We follow our boys interests with what we learn and the projects they do. MJ is currently
interested in obsessed with Super Mario Brothers and video games. He love Luigi because he has a green hat (MJ's favourite colour). He also loves another game the boys have been playing with daddy called RayMan.
I am amazed at how well the boys play the games. I never really grew up with video games. I played a few times at a friend's house but that's about it. So when I loaded Super Mario Brothers onto the Wii, I gave control over to the boys and let them figure it out alone. They are awesome! Seriously they have figured out so much.
Aside from playing the Wii, the boys have also take an interest in the old TV show. They both have taken the characters, and scenarios into their imaginative play. It is really fun to watch and join in.
It started off simply enough, a little Wii time here and there. Then he wanted to play all day. MJ would wake up first thing in the morning asking TJ to play Mario with him. If he didn't get his way there was a major melt down. I also noticed that after too much screen time, both boy were far more aggressive/physical than usual. We held a family meeting to talk about my concerns. The boys agreed that they wanted to do other things during the day too and it wasn't healthy to just do one thing so much. They decided on their own limits and asked me to remind them if needed. I think TJ was more on board than MJ as he understood it all better. Unfortunately MJ still had major melt down every time he played Wii. Not everyone will agree with me (and that's okay) but we decided to give the Wii a break. I did buy the boys another Mario game for Christmas so we'll bring it back soon.
The Wii break also corresponded with the boys and I being home a little more often than the past few weeks. We had been out every afternoon for weeks on end and I was starting to get to us all. Being home more often with unstructured free time makes such a difference to our week. We aren't so rushed to get packed and out the door. Everyone has more time to do their own thing, get more deeply involved and feel relaxed. By the end of the week the boys and I made video game characters out of plasticine and felt to play with. MJ and I made Super Mario worlds out of felt and wood blocks. It's been beautiful to be part of. The boys have been incredible creative with their story lines and play. They have been playing together more too.
While we were stacking wood one of the boys gathered some bark. I mentioned that it would be good for fairy houses. That led to gathering more wood and supplies. TJ focused on making a larger fairy house near the tree that we make fairy houses every year. He created a fire pit, and stocked the hollow with wood, seeds and nuts. MJ built multiple dwellings, a fire pit and long house. Then he asked me to call the fairies and Rayman to come visit. We ran inside so that we wouldn't scare them off. He is so cute!
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