There's an alien in my drink!

CHECK IT!
Alien skull in frosted bottled water! 

Oh yeeeah!  You don't get to see sh*t like this everyday, huh?  Or maybe they're there, and you just failed to notice.  Because you're busy.  You can't be bothered with... *sigh* ...imagination.

But kids-- they see things.  They have a keen sense of detail.  They have gears that are perpetually moving in that magical place in their minds.  That's what makes them discover monsters in bathroom tile grime, creepers in a dirt-encrusted wall, zombies in the trees.

Miro discovered this alien skull in his bottled water and had me take a picture of it.  He said it's a rare find, a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.  CLICK!

And then he chugged at that alien skull like it was anyone's business.

Imagination, Live!

Do you ever see your kids doodling unfamiliar characters on paper or on your living room walls?  Do you ever ask them who these characters are?  Do you ever gasp and clap in awe upon learning that your children actually invented original characters straight out of the mad, unbridled workings of their imagination?

Well, here's a cool parenting tip:  Bring your children's imagination to life!

Ok, tall order.  Bring your children's imagination to something more tangible than lead markings on paper.  Bring them to the 3D-ness of papier mache sculpture!
There... that's workable.

You know me.  I'm a papier mache advocate beyond control.  And my boys have imagination bursting at the seams, too.  This calls for a great collaboration! 

And so it began when Kenji thought, "What if Super Mario went to Hogwarts...?"  Questioned answered just like that.

Miro mused, "Penguins don't have to be cute all the time.  I think they can be powerful warlords!"  And now they are.

My husband said, "It would be nice if my little eatery had a mascot."  So be it, Kitchen Jedi.

I just had to pipe in, "Can my other blog have an action figure, too?"  My boys agreed.  Yay!

Our imagination in 3D!  How cool is that!

We had the most fun sculpting, slathering glue, and painting this batch of papier mache sculptures. There's that extra fulfilled feeling when you see your thoughts coming to, well, life. :)  Try it!

Styrofoamagination

STOP!  Think twice before you throw away that gift box styrofoam!  To your child's vast imagination, it's essentially ...another toy!!!

In fact, in my house, styrofoam, shrink wrap, bubble wrap, and cardboard casings are considered goldmines.  More often than not, my boys focus on these protective shells more than the actual toy they came with.

Just look at how Kenji made three awesome new toys out of these simple, almost discardable styro sleeves.

With a little paint and inspiration, the styros have become the secret headquarters for his Lego guys.

One easy flip of the two pieces exposes the hub's swanky interiors.

Another flip (and more paint and inventiveness) gives Teddy and Rodney a ride on the Styro Express.

More flipping (and more paint-and-brain-squeezeing) takes Super Mario and the gang to the Foam Theater for a blockbuster movie night.

All that, and all Kenji needed were these 2 styrofoam casings that almost met the trashcan.
*Mother's face, meet mother's palm

Kids are born resourceful recyclers --and us parents have absolutely no right to curb their bold display of creativity.  Do as I do --hoard, amass, stockpile.  Then, wait and watch.  You'd be surprised.