Storytime

As writers we should have an abundance of imagination...and more importantly, use it. As children we have so much imagination, often told too much, and we use it constantly. We dream and play and anything is possible. However we grow and are told not to be dreamers, to be realistic, to stop 'playing' and we use our imagination less and less. It's school holidays so it is program after program for us at the library. So far we've had a maker space which consists of putting out a table load of craft items and allowing the children to make what they could/ would. We had tubes of all sizes, aluminium foil, icy pole sticks, long sticks, feathers, patty pan papers, twine, pom poms, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, coloured paper, googly eyes and so much more. The children made puppets and rockets, rabbits and collage pictures, machine guns and kites, kaleidoscopes and binoculars, dolls and mobiles. It was so much fun. They can look at something and see so much more in...

It's school holidays (well here in Victoria it is) and it has been interesting thinking back on the programs I've run. Everything has involved massive use of imagination for the children. One of the definitions of imagination I like is....   :a creation of the mind, especially an idealised or poetic creation. Sometimes though we expect our imagination to just burst forth on demand. Sometimes it takes time. A warm up, stretch or two.  During the holidays we had our Lego Club. I had the kids making Lego cars propelled by balloons. We also had to make catapults....both of these inventions had to work. The cars had to travel, the catapults had to....well...pult. So the children had to think, then try, then re-think. Consider why their car wasn't moving...perhaps too heavy, balloon too close to the wheels. Catapults had to work (I had lollies flying everywhere). It was interesting to see so many different options...once the kids got going. Another progra...

Last weekend I went to see the Wonderland exhibition at ACMI. Totally recommend it! So much fun. Interactive displays for the kids (or let's face it, the child within) and some magical effects. Must admit I spent a lot of time reminiscing. I had actually seen quite a few of the different versions of Alice. Mind you...there has been over 40 different versions of Alice since the first in 1903. Written by Lewis Carroll in 1865 this is a true iconic book. Most people have read it (at least once)....majority of folks have seen some version of Alice. Animated...or even the dark version... And if you haven't read or seen the show, most people will know references to Alice in Wonderland. The Mad Hatter. ...Caterpillar....Queen of Hearts (off with their heads)...the White Rabbit ....Cheshire Cat. I must admit to having so many favourite quotes from the book. 'Why sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.'...

We see it all the time, children trying to grow up too quick. They want to be older, do the things that older kids do, have the toys/ games that others do...the perceived freedom. At the moment Little Miss is 8 turning 25. Some of her comments are so mature...she spends ages doing her hair, getting upset when this bit or that bit dares to stick up.  She keeps telling us how old she is, that she can do so much more. Yet... On the weekend we took Little Miss and Friend into the city to see the Wizard of Oz. Both are 8, nearly 9. Both have a younger sibling, nearly 2 years old. Both had totally cool outfits on. Both stuck up a pose, full of ATTITUDE in front of the graffiti. But the other side of this is that they were also little girls. They wanted lollies and ice creams and lollies and chocolate and lollies and lolly pops...you get the idea. They also asked 'can we pretend to be sisters?' They spent so much of the time, holding hands, skipping down the stree...

During the school holidays, amongst the balloons and bubbles, the puppet storytime and wrapping kids up as mummies...I ran a black out poetry workshop. My first. It was such fun and it left me amazed at how imaginative and creative kids can be. A very excited group arrived, and interestingly none of them had created black out poetry before. A few had written poetry and one little girl (our ages were 9 plus) had quickly written a poem that morning as she thought that would be needed. I quickly gave an explanation, and showed them examples. We talked of finding an anchor...that one word that would be your starting point. And how to then scour the page for words that could be tied in. We worked on an example on the board...showing how words can be in the same wavelength. LOVE ---They offered up chocolate, boys, friends, kiss, coffee, family, dog etc Or how words can be opposite and create something interesting---they gave me denial, hate, pain, hurt. ...

Whilst away...on a cold and rainy grey day...we headed off for a drive. About twenty minutes out of Queenstown as you head to Glenorchy we happened upon Little Paradise Lodge and Garden. This place is amazing.  The lodge, with not one boring white wall in place, is stunning. You can even be guests here...what a place to stay! This was created by using paint and sand for texture on the grasses. The owners, a Swiss man and his wife, have worked hard. Although she claims it is all his work, she simply keeps it all clean and tidy. (There was a lot of garden to keep tidy)  He has built all the bespoke furniture and painted every room. He created the mosaic on the floors and the wall mural...and the bathrooms! Real live fish in the flushable water tank. The outside toilet (for the public) also has a water run so that the plants and moss growing on the floor are watered each time the toilet is flushed. Amazing. But what really inspired us were the gardens. ...

We all read to our children...I'll take a step back and say we SHOULD all read to our children. To the majority of us it's natural to have a baby/small child in our arms and a book in the other. And we read to them. It's a huge part of my job. I read to babies...I read to toddlers....I read to preschoolers...I read to school-age children. In fact I'll read to anyone and everyone. There are several library users who have limited sight and like help choosing their audio books. I enjoy reading the blurb out loud....most times putting on voices as I go along. (who doesn't?) And by now we all know how good .... important .....VITAL it is to read to children. Reading to babies and toddlers comes naturally to us...but we tend to get to an age when we stop reading to our children. Usually this is when they are able to read by themselves. When they can enjoy a book alone. But why do we stop reading out loud to them? At work we read to children all the time...

There have been so many times at work (either running a children's program or just helping folks out) when a parent has stared aghast at their child, horrified and said quickly 'you can't tell people about that.' It happens all the time. And if I was inclined to blackmail, I'd be set for life! But apart from revealing bare naked truths, children are great for noting down ideas. On the weekend, we had Little Miss. At one stage as were putting on our gumboots to head outside she told me to 'lift up your feet.' 'Why,' I asked, puzzled. 'Just lift them up so I can check something.' I did as requested. She then nodded. 'Good, you have them on the right feet.' I didn't really doubt it for a moment but I'm glad she was there checking for me. It's always interesting how they see the world. When my son was very small I remember him watching as I plucked my eyebrows, then he became quite upset. When asked why 'be...