My nephew is at the age when everything is a story. He thinks in narrative, and when he plays, he creates a story for whatever is going on. It may not always make sense to Grandpa or Mommy, but it's definitely a story to him. I remember that aspect of my childhood, too, and I encountered it when babysitting and working in the church nursery.
I'm pretty sure this is common for most children, and I find myself wondering why. My li'l nephew's parents and teachers read to him, so maybe being given stories all the time calls for the same in return. If so, do kids who aren't given stories so freely skip this stage? I'm very curious.
Is play necessarily narrative-based? Do we all naturally, intriniscally think in stories?
What is your experience? What stories do you remember playing? Where do you think you learned to play that story? And when did you stop?
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Two words: axe cop.
ReplyDeletehttp://axecop.com/index.php/acepisodes
When I was a kid, I did a lot more world-building than narrating. As I recall, I built lego cities, and then my little brother's pirates would sack them in a grand story, and then I would rebuild them, and so on. I did spend an awful lot of time enjoying books (my parents were teachers, too). I played "teaching" and "house" kinds of games, and I remember playing "flying lessons" with my stuffed animals. But I don't remember it being especially story-driven.
Axe Cop!!!! I think I talked about that once. It's hilarious and so wrong!
ReplyDeleteAs for your examples, those are all stories! :) People/things doing stuff is a story. :)