This year has brought some crazy weather. It snowed all spring long, we've had bad storms, and a ton of rain. Along with storms comes fallen branches, lots of fallen branches. Here and there we pay the boys to run around the yard and collect the branches and sticks that have piled up. Typically we put them in a wagon and drag them into the back, but last time, we were lazy. They were piled up on the sidewalk, and there they have sat.
The children have found all sorts of uses for the sticks. The pile has become a bike jump, they have been turned into various weapons, one stick even became a Harry Potter wand.
That's one of the things I love about having kids. Imaginations. Anything has the power to become something it isn't. A bike is all of the sudden a race car. A pool becomes an ocean filled with sharks. A box is a spaceship. The possibilities are endless in the mind of a child.
Today's craft probably won't be that exciting. There is no how to, there isn't a beautiful product at the end, but it was fun. It was something my children's creativity produced, and I let them lead the way.
Dawson (the middle monster) came over to me with a couple sticks, and the top of a juice bottle. He was holding them together, and said it was a bazooka. I smiled, took some pictures and he walked away, still holding his new found weapon.
A few minutes later I look over and see Dawson attempting to nail his bazooka together. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, he's pretty good with is little hammer, but trying to nail 2 round sticks together is a little bit tricky. I watched for a few minutes, to give him a chance to do it on his own. Finally I decided to help him out. With a little guidance, a couple of nails and some sticks, Dawson was now the proud owner of a homemade "bazooka", and he didn't even have to hold this one together!
Once Dylan (the oldest Monster) saw what we were doing, he decided he wanted a sling shot. He found a stick with a Y, and I sent him in to find a large rubber band. I wrapped the rubber band around the top of the stick, and tried to launch a small ball. FAIL! The rubber band slid all over the place and the ball landed at my feet.
By this time Dylan had lost interest and wandered away. But once I start a craft, I have to finish it. (haha, that was a good one, right?) I grabbed some nails, half-way hammered them into the stick, and then folded the nails over the rubber band, to make sure it wouldn't move. Dylan never came back, but Corbin sure had fun with our sling shot!
Like I said. It's not anything beautiful, it's not anything amazingly different that anyone would say "Wow!! How did you do that?!!" But it was fun. My kids loved them. Sometimes you just have to let your kids lead the way. I promise the smile on their little faces will be more then worth it.
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