousins then set to work to build a big range of exciting creations. There was Thunderbird 3, a car, a cubby house and a few other bits and pieces. They had an absolute ball.
It’s wonderful to watch kids using their imaginations. It’s not always quite so thrilling watching them using scissors but we kept them under control as they went about their cutting and sticking so everyone left with the correct number of limbs.
We sometimes cheat our kids when we look for the latest, shiny, must have toys and gadgets. We all love to give our kids nice things but we need to make sure we’re giving them license to use their imaginations more often.
Sometimes the simple things in life really are the best; and they can be a hell of a lot cheaper.
What are the simple toys that you loved when you were younger? Did you create formerly unknown worlds with a rubber band, an old sock, a cotton reel and generous helpings of imagination?
Posted by Rodney Olsen
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I grew up on a farm and we were VERY poor. I spent hours climbing trees, making mud pies, collecting rocks and fossils, staring at the clouds, catching lightning bugs….those are the best childhood memories. Better than anything that could have come from a store.
We’ve bought toys for our cat – and what does he prefer? A plastic bag from the supermarket. He gets hours of fun from sitting in a plastic bag. Just goes to show that dogs are better. 🙂