So when our beautiful BIG Kids magazine arrived I was so excited to see Jonah's drawing in the pages of this freshly, inspiring book, cause it just does not feel like a magazine to me. It feels warmer and much more durable, almost like a journal.
But beyond my own parental proudness of my sons drawing, I was struck by the togetherness and unity of amazing creations that spread across the pages. A belief that art is for EVERYONE, that we all create things differently and the magic of any art is special.
The part that really got to my heart was this.... Page 61.
'The opportunity for unbridled expression in
children’s play is decreasing. As we ‘screen play’
our way toward a crisis of childhood marked by
micro-managed play dates, fashion focus and
consumer-based activities, we are increasingly
seeing stressed out six-year-old ‘gamers’ and an
increasing obesity epidemic.
BIG Kids Magazine supports a current trend in
which parents and educators recognise the value
of a de-pressurised and genuine childhood. The
need to nurture and value creative thinking and
play in young people is vital in building physical,
cognitive and emotional intelligence in the next
generation. We believe that time should be valued
as a vital resource made freely available for our kids
with days left over to collect the quiet unseen bits
of the world, to listen and respond, to breathe and
grow, to think, and contribute in new ways and old.'
http://www.bigkidsmagazine.com/
I have no other words here as this says enough...
Thankyou...
Indeed it says it all - strange synchronicity as I ponder play on my blog. I really think it is so important that kids get lost in their own world of make believe and games. I was lucky that my own children had lots of fun games dressing up and playing spies and other fun games. When my kids were small we can't afford Sat TV, or all those computer tech stuff - so they had to play in the garden or die of boredom. Unfortunately, they now seem to have their black berries attached to their hands - hopefully its just a teenage phase!
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a beautiful post Rex! The photo of your two pondering the BIG pages says it all indeed. We haved loved Jonah's owl from the very beginning and now he has flown to so many places world wide for other people to enjoy. We can't wait for the treasure Jonah will no doubt create for the maps edition and look forward to his review of the magazine (when he has a moment in the time of his days...). Me thinks maybe his sister or mama could mark up a map of the sculptured garden or tell us a story of the secret garden within...
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Jo, we have 3 faraway trees on our land here, each special and magical in different ways. I have an idea of somesort of connecting map between them. I will putt the idea to the kids and see what they think. Although Jonah has strong ideas of his own. So we will see.
ReplyDelete