From children's theater to children's museums, newborn music classes to toddler sports programs, we are flush with resources here in the Puget Sound area. However, recent research suggests that creative play at home is also essential for fostering imagination. You can spice up your routine while doing your budget and your children a favor by creating your own fun at home now and again.
One of our favorite activities is "Nate the Great Day." It started when I raided the library for a stack of Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's stories about the quirky, self-sufficient kid sleuth who helps neighborhood kids solve everyday mysteries – often about something that's missing.
Before our "Nate the Great Day," we bought pancake ingredients and a brand newbag of chocolate chips. I promised my kids (ages t3 and 6) that the next day's breakfast would be chocolate chip pancakes.
The next morning we snuggled in bed reading new Nate the Great stories. As we read, I asked them questions: "What clues is Nate the Great looking for? Did he miss something? What do you think happened?"
After three books, we gave in to our rumbling bellies. We started to assemble the ingredients for our favorite pancake recipe: flour, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, chocolate chips … but wait, where were the chocolate chips we'd just bought?
My daughters searched the cupboards, becoming ever more distraught when all they found were two measly chocolate chips on one of the shelves. I asked them questions: "Where could that new bag of chocolate chips be? Who likes chocolate chips and could have taken them out of the cupboard?" They decided it was probably Dad, otherwise known as "The Late-Night Snacker."
"It's our very own mystery," I said. "What does Nate the Great do first when he's on a case?"
"Write a NOTE!" they yelled. So we got out paper and crayons and wrote an illustrated note to Nate the Great's mom to let her know we'd be on a case: The Case of the Missing Chocolate Chips.
I asked more questions to guide them along: "What does Daddy like to do at night? Where should we look?"
We looked where he likes to read, and sure enough, we found a few chocolate chips on the floor near the rocking chair, but no bag. We looked in the garbage to see if he'd thrown away an empty bag, but no bag. We looked in the family room in case he'd been watching TV, but no bag. "Hmmmm. Maybe he just forgot to put the rest of the chocolate chips away. Where might they be then?" Lo and behold, we found them on the bookshelf near his magazines. Thankfully, there were still enough left for our pancakes.
Mystery solved. We all returned to the kitchen. After all, if Nate the Great can buy the ingredients, make the pancakes and set the table, so can we! I'm happy to report that breakfast was delicious.
Set your imagination free, and come up with a meaningful mystery for your family. Or, replicate one of Nate the Great's cases that your kids haven't yet read. With a little creativity, the sky is the limit, for you and your children. So stay home and let your imaginations soar!
Erika M. Kapur is a Seattle-area freelance writer and mother of two adventurous souls.
