My son has an "Invention Convention" at his school this week. This was probably the first big project he has brought home to build. He is in 2nd grade, and I'm sure many more will be assigned through the years. Having been a teacher that has assigned my share of big projects, I am now on the receiving end of these projects, and it is tough stuff.
He brought the assignment home a couple of weeks ago, and had a myriad of ideas. Super sonic speed-maker, housecleaning robot, vacuum that sucks up toys and puts them away -- and the list goes on. He is a fabulous idea person, but not so good as the follow-the-project-through-to-the-bitter-end person. Needless to say, there have been many evenings of banging my head against the wall trying to get him to do the easiest of tasks. One such example includes the night that we made the ticklers out of chenille stems and foam pieces. After twisting 2 stems together, his fingers hurt. *Sigh*
I think the highlight of the week was when he wanted to paint his chair. I was certain he would choose the path of least resistance and paint the chair one color. But he instead opted for the rainbow. His sisters were thrilled. As Miss E exclaimed in sheer delight, "It will have colors for both girls and boys!"
But then came the reality of painting the rainbow. His 5 year old sister (Miss E) was correcting him as he slopped on the paint haphazardly. "You have big globs of paint here and there is a big gap right here! How can you be so sloppy?!" Can you tell my 5 year old is a perfectionist? But better she yell at him than I. I was too busy washing brushes anyway.
So the tickle chair is completed. An experience I won't soon forget, and hopefully, we all learned a little something along the way. I am very proud of his accomplishment, and equally as proud of his Mommy and Daddy, who only lost their cool a couple of times. Now if only this tickle chair was for real....
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