In childhood, we
press our nose to the pane, looking out.
In memories of
childhood, we press our nose to the pane, looking in. ~Robert Brault
Let's use CHILDHOOD as our theme this week and do some thinking about children's stories--both your own and fictional ones you might write for kids.
Please choose some of these questions to answer in a New Post on your blog of at least 300 words. Rather than answering many of them with short, surface answers, go into more detail about just a few. Include images with your writing if you can.
You could answer others in your journal, too. You should have at least 15 new pages by the end of the week.
1.
What is your most poignant childhood memory? The one that sticks out the most?
Write out as much as you can remember and then fill in the details with
elaborate description.
2. Who was the most important
person to you during most of your childhood? Your Mom? Your Dad? Another
relative? A friend? An imaginary person? Show some examples in which you see
how much influence this person (or imaginary person) had on you while you were
growing up.
3. It seems like when you are a
kid growing up you can't wait to get there and when you are a grown up you wish
you could be back. Imagine one day in which you are granted adulthood as a
child, and one day in which you are granted childhood as an adult. How do you
utilize these 24 hour periods?
4. We all have that friend we had
in childhood who later moved into a different popularity scale in middle or
high school. Who was that friend and what did you two enjoy so much together
when you were little?
5. What did you and your family
do for entertainment when you were little? Did you play board games together?
Go to movies? Go into extreme detail of a family fun night of some kind.
6. What cartoon from your
childhood is the most memorable for you? What made it stick in your head so
strongly? Would you see a movie of it now if were made into a big blockbuster
for the nostalgia purposes?
7. What action makes you the most nostalgic for
your childhood? Is it seeing old pictures or going through old clothes?
Something else entirely? Write a story of you going through those nostalgic
actions and having various memories of your childhood.
8. How do you recall getting
along with your family during your childhood? With your parents, siblings, and
other relatives? Go though a typical reunion or holiday with your entire family
in attendance during your childhood. Have fun going into excruciating detail.
9. Is there something you know now you wish you knew when you were
a kid? Is there something you’ve come to
know that you wish you didn’t?
10. It's your birthday! Pick a party that you had during your
childhood or create an ideal birthday party for yourself at any young age and
write a story about it.
11. You have been given the opportunity to go backwards. You can pick an age
and start over again from that age. Do you pick one or not? What age would you
go to? Describe your first week with your "old person" memories in
your younger body.
12. Describe
any childhood ailments or injuries you had.
13. Describe
your favorite toy. What did it look like? How did it feel?
14. Describe
your favorite books growing up. What made them special to you?
15. Describe
your favorite game growing up.
16.
Describe
your nemesis growing up. Who made your life miserable and what did he/she do to
make your life so rough?
17. Describe
your favorite foods as a child. What did you eat then that you no longer eat?
18.
What
was the biggest trouble you got into as a child? Describe what you did or
didn’t do to deserve what happened to you.
19. What was your greatest
childhood accomplishment? How did it make you feel? What influence do you think
it has had on your life since?
20. Describe
what you did or where you went as a child when you wanted to feel safe.
21.
Describe
your personality as a child. In what ways has it changed as you’ve gotten
older? In what ways has it stayed the same?
22. How
has your opinion of your parents changed as you’ve grown older?
23. Describe
your most interesting relative.
24. Describe
something that people would be surprised to know about your childhood.
25. Describe
some of the cultural influences in your childhood. Do you know your heritage?
26.
Describe
the home you grew up in. If you lived in several different homes, describe one
or discuss the reasons for the frequent moves. Were you moving up or working
your way down?
27.
Describe one of your first away-from-home experiences.
28.
Describe a smell that you remember from growing up.
29.
What was your favorite family dinner as a child?
30.
Talk about a time when you were grounded.
31.
At what age did you learn to ride a bicycle?
32. What did you want to be when you grew up?
33. When you were a child, how did you imagine your teenage life? Your adult life?
34. Describe someone who taught you to believe in yourself.
35. What frightening dream do you remember from your childhood?
36. What did you not like about your childhood?
37. Recall one of your favorite childhood movies.
38. What did you collect as a child? What did you like about these
items?
39. Write about a favorite or
interesting quote about childhood or children.
