What do you think about part of your family going on one vacation and the rest on another?

As some of you know, my older son Jake just built his Leprechaun trap for the year. He escaped again, but he sure had fun planning and making it and you better believe he is convinced that there was a leprechaun in there at one time….he just got out. 

Jake has always had an imagination. He is starting to write stories now in school with titles like the “Cookie Mystery” and “The Legend of Darkbeard.” He has entire worlds going on in his little head and he loves taking the time to write about them or set up elaborate “scenes” in our living room with battles and lots of army men.

My younger son, Sam, has never showed this same propensity for imaginative play. He was always happy to wander around the house and play with whatever struck him at that moment, whether that’s a stuffed animal for a few minutes then on to his drum set. He was not into “creating” like Jake was. But that has all changed in the past two months.

Sam has discovered a love for all things that have to do with amusement parks. He draws rides, reenacts them with his stuffed animals and he has even vowed to ride a roller coaster now during our upcoming trip to Busch Gardens. As you can see in the video above, his love for the amusement park has no end!

 It has been fun to watch his imagination blossom as he shows off his coaster called “Ice Monster” or he writes about having enough tickets to ride Griffon, the mega coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

I know kids come in all shapes and sizes and so do their imaginations. I never expected (or wanted) Sam to be just like Jake. It has just been a joy to see him find that something that has allowed his creativity to soar.

What do your kids like to imagination? As tweens, have you seen things change? Are they more imaginative or less?

Just a little update on our money jar experiment. We really hope it teaches the boys about savings and being responsible with their money. We’ll see……

Watch our latest video with TweenBeat blogger Thomas Brock and hear him talk about parenting, Sponge Bob and why he loves blogging.