Be more Bonnie.

Sometimes the biggest lesson about childhood comes from watching our own children play.

We recently watched the new Toy Story film together as a family. My own children are now seven and ten, and although we all enjoyed the film, I found myself leaving with an unexpected thought.Be more Bonnie.

Since then, it's become something I find myself saying at home. Not because there's anything wrong with technology. My children enjoy games, films and all the things many children love today. But I've noticed how easily technology can begin to shape the way they play. Entertainment becomes something that's given to them rather than something they create for themselves.

Bonnie reminds me of something different.
She doesn't need the newest gadget or the most complicated toy. She picks up whatever is around her, a cardboard box, a blanket, a handful of everyday objects, and transforms them into whole worlds through imagination. The magic doesn't come from the toy. It comes from her.

As a childminder, I see that same spirit every day. A stick becomes a magic wand, a blanket becomes a cave or a pile of leaves becomes treasure.

Children have an incredible ability to see possibility where adults often see ordinary objects. Given the space, they create stories far richer than anything we could have planned for them.

A few weeks ago, I listened to Greg Bottrill speaking at a childcare event hosted by tiney. One idea stayed with me long after I left. He spoke about how every adult still carries an inner child. I've thought about that a lot. Perhaps, in this case, we all have an inner Bonnie.

The part of us that still notices the ordinary. That still wonders "What could this become?" before asking "What is it for?"
I think that's something worth protecting, not just in children but in ourselves too.

It's also why I created Storytime Scarves.
I never wanted to design resources that tell children what to imagine. I wanted to create invitations. A piece of fabric might become a forest one day, an ocean the next, or the roof of a tiny house built from wooden blocks.

The scarf isn't the story. The child is.
Maybe that's why open-ended play matters so much. It reminds us that imagination isn't something we teach. It's something we make space for.

So lately, whether I'm with my own children or the children I care for each day, I keep coming back to the same quiet reminder.

Let's leave a little more space for wonder.

Let's trust children's ideas a little more.

Let's all be a little more Bonnie.

I'd love to know...
What does "Be more Bonnie" mean to you?