There are many times when Luke complains about not having enough to do, seems to be a growing thread of his.
Tonight he went on a good riff out in the back, digging, pick axing, good stuff. When it was time for a bath I told him I was taking Lily in and he could continue his work if he wanted, to which he informed me.
“You know, I am a bit allergic to inside the house. I just figured it out today and it is really good to be outside”
A friend sent me this article in the Atlantic about The Overprotected Kid
In it they talk about a documentary that explores a “playground” built around the idea of letting kids do what they really want, to play with fire, use sharp tools and the like. It is a concept (and in the case of Adventureland a reality) that fights the common belief that children are not intelligent enough to know right from wrong, or how too stay safe.
It is something every parent deals with, contemplates and ultimately has to enforce. It is the prime directive that a parent needs to keep there children safe, it is not up to them to decide, but there are times, in a semi-controlled way, that it is REALLY important to let them decide, otherwise the fear becomes a reality and the child has a hard time differentiating between safe/unsafe, good/bad, proper/improper.
When Luke saw just a still image of the place, a boy stoking a rough made fire, his only words were:
“What is that, I want to go there”
Its just the way it is.
You can stream the movie (its only 22 minutes) here for $4.99.
We are trying to have a beach get together with Luke’s kindergarten class each Friday, so far, so good.
A dream come true for me and possibly the greatest find in a lost LA corner mall.
After school today we went a jaunt that landed at one of our favored Pho shops and after many many years of wondering and hoping, had a peek into Big Lou’s Toys store that is NEVER open and this time I caught out of the corner of my eye a “slot car racing” sign. Could it be true, could my childhood dream of going to Polks in New York City, the greatest toy store in the world, which had an eight lane figure eight slot car track open to the public, could I actually have that again, AND for Luke and Lil’?
I sure could!
and did!
Been a little while since Luke’s made anything free form in Lego that he is as excited about as he is with this.
Its a police station and an adjacent booby trap to catch the bad guys.
He kept telling me how the policeman only had one arm, so all he could do was hold the handcuffs.
There is also a sign in sheet out front, “As long as you are not a bad guy” says Luke.