Recently I was at Whites purchasing groceries. As I checked out I noticed a seven year old boy. He was enamoured with the magic door. He would step into the zone and the door would open. Then he would sept away, it would close. He then decided he was royalty so he bowed deeply and stepped in front of the door — it opened. He then turned to the left and the right. 

His theatrics continued as he performed a few spins, and fencing gestures then stepped in the right place and the door magically opened. I could imagine his little mind thinking of a royal court, a sword, the musketeers, Harry Potter- I am not sure what, but he was clearly ensconced in an imaginative story. Luckily the line was long at Whites so I could watch his joy. 

As I walked out I could not help but say something to him. He looked at me and half smiled. I then pointed to the little sensor above the door and explained it was a motion sensor that picked up his motion and was electronically connected to the door. He then stood stock still and just looked at me. I said it was so cool and walked away with him standing, staring, waiting for his mum to pay for her groceries.

As I left the store, I realized I had crushed his imagination. Yes, sure, this was a small moment in time, but he was in his world, and here I just burst the bubble. I was thinking about teaching and learning, and how sometimes children are thinking of one thing, and this is the beauty of their youth I should have pretended I had a sword, and swashbuckled, spun and then pointed to the magic eye. This moment just reminded me what wonderful imaginations our children have!