As the proud parent of a very chatty daughter of two, I wonder: what would be an equivalent sort of project for girls? At the moment she likes Duplo/Lego because it's one of the few areas where we connect over the gender divide, but her other roleplay and games are all about caring and she's very empathic with other children (worrying when they cry etc). I do wonder whether pointing her towards hackerdom would really…
Guy's checkers table was no more a "project for boys" than a project for your daughter (or, better yet, by your daughter) would be a "project for girls". The thing I took away from the OP was to support your children in whatever they do, regardless of whether they want to have tea parties with their friends or climb trees or hack the NSA. Well, OK, maybe not that last one.
My son keeps asking me about how to "hack computers" and I'm pretty sure that's what he's on about. I keep telling him about how to program. Eventually I hope it will click.
This sort of story makes me sad. We don't have a tree house, we don't even have a tree. We don't have money to spend at the DIY store to keep the house in shape never mind making checkers boards for fun. I thought I was getting pretty good at quenching the covetousness that society seemed to have imbued me with but when one realises that stuff is needed for many uplifting experiences. Realising the great joy certain…
My mother used to save the plastic milk crates we got and we would use those and a bit of glue to make stuff. Doesn't take that much.
We're pretty creative when it comes to craft. Yes we reuse what packaging and what-have-you that we can but this isn't at all the same experience as a kid thinking "hmm I'd like to make a checker board" and then being free to go out and buy the materials and make it with their dad.
Lets be honest, you can only make so much out of plastic drinks cartons and cardboard packaging. Even then it's like, oh we need some clamps, a decent trimming tool, etc..
Don't worry I'm just exhausted with "making do" at the moment. At the risk of broadcasting a break down I think I'd better slip away quietly ...
This sort of story makes me sad. We don't have a tree house, we don't even have a tree. We don't have money to spend at the DIY store to keep the house in shape never mind making checkers boards for fun. I thought I was getting pretty good at quenching the covetousness that society seemed to have imbued me with but when one realises that stuff is needed for many uplifting experiences. Realising the great joy certain…
I made a 'Ponyo' boat out of a used soda can (which I took from the office), a used milk/juice carton (which I took for a party I went to). Didn't cost anything (even the glue I used was the end of a pot of epoxy I've had for years). http://blog.jgc.org/2011/06/making-ponyo-or-putt-putt-boat.h... Fun to do if you have kids.
That looks really good ... going to need a hot-glue gun first. Actually though some multi-purpose tube glue that I use to stick my shoes with should do it. Still not free.
It's funny, so often with these makes there are hidden costs. Silver spray can is quite expensive where I am. Of course you can skip that part.
My son (5) has his own workbench next to mine, and regularly likes to go "build stuff" with me. He's built several "houses" (random blocks of wood glued/screwed/nailed together) on his own, and loves helping cut/drill/nail whatever project we happen to be working on. If I'm working on electronics stuff he likes to take the voltmeter and check the resistance of various objects to see if it beeps.
I realized all the hands-on/building/tools/etc was really paying off when he changed the batteries in a baby bouncer completely by himself. (For those unfamiliar with anything baby related, this means he had to work a screwdriver and remove several screws to take the cover off just to get to the batteries - I know adults who can't really work a screwdriver.) He even had the appropriate remark of frustration when at the end of it all he realized he'd put the cover back in the wrong way and had to take the whole thing off and re-do it...
I made a 'Ponyo' boat out of a used soda can (which I took from the office), a used milk/juice carton (which I took for a party I went to). Didn't cost anything (even the glue I used was the end of a pot of epoxy I've had for years). http://blog.jgc.org/2011/06/making-ponyo-or-putt-putt-boat.h... Fun to do if you have kids.
That looks really good ... going to need a hot-glue gun first. Actually though some multi-purpose tube glue that I use to stick my shoes with should do it. Still not free. It's funny, so often with these makes there are hidden costs. Silver spray can is quite expensive where I am. Of course you can skip that part.
You could use almost any glue for the non-engine parts. The hot glue is good because it's simple. Agree on the silver paint, it is expensive and totally unnecessary. I painted it because there was a can in the house that my SO had used for spraying pine cones to make Christmas decorations and I figure there was no point the last of it going to waste.
I'm a big believer in not throwing stuff away that could be potentially useful.
As the proud parent of a very chatty daughter of two, I wonder: what would be an equivalent sort of project for girls? At the moment she likes Duplo/Lego because it's one of the few areas where we connect over the gender divide, but her other roleplay and games are all about caring and she's very empathic with other children (worrying when they cry etc). I do wonder whether pointing her towards hackerdom would really…
I was brought up by an awesome dad like the one in the story in many ways, he just exposed me to everything that he was interested in. We had computer guts all over the floor, the garage was full of electronic parts he was fooling around with. No 2nd-hand television lasted that long in our house. A really strong memory for me as a young child was just hanging out with dad making/breaking things, and my dad not in any way playing favourite over me and my big brother (though I was only allowed to watch when they were putting computers together). I am positive that just this exposure gave me the impetus to follow my inclination into the world of making stuff as soon as I became dexterous enough to do so (whether it was anything I found interesting in a 'make stuff' book, treehouse expansions, modding my bike, breaking electronics). I think of it as having the 'scare' taken out of me - just being exposed to a technical workshop from birth meant that I didn't have to make that leap from 'I want to make stuff' to 'how do I make stuff' because my dad and brother had shown me that you just, well, make stuff and figure it out as you go. Now my nephews have the same life - I'm so proud of my 4yr old nephew when I ask him for a specific wrench size or anything from the workshop. Just through exposure he's learnt what all the tools are and what they are for. If he wants to grow up and be a hacker, that's great but whatever he chooses to do in life he'll always know that if something breaks he can try and fix it, or (hopefully) break it himself for his own needs. If your daughter is interested in being a hacker she'll let you know.
As the proud parent of a very chatty daughter of two, I wonder: what would be an equivalent sort of project for girls? At the moment she likes Duplo/Lego because it's one of the few areas where we connect over the gender divide, but her other roleplay and games are all about caring and she's very empathic with other children (worrying when they cry etc). I do wonder whether pointing her towards hackerdom would really…
Guy's checkers table was no more a "project for boys" than a project for your daughter (or, better yet, by your daughter) would be a "project for girls". The thing I took away from the OP was to support your children in whatever they do, regardless of whether they want to have tea parties with their friends or climb trees or hack the NSA. Well, OK, maybe not that last one.
>Well, OK, maybe not that last one.
You know a headline like "My weekend project: father/son NSA hacking" make for a great story to read on HN. ;)
As the proud parent of a very chatty daughter of two, I wonder: what would be an equivalent sort of project for girls? At the moment she likes Duplo/Lego because it's one of the few areas where we connect over the gender divide, but her other roleplay and games are all about caring and she's very empathic with other children (worrying when they cry etc). I do wonder whether pointing her towards hackerdom would really…
There are infinite possibilities for doing things in the world. If not building things, what about the kid who held a speech in front of the UN at age eleven and apparently moved lots of people to tears (don't remember - was it on HN recently?).
You could do some biology stuff, like EO Wilson who went on the trail of fire ants. Some biological drama is probably playing out right now in your backyard.
What I mean is: whatever interests your daughter, there is probably something useful/fun to do.
This guy thinks his kid is cute, because it's his kid, but I don't like the part where he deliberately irritates everyone in the hardware store. I don't think your kid is cute, so please keep it out of my way.