Editor’s note: This column originally published on April 25, 2017.
Kids are always learning, their brains little sponges for knowledge and information. That is shown to me on a daily basis with my kiddos with the questions they ask and understanding they gain from what can seem the simplest acts.
Over the weekend, the girls were playing a game of Connect 4. The first few times they played they just stacked the chips one on top of each other with no real game plan or strategy. One of them usually wins by accident and the joy really comes from putting the chips in and making designs then watching them fall out when its done.
During one game, one of the girls had a connect four without even knowing it. My husband happened to look down to point out that four chips were lined up diagonally, giving victory to the red chips.
Both girls looked shocked that there was an alternative from four across or up and down. Diagonal was a whole new world of game play that they now have in their repertoire.
I am also amazed at the information they soak up from all of their activities and videos they watch. Often, we will be riding in the car and they chime up telling me that Pluto used to be a planet but isn’t one any longer or that the moon isn’t actually made of cheese. While one fact is a little more important than the other, I like that they are thinking about bigger things.
I have been trying to push some of my favorite toys and activities from when I was a kid for my girls to do, including Legos. I loved Legos. I would build for hours, usually from my imagination, because back 20-plus years ago all of the fancy sets weren’t the rage yet.
We started with Mega Blocks, moved on to Duplos and have now graduated to actually Legos. It kind of blew my mind how expensive they were to buy. For a decent size box I spent upwards of $50, which was about double of what I thought it would be.
The Legos were a present in their Easter baskets, so I had to patiently wait for the day to come to play with them. While they weren’t quite as excited as I had hoped, the giant chocolate Easter bunnies were a big hit, when we did open them up, the girls got to work creating.
They started with a few of the preplanned sets from the booklet that comes with the box but soon were off on their own. My oldest daughter spent quite a bit of time on a dog of her own creation. She added a long tail, ears and nose as details to make it her own and make her mama proud.
My youngest daughter doesn’t quite have the patience yet for the little Legos but has recently completed a series of homes for Troll dolls in coordinating colors to their outfits with the bigger blocks. It is very her and I was happy to help out in her creative process.
There are so many different things that happen daily that I wish I could document in my kids lives. Thanks to an ever handy phone I can get a lot of them but I also like to enjoy them as they come, too.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson
at jpierson@newtondailynews.com