A dose of Reality

I love kids imaginations!  I also love it when your kid gives you a little glimpse into their head, and suddenly you see all the conversations you have had with them in a different light.

Several years ago, Michael had an experience where we had to shatter his little fantasy world, and bring him back to reality.  He had been struggling with being good in church, and so our sweet primary president began bribing him.  She bought most kid movies that came out, and so she let Michael know that if he was good in church, he could come over and pick out a movie to watch in the afternoon.  Two of the movies that we watched were Shark Boy and Lava Girl, (I still have to laugh when I hear all the Twilight fans swooning over Taylor Lautner.  I still see Shark Boy every time I see him) and Sky High.  Both of these movies are about kids with supernatural powers, and in Sky High, one of the main themes is finding your own power.  A few weeks later, Michael asked me when I thought he would discover what his superpower was.  He told us that he really hoped he would get fire power.  When we broke the news to him that superpowers are not real he cried for a very long time.

I think Allen is still convinced that Jedi, and possibly Transformers, are real, and that we adults are just too simple minded to believe in them.  One of our homeschool math lessons was on probability, and they had a test to test for ESP.  I changed it for our Star Wars loving family to test Jedi mind powers.  Allen got 100% on the test.  There was a second test with a higher probability for failure, and he got 100% on that one too.  His first comment was "And I am really good with a lightsaber too!"

Today, my kids started school.  Morgan has one more week before he starts kindergarten, so we got to spend some one on one time together.  As we were driving, he told me that they have rice in China.  He then asked me if they have houses in China.  I told him that they do.  He then asked me if they have clouds there.  I told him that they did.  When he asked me how I knew, I asked him if they have a sky in China, and if they have rain there.  From the tone of his voice, I could tell that this what a huge revelation to him.  He said, "Ohhh!  I always thought China and Egypt were underground."  We have talked as a family  about countries that are on the "other side of the world," and we have told him that if "you dig straight down you'll hit China," and somehow, in his mind that meant they were under the ground.

Morgan and I were talking about some of the different movies we have watched lately, and we talked about how some things are not real.  I told him that some things are just make believe, "like Transformers."  He was very upset, and told me that he thought Transformers were real.  I would love to see the world through my kids eyes.  It sounds like a much more exciting place.