This is not a post about our playhouses. It’s about imagination. Playhouses make for a great environment in which your children’s imagination can flourish and grow, but there are many other tools you can use as well. And while we are in the business of selling playhouses, we also enjoy the opportunity to provide you with other information that may improve the lives of your kids and your relationship with them. So, I present to you one of my favorite children’s books: Stone Soup.
Problem solving skills are an essential ingredient in each of our lives. And as a parent you want to do what you can to help your child develop these skills. Problem solving generally requires imagination and creativity. There are many ways to strengthen these faculties in your kids. One way is to read to them. When kids are read to, they have to picture the story in their minds. It isn’t spoon fed to them like when they watch TV.
So reading to your kids is important, but what you read to them is also important. Stone Soup is an old classic that was one of my favorites when I was a young boy. Maybe it was one of your favorites too. Stone Soup is the story of a small band of French soldiers wandering through the countryside in enemy territory. These soldiers had no provisions. No food, no money. All they had was the clothes on their backs and their own creativity and imagination.
They entered a village and got a frosty reception from it’s impoverished inhabitants. They had to find some way to get these villagers to feed them. So they concocted a story. They told the villagers of a delicious meal they intended to prepare. It was called Stone Soup. All they required was a large pot, some fresh water, and some proper stones. The villagers were intrigued. How could one make a tasty soup from nothing but stones and water? So they followed the soldiers around the village as they prepared to make the soup.
The soldiers wove their yarn, telling the villagers about how they must find just the right stones. They found some perfect stones and put them in the pot. They began heating the pot full of water and stones. They continued to extoll the virtues of this marvelous soup. One soldier explained that, although the soup would be delicious with no additional ingredients, it would be even more delicious with the addition of a few carrots to the pot. What a shame they had none. One intrigued onlooker disappeared for a few minutes, but soon returned with a few carrots, handing them to the soldier, who tossed them into the pot. He told the villagers, now this soup will be truly delicious.
But soon, another soldier lamented that even though the soup would be delicious just as is, it would have been so much better if only they could have found a bit of celery, or maybe a onion or two. A few minutes later a couple of villagers showed up with some celery ad a couple of onions, which were tossed into the pot. Well, this went on for a while, with more and more vegetables being tossed into the pot.
Finally the soup was done. The soldiers removed the stones from the pot. After all, the stones could not be eaten, they were only in the soup to give it a wonderful flavor. They shared the soup with all of the villagers, who agreed that the soup was indeed delicious. The hungry soldiers used their imagination and creativity to get themselves a delicious meal, with only some reluctant strangers to help them out.
Exposing your kids to stories like Stone Soup will teach them problem solving skills and encourage them to use their own imagination and creativity to solve their own problems.
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Tags: children creativty, children imagination, children's books, stone soup
