The Idea of a Gift

The children shared their gifts to the mortals before Spring Break. Below are their offerings to convince the mortals to choose them for the God of the coastal town.
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Gift:  Water

Once upon a time there was(were) a girls and boys.  They made water.  It will help the gods.  I love you gods.  We bought it from a water woman.  It is not really water (referring to the materials being used).

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Gift:  Potion to become immortal
This is a potion to make people immortal.  You will drink it and live forever if you want.  And you can kill yourself whenever you want.  You have to run out of energy to die.  This is better than other ones (other gifts) because they can live forever.

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Gift:  Magical Cow

Dear Mortals,
​    We gave you this cow so you can have milk, leather, and meat.  Do not, never mind. Well, this cow is magical. When you kill the cow, gather its meat and then its skin will grow back!  This cow will come back to life!  Moo.
Love,
The Gods!

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​Gift:  Cow

We think the cows are the best choice because they make a lot of food and they are very big and they make milk and they are very cute.

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​Gift:  Amulet 

Fire power.  It's enchanted.  So, so magical. It has two powers.

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Gift:  Fresh Water

​Water is fresh, clean, good for you.  It will hydrate you.

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​Gift:  Secret tunnel to everlasting fish

We love you and hope you help us succeed  in everything and help you make this world a better place.

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Once the children completed their gifts to the mortals, I asked them to share more about the idea of a gift and the forms it can take.  They informed me that gifts could be in the form of the following:

-education
-surprise parties
-love
-when someone thinks of you
-for someone because you simply enjoy their company or just because
-food, the gift of health
-common sense says a gift can be an object or a thing, for rich people it can be a butler
-time with each other
-from the gods
-a gift to someone to say thanks 
-a gift of a new family member
-being outside
-experiences such as tickets to something or playing with animals
-a teacher sitting next to you
-perspective
-how you celebrate something, such a Christmas and birthdays
-kindness
​-money to those in need

When reflecting on this conversation, one of the things that stood out to me was the idea of the intangible gift, such as perspective, time with each other, education, kindness, and health.  This makes me wonder, do our daily joys effect our vision of gifts?  The children did not seem to take for granted their health, being outside, or the offering of different perspectives.  Why?  Why do they view these as gifts and not givens each day?  Does the joy associated with these intangible ideas make them gifts?  I don't know.  What I do know is that they share a common perspective of this idea and they make the world a better place for it.