Childhood Play

I actually have 2 things I remember playing with that were my favorites. As for background information, I was a pretty lonely child and didn't have many kids to play with. My sisters were a lot older than me and when I got home from school we would eat dinner with my dad and then I had to practice my accordion. When I could go play, other kids were eating dinner and then it got dark. So I had to use my imagination and play by myself most of the time. My favorite toys consisted of an outdoor delight and an indoor delight.

First was a huge refrigerator box. I would imagine it was a castle and I was a princess. Somedays it would be a fairy tale cottage and I would get away from the big bad witch or wolf (depending on the day). It would be a hideway from the Indians and I was a cowgirl or the cabin of a pirate ship and I was a pirate. I just loved that box and it lasted forever (back then, time and size was pretty relative) or until my parents got tired of looking at it in the background and threw it away.

My inside treasure was my suitcase full of Legos (Boy, how they have changed in 40 years!). I would make phones and pretend I was talking to important people. Or I would pretend I was a secret agent and make all these neat gadgets. It would keep me entertained for hours. I miss things like that.

In today's world, kids don't seem to know how to use their imagination anymore. I have students write paragraphs where they have to use their imaginations and it about kills them! We have allowed them to watch so much TV and play videogames that they do not know how to expand their minds. It is really difficult to get them to dream of the future and what they hope to do with their lives. Sure, some of it may not be realistic, but reality has to begin with dreams. Oops! Sorry to get on my soapbox but I'm so worried about the children today who don't know the simple things in life. Remembering these toys brought such great memories!