How much amusement and wonder can a little boy find with a tablet or two of the fizzy stuff? I sent the boys outside this afternoon with a box of Alka-Seltzer, a pitcher of hot water, and various containers of different sizes. They made volcanoes in the sandbox, ‘bombs’, and rockets. And had a genuine blast.
This morning I was trying to distract the younger two and sent them upstairs to my office to get some packing peanuts. They had arrived the day before and claimed to be “eco-friendly”, even dissolving in water. So I said, “Go upstairs and get some and come down and do an experiment.” (Which turned into them lining up various bowls on the table with different temperatures of water and seeing if they would dissolve – which they did. All of this was done totally on their own – no help from me. And yes, it made a little mess. But it was water…and they know how to wipe that up.)
The amazing part of this was that they had to step over a pile of new toys and books to get to the box with the packing peanuts. And they did this several times as they kept coming back for more. And they have yet to ask about the loot or try to play with it…or notice it for that matter.
All of this proves, in case you are a little slow on the uptake, that kids are amused and drawn in by the simplest things. I’m glad I get to experience this joy with them again. Because I can’t remember that feeling from my own childhood. I’m sure it was there…but I just don’t remember.
