Well, it's nice to know I'm not alone! lol There are some great stories here!
As for the reality/fantasy issue, I have been super clear with him about that, I think, but he still questions me frequently and will sometimes argue with me when I tell him something is not real. He doesn't do a lot of pretend play per se, but I feel like there is much more going on inside his head than he let's on, if you kwim? I also play into the stories, but I'm never really sure how much either approach is helping. So, for example, to alleviate his fear of the Tooth Fairy coming for his brother's tooth (they share a room) I finally told him that the Tooth Fairy is terrified of frogs and since his head board has a frog on it, there is no way she will come anywhere near him!
My other related concern is that his talents are going to be missed at school, since this creativity is not uniformly recognized or appreciated. His K teacher is great but a different teacher might not react the same. He is not disruptive in class, he just seems to not be that invested in most of the activities. I have not had him tested, and I'm not even sure if he would cooperate right now. He does not possess that need to show adults what he knows that other kids seem to have. His stories are really the only time you see him excited to share something.
I am hoping that spending more time with him one-on-one (he's also my middle child!) writing his stories will give me a better insight into his internal world and maybe I will be able to draw him out some more.
