From little things…

Children have the naivety to imagine possibilities that transcend what is now, and what is assumed to be the natural order of things. Children summon up the courage to take those leaps of faith that turn curiosity into an exciting adventure. Children can look at their world and see with wonder what to others may be just a collection of artefacts fixed in a time and place. Children tend to approach the world with a “why not” attitude, they have an expansive view of life, and the imagination and curiosity to make sense of their complicated world. Catherine Misson, Principal, Melbourne Girls Grammar.

I thought of this quote last week when my daughter (with her new-found love of baking) was cross with me because apparently I was “hogging” our oven.  So she decided to design one that could accommodate both our cooking needs at once. The oven of her imagination had three separate compartments within one central unit, that, whilst not using any extra energy, could simultaneously cook a pavlova, a beef casserole and bake biscuits. It was no bigger than a standard oven. It had some kind of alarm that would automatically ‘ding’ because it knew when your beef was medium rare, when the pavlova was at the ultimate point of gooey + crisp and when the biscuits were due to be removed. The oven would just ‘know’ she said, ‘because I’d give it some seriously smart technology’. On the stovetop would be a compartment to rest stirring implements to stop drips and messes. You’d be able to remove this to easily clean it. The stovetop would also be smart. It would automatically weigh what was in your saucepan and know the exact amount of heat required to perfectly boil, simmer, bubble or fry. Inspired thinking.

So, I sent her off to draw her design and enter a really fabulous competition which is the brainchild of the team at Origin Energy.  Called Little Big Idea, the competition encourages children to use their imagination to come up with a little idea that might bring about big change.  It could be anything.  Did you know children invented the trampoline, the braille system and icy poles to name but a few?  There are some amazing prizes on offer ~ all up, over $100,000 worth, including a trip for you and your child to the U.S. and for the finalists, a $4000 energy grant for their school. So if your children have plenty of awesome ideas bubbling away (and I bet they do) encourage them to enter and sit back and watch their beautiful imaginations go to work. THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

There are many competitions open to children offering all sorts of incentives and prizes but I think this one is the bomb. Your child can enter by visiting the Origin Energy website here.

Until next time…

This is a sponsored post.