Imagination Day

This morning....

Kaden: Mom, what are we going to do today?

Me: I don't know, what should we do?

Kaden: I think we should hang out and use our imagination today.

Kaden likes to talk about how he uses his imagination all of the time. Every day, several times a day, he'll say, "Mom, I'm using my imagination to......" I must say, this kid has quite the imagination. I wish I could bottle it and savor it forever. I don't want him to lose this imagination. I want him to be a kid that schemes things up and plays for hours on end, pretending he's fishing in the living room, pretending he's going surfboarding with his friends, pretending that he has a restaurant in the kitchen.

Today Kaden found a tag from a new pair of socks he got. He told me it looked like a fishing hook and he wanted to turn it into a fishing pole. So, when the girls took a nap this morning, we turned a plastic tag which would normally end up in the trash, into a fishing pole. We made fish and added a lure and everything. I think it turned out pretty good, and he was SO proud to show his daddy what he made. In fact, he even had to take a nap with it today! :)

Showing off his fishing pole

Everyday Kaden also asks me what project or craft we can do. He loves doing hands-on activities, and I'm trying to be purposeful in planning some craft and learning sessions with him. I picked up a few craft items at Michaels the other day and we've been doing some of those. He seems to be soaking in everything lately and clearly shows a desire to learn. He wants to learn how to write his name, wants to know his letters better and wants to learn how to read. No problem, buddy. You've got a mom in the right profession for this one.

Working on name writing...

So today, I chose to spend time with him at the kitchen table for a little learning session. I could have emptied my dishwasher or folded towels while the girls were sleeping, but I chose to spend some QT with Kaden this morning on "imagination day." Granted, we weren't really using our imagination for this specific activity, but I wanted to be purposeful in devoting time to just him. No phone, no crying babies, no email..... just him. So, we worked on writing his name and made an awesome book together- "Snowman, Snowman, What Do You See?" He loves the book because he can "read" it. I actually felt like I was being a teacher again for a little while, and I loved it. It made me so excited for him to go to school in the fall, and made me excited for more learning sessions like that together this spring and summer.

Cutting pictures for his book

Working on his book- he cut and glued them in himself! (Yes, it was also snacktime, so he has frosting on his face from his cupcake)

Of course Maya woke up and had to get in on the action :)

I think we should have more imagination days around here.