I do not care what my kids are doing as long as they are working together. At least if it is not too dangerous and will not get them into serious trouble. At least for right now while they are young I don’t care. I will reassess this sentiment when they get older.
My kids have been watching lots of American Ninja Warrior this summer. They got it in their collective mind one day that they needed a course in our backyard. They would stop and start. They would ask for my help. I helped them a little bit, but I was beginning to see that I was doing most of the work. So I stopped.
After a few minutes of whining and begging, they began to work together on creating a course suitable to their abilities. There were no high-flying bars or much upper body obstacles at all. But, I do have to admit it was a pretty fun course. They grabbed what they could from around the yard and made it work – cinder blocks, firewood, 4×4 lumber, snow sleds, a bench, a hammock, and a slide.
I was thankful for the outside time and the collaboration between them. It did not look like much when it was finished. It pretty much looked like we were starting a junkyard. But, to those kids it was the greatest course on earth. They were able to imagine something greater. I have to think there were much greater things going on that day besides a couple of cinder blocks and a homemade Ninja Warrior course.
Dragon Creek 