Imagination, Part 2

Tips for Inspiring Your Teens' Imaginations

1. Keep reading aloud. We know the importance of reading aloud to pre- and emerging readers. It helps older kids and teens, too, by exposing them to broader vocabulary than they can read, plus, it means they can spend their mental energy picturing the story you are sharing. Try some of the titles on various "Picture Books for Older Readers" lists or read a (thrilling) passage from a favorite novel.
   
2. Design your programs to be imaginative. I have always done lots of arts and crafts programs and still debate whether or not it's a good idea to have a sample of the project. Some kids and teens want their project to look exactly like the sample which clearly limits their imaginative process. Others can see the sample and still do something unique. So when you're prepping a craft program, think of ways to encourage each participant's unique vision.
3. Science is imaginative! One of the coolest things about hands-on science programs is that they open kids' and teens' minds to the possibilities of the universe. With the CLDC, we've been putting lots of emphasis on STEM programming for kids--teens love science, too, so make sure you're adding in science activities as part of your program menu. There are lots of cheap, easy and fun science projects you can do in under an hour. I'm planning to try out one where you extract the iron flecks from enriched breakfast cereal with a magnet!
4. Try a "fill in the bubbles" program by photocopying a page from a graphic novel that has lots going on in the illustrations. White out or cover the text in the bubbles and have the teens write their own dialogue. You can do this with comic strips from the newspaper, too. I had a great time doing this with teens in juvenile detention.
5. Ask teens questions! Get them to really think about what they think, what they say, what they do. Don't challenge or be disrespectful (I overheard a woman in a restaurant the other night asking her husband "Why would you do that?" That and my much-used "Are you kidding me?" don't count as good questions!). But be CURIOUS and patient, too, because you'll probably hear a lot of "I dunno." Keep at them. Challenge your teens to not be intellectually lazy. Help them explore what's going on in their heads and be able to match them with resources that will take them to the next level.

I am obsessed with the TV show "Raising Hope" on FOX. I love the quirky characters and the twisted humor. What I love most is the sweet and good heart at the center of all that wackiness. One of my favorite episodes so far was called "Dream Hoarders" and it's about how Jimmy (the young single dad) tries to get his parents (who had him as teenagers) to stop "wasting time" on dreams like winning the lottery or hoarding stuff from other people's trash to use in the house they will have "someday." Since this is TV, of course, at the end he realizes how fortunate he was to have been raised by dreamers because the alternative is pretty dull.

So on this Thanksgiving, I give thanks for having been raised by a family that left me alone to my wild imaginings and only tried to rein me in when it involved destruction of property and/or potential injury. I am especially grateful for a career that is all about helping people and MOST especially, I am grateful for the wonderful, important, challenging, vital work you all do EVERY DAY for our teens. Thank you. :)

Cash in the Coffee Can: $110.00