Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Creative Play or too many Disney movies

My girls have these Disney figures from the movie Sleeping Beauty. Today they were acting out the movie with the figures...they knew some of the words verbatim. Is that a bad thing? So then they asked to watch the movie, but it wasn't exactly just watching in a silent stare. They had their characters in front of them making them act out the scenes as they "watched" the movie. It was more interactive watching. I was impressed with their creativity...thinking that they could become playwrites, directors, or producers...as they choreographed their play.

They also have a lot of dress of up clothes which enables them to be even more creative, but they love to act out movies. Disney, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake...whatever the movie may be. It is not like they sit around and watch TV or movies all the time. We don't even have cable so the only shows they see are on PBS Kids and then they only watch those once or twice a week. They usually watch a movie three times a week. There favorite character to be right now is a ballerina. They have a lot of creative movements and expressive dance. I let the creativity flow as much as I can...or as much as I can tolerate depending on the day.

I look forward to the day that they create their own little play or puppet show to put on. I remember my sister and I making up dance routines and putting shows on the front porch of my Mema's house.

Speaking of creative play, my five year old just came barreling down the hall in a pair of roller skates...oops crash...

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Creative play isn’t what it used to be. Of course your girls are a product of the time they are raised in. Just be happy they are not staring at the movie with glossy eyes and deaf ears! At least your girls are using their imaginations and you limit the television and movies they watch. I’m the same way- we don’t have cable and movies are saved for the weekend.
I’m obviously a mom and I also work for a swingset company, so I am immersed in “creative play” every day. At CedarWorks we strive to give our customers a big tool for their children’s imagination. I know when we were kids we would spend hours outdoors pretending and creating memories. I think that kind of creative play is vital for child development. Similar to your girls acting out their Disney movies, young minds crave creation!
Just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your post! Check out the website when you have some time (naptime?) and play around with the customization tool- get a little creative playtime for yourself!
Liz R.
http://www.CedarWorks.com