My daughter D is an imaginative person. She can whip up stories and characters on a whim. I'm totally in awe of her imagination as I'm more of a logical, realistic person. During these lock down days, she has come up with so many events and activities on her own that we can do together as a family. Usually, if she comes up with an idea, my husband K and I would just go along with her flow and not interrupt her plans.
One afternoon, she took us out on a ride to a different planet. She had thought through every single detail - right from packing our bags, checking in at the airport, security bag scan, going to a different city where we board our rocket ship that will take us to a new planet. We then did sight seeing of the planet - waterfalls, mountains, animals that are only present in this new planet (Our pet cat played a guest role here). The experience felt so real.
One other day, she had organized a birthday party for one of her dolls, with other dolls being the guests. There was a special birthday dinner as well, which she made us cook.
We had a dance competition one evening. She had rehearsed the steps for a few days before the competition. She dressed up in different costumes and danced for her favorite sound tracks. There was also an audience event when K and I were asked to dance :-)
A few days back, she had planned for a movie outing to a cinema theater. We bought our tickets, waited for the screen to open and then watched the movie. Oh yes, there was an intermission break as well, when we bought snacks.
Yesterday, she had organized a science exhibition where her dolls participated. There were stalls, prizes, announcements etc.
She managed all these within the confines of our apartment. Event planning, executing with limited resources, paying attention to little details, taking cues from real life but adding her own imagination, giving the right instructions to us - she exhibited all these skills on her own. Both K and I were happy to play the supporting roles.
The current situation is more challenging for young kids. They are unable to meet their friends, play outdoors, go for their favorite outings etc. But we humans can adapt to any situation life throws at us. Children especially are very good at adapting as they are more open without any biases.
Personally for me, it has been such a good learning experience, observing D and her world of imagination. Children are our greatest teachers.
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