I grew up in rural North Dakota (
read more about that here). I either was homeschooled, or I attended a tiny private school (in the k-12 school, the largest enrollment in my years there was 60 students) until I was a junior in high school (when my mom moved to Plymouth, Minnesota, and I attended Wayzata High School). The point is, I grew up without cable TV; the 3-4 channels we had were dependent on the weather and our TV antenna was rotated in the most ideal direction (my antenna rotor and control box looked like
this). I intermittently had dial-up Internet. I didn't have a cell phone until I was 16 and got my driver's license (because driving to "town" meant a 45-minute drive on low-traffic (because it
was North Dakota) 2-lane highways). I had a lot of alone time. I talked to a tree in my backyard. I read a lot of books. I spent a lot of time in the garden, cooking in the kitchen, sewing, and crafting. I had an imagination. I used to think of all the things I wanted to be when I grew up (a teacher, a TV chef, an artist, a flight attendant).
In this age of googling to get an answer (rather than finding the answer by flipping pages in an awesome set of
Encyclopedia Britannicas), I wonder how kids let their imaginations run wild (if they do at all). [Disclaimer: I do not have kids. I'm not around them a whole lot unless I'm hanging out with my nieces and nephews or my friends' little nuggets.] Anyway, a friend posted a link to
Dinovember on Facebook today, and I love it.
Essentially, the month is dedicated to encourage kids to use their creativity. It's like Elf on the Shelf, but with dinosaurs in November. I want to participate, and I don't even have kids. It's just fun. And we all need a little fun in our lives. Want to participate? Follow them on
Facebook, post photos on Instagram (#dinovember), and enjoy the dino adventures. Let your imagination run wild.
