My 3-year-old son, Caleb, is yet to see a real nest. 

But that didn’t stop him from building one the other day. 

He probably wanted to build one because he’d seen pictures in his storybooks. 

He came with some twigs and asked me for a paper plate and some sheets of paper.

I had no idea why he needed those things to build a nest and told him that he’d need other materials as well. 

I was going to offer him some mud, grass, and whatever I thought could help.

In 5 minutes though, his nest was done!??

He used the plate as a base and was focused more on its content and function – to hold eggs – than just its form.

I wouldn’t have focused on the eggs if I were building a nest.

Too often, we insist that people do things the same way as we do while asking them to take more responsibility and be more creative.