Be interested in what your kids like, even if you don’t like it, cuz it’s a bridge builder!

June 1st, 2008

Yeap - I learned that from my Dad. When my brother was a new teenager, he was IN to football. He still is for that matter. My dad, not so much, but because my brother was in to it, so was he. It was something they could talk about, do together and bond over. Especially when there is not much else to bond over when you are in the dreadful awkward teenage years.

So for me this is how it translates. Our almost 7 year old, LOVES bionicles. A new teenager in our group had grown out of them last year and gave him 2 huge bins full of bionicles. Trust me peeps, they are EVERYWHERE in our house, the couch cushions, the bathrooms, drawers, laundry. I can’t ever get away from them. They even go with us everywhere and pieces of them are usually left at our friends house. Like a trail leading back to home. At the time, we knew nothing of bionicles or their kind, but eventually found our way to the lego website and “learned” all about them. There were things we didn’t allow Jax (as he likes to be called now) to view or watch. We said, use your imagination, make up your own story. I taught him a few weeks ago how to make those little animated thingies on a pad of paper. You know when you flip the pages the story moves along. Well, he took that and one upped it. Now he has created a bionicle movie of his own. Inspired by a kids on youtube, my photography and his Daddy’s techie skills, he has now become a director, screen writer, set designer, choereographer and stunt man. As we are working along he says “Why don’t we ever have family time in the house, doing things like this?” (Sorry dude but the littles need massive amounts of outside time.)

We havn’t even gotten this “film” in the “can” yet and he is thinking and dreaming about his next feature short. The story line, the names, his mind is spinning. Now the kids favorite book is Viking Tales so it is all about a battle and such, but at least I am thankful the good guys won. I guess I would be more concerned if they were baking cakes. All I could think as he was doing this is , HE IS SO MUCH LIKE HIS DAD! So, I am getting into it. I am learning the names, the battles, the weapons. Mama is getting her armor on and big boy is rockin’ the you tube!!

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