Geeky Activities for Kids: You Gotta Know When to Fold 'Em
I had grand, if simple, plans for today. We would get up, putter around the house for a little bit, then make a bunch of origami ninja stars, take our bikes to the park, select some targets, and see if we could hit them with our ninja stars while riding past. Simple and fun, we get out of the house into the sunshine, and get some fun exercise.
Only, today started off strangely because we live in Salt Lake City, and there was a 5.7 magnitude earthquake this morning. We’re totally fine, but it put us all in a weird mood. But things were still on track. We ate some lunch (in hindsight, maybe not enough lunch), and then I got out some origami paper, turned on a tutorial, and Nico and I got to work while Finn yelled, “Make me one, Mama!” Pretty soon, we had 10 ninja stars, five for each boy, and we were ready. For a total meltdown.
Today has been the coldest day since self-isolation started. It’s overcast, so the boys wore sweaters because I am not some kind of godless infidel. In the car, Nico’s sweater bunched uncomfortably, and by the time we got to the park, his frustration level was through the roof. Then it was too cold, he was certain that anywhere he put his ninja stars would bend them, and he absolutely did not want to throw them from his bike. And I just thought, “Fine. This was supposed to be fun, and I am not going to fight about it.” Unfortunately, Finn really wanted to stay at the park, and when he heard we were leaving, he melted down.
In the end, Nico sat in the car while Finn and I went for a short walk, then they sat in the front seat of the car eating Pringles from the secret coronavirus junk food stash I keep in the trunk. (Shout out to the kind stranger who thought my rotten children had locked me out of the car and offered his assistance.) We went home, drank some chocolate milk, and Finn did some Star Wars yoga while Nico read a book and got warm.
It was inevitable that my kids would melt down at some point during this whole thing. They are off their schedule, Nico is very aware that these are scary times for a lot of people, and they are semi-quarantined extroverts with cabin fever. So I can’t tell you if it is fun to throw ninja stars around the park while you ride your bike, but today’s real lesson is, be flexible and understanding. We are all stuck in this together, and if we can try to extend each other a little bit of grace, we’ll be in a better place to make it through.
For today’s activity you will need:
Paper of any shape, you can square it off to make the stars.
Wifi so you can watch the tutorial listed below
An earthquake just when everyone’s nerves are already on edge
Bikes
A too cold park
Cranky kids
A can of Pringles, sour cream and onion preferred
Chocolate milk
A yoga mat
A weighted blanket and a book
Here is the origami ninja star tutorial:
Here is the Star Wars yoga video Finn was doing. If you are not familiar with the Cosmic Kids Yoga channel on YouTube, you should familiarize yourself immediately. Jaime is great, the yoga adventures are fun, and the mindfulness and calm down videos can actually soothe the savage beast in every kid.
