Imaginations...

Children have amazing imaginations. Our children surprise me almost daily with what they dream up. Some days they are Donavan, the Sheriff and Dusty out of "The Apple Dumpling Gang" movie. Other times they are Bagheera, Baloo and Shere Khan or Wilber, Charlotte and Fern or Templeton. Chip and Dale and Montary Jack are regulars as are Aslan, Peter, Lucy, Susan, Prince Caspin and Edmond. They often give names to everyone in the room for a game. For example our friend Blair is always Shere Khan the tiger who 'gets them' and his wife Becca is Baloo who is suppose to come 'save' them. I like to be Kaa the snake as he often has a very small roll or 'naps'. Papa is Bagheera or King Louie in turns. They often are animals. Tigers, wolves, bears, porcupines, black panthers, snakes, cows, horses and a wide assortment of other animals. They hunt in the bedrooms and drag their 'prey' back to the living room to be BBQ'd, of which we all have to 'have some steak', they save Mowgli from the monkeys or tigers or whatever else they dream up. E's baby doll is now permanently named Mowgli and E carries her by the bow on the front of her sleeper with her teeth while crawling on all 4's. They fight dragons, giants, and monsters and win or lose as needed. They roll play being 'momma' or 'papa' or 'baby'. Often all 3 or more in an hour. A laundry basket makes a fine boat and carpet or lino makes wonderful water or lava or rock. The couch is a port in a storm, the chair a rock over looking the 'water'. They 'fish' for toys or each other. They drive cars and have races and play 'town'. They love to be 'the green knight' (Franklin) and one is the dragon or goblin or squire and the other the knight. E flits in and out of these games getting more involved now that she is getting older. A string of beads is a tail one minute and a snake the next. The same beads can be bullets for a pistol or soup to be stirred. J is mostly the ring leader but L makes his wishes known. E is big on copying but is still totally involved. Some days they all play together all day and the next they hardly speak to each other. Each does their own thing and everyone is happy.