Cinematters
By Kelly Parthen and Shannon Payette Seip

Teen queen dares to dream

Your children want to help save the struggling local animal shelter from going under. Rather than contributing from their piggy banks, they decide to set up a petting zoo—asking their 4-H friends to donate their time and critters to the cause. They end up raising two years’ worth of allowance!

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen can help your kids use creative thinking to reach for goals that seem unreachable. And our activity, “Creativity Crown,” can help bring the lesson to life.

The film features Lola Cep (Lindsay Lohan), a young aspiring actress with a flair for overdramatizing life’s ups and downs. When Lola moves to a new city she is befriended by straight-laced Ella (Allison Pill), who shares her undying love for a popular rock band.

When the band announces it’s breaking up after one final concert, a devastated Lola pulls out all the stops to attend not only the concert in New York, but the band’s private post-party as well. In her quest, Lola learns that it sometimes takes inventiveness and imagination to successfully take on the real world.

Family Activity: Creativity Crown
When stuck in the same old routine, put on this Creativity Crown to spark your imaginative thinking.

Share!
Start off by talking about how Lola’s overactive imagination made the movie funny and colorful. What would Lola’s life have been like if she wasn’t so passionate?

Discuss some of the times when Lola carried her dramatics a little too far, and she went from stretching her imagination to stretching the truth. How did too much exaggeration hurt Lola’s relationship with Ella?

What were the differences between Lola’s personality and Ella’s? Who are you more like—Ella, who likes to stay in her comfort zone, or Lola, who sets her sights sky-high?

How did Lola’s ability to think outside the box help her achieve the impossible? Name some people you know or have studied who have accomplished great things by using their imaginations.

Play!
Materials needed for each crown:
Pencil
12”x18” piece of colored foam
Scissors
Velcro stickers
Sequins and plastic jewels
Glue

With a pencil, draw a crown about 18 inches long on a piece of foam. Cut out. Stick Velcro on each end of the crown so it can be sized to fit. (If needed, stick Velcro on scraps of foam and fix to crown to create a larger diameter.) Using glue, decorate the crown with jewels and sequins.

At the beginning of each week, ask your children to think of the biggest goal they want to accomplish. Have them put on their Creativity Crowns, using the Velcro to adjust the size. Explain that when they’re wearing their crowns, it’s time to dream what seems impossible.

If your daughter wants to get an A on her report on blue whales, she puts on the Creativity Crown and perhaps imagines going whale watching with camera in hand. A whale jumps up right next to her and kisses the camera—providing her perfect photos for her presentation. Even if her fantasy never happens, it will help her think of new and creative approaches to writing her report. Instead of an ordinary illustration, your daughter can now draw the extraordinary scene in her fantasy.

Just like Lola, your children will learn that an active imagination can bring wonders to their reality.

E-mail your comments or ideas to filmfun@cinematters.com.