Tend Like

The other day I was shopping and heard the sweetest conversation. Two little brothers were playing “tend like” as they followed their mother around while she pushed her cart down the aisles.

“Tend like you are the helper explorer and you are trying to get me to stay and fight the battle in the water with you.” “Ok, tend like we are both brother explorers and we both have to fight the sea monster in the battle.” “Grrrr, sppp, druppp” (I assume that was the sea monster)

This went on for several minutes and several aisles. And it reminded me of my two boys when they were little. In fact, we have several video tapes of them doing very similar dramatizations. They did those things when I limited their television and video playing time. They complained about it every time. Of course, the more they complained…the more time I took away.

I was mean like that….

But over the last few years as a teacher I noticed that children were not able to play “tend like” as the students I had twenty years ago….and that saddened me so. They needed to be entertained or told what to do or think.

A child’s imagination is so important. As far as child development goes, critical thinking skills and creative problem-solving abilities are fostered during these play times.

As a parent, I had to come to the conclusion that it was not necessary to have the boys in organized sports every night or lessons. As a teacher, I had to come to the conclusion that even though “play time” was not mentioned in the prescribed curriculum, sometimes I had to let it happen with my special education students to foster some critical thinking skills.

Christmas time is a perfect time to encourage imagination. So many tents to make, Santas to make cookies for, reindeer to listen to, snowmen to build that can talk….Imagine how the three wisemen felt looking upon that bright star!!

Albert Einstein said….”Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

The Father created us with an infinite curiosity. As a homeschooling mom, parent or teacher…we have the opportunity to help our children become all God designed them to be.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

My goodness, sometimes I like to play “tend like”!

“Tend like my hips are small and the butler is bringing us coffee at the pool”. (laughing hysterically while imagining this scenario)…