Sunday 28 August 2011

Magic spells

We've finally successfully introduced Jack to the world of Harry Potter. We tried to get him to watch the films before, I've even attempted to read one of the books with him but the movies have too much talking and the books don't have pictures.
I wasn't terribly disappointed or surprised by his complete lack of interest. Jack is only four and I personally am not a huge fan, I like the characters and enjoyed many of the films but have no plans to read the books.
While on holiday Jack wanted to bring Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone with us to watch in the car. During the second long drive between campsites we suggested the film and Jack agreed. Just a few minutes and he was hooked.
Jack has now taken to casting spells, especially at me. He waves his hands and spouts some Latin, his Latin is very good, and then announces what his spell has done. Most commonly he's either frozen me, or is controlling everything in view. Occasionally he throws fireballs but usually that ends with him changing into Jack the Human Torch and being a superhero for a while.
Despite my not being much of a fan I'm glad Jack can enjoy the story. Children need to have magic in their lives.
And it's a welcome break from Ben 10.

Sent from my iPhone... as if by magic

Sunday 21 August 2011

Mr. Boring.

14-08-2011

We got home from our camping holiday this afternoon.

I was busy getting my computer all set up and back to working order. Jack, who'd been re-familiarizing himself with his cartoon shows said.

I want to help you.

You can't really hun, I'm just getting some things set up on my computer.

But I wanna help you make something. During our camping trip I created a number of bedtime stories that I've been working on lately. He's apparently hoping that he can get in on the production.

I'm not working on that sort of thing now, I'm just setting things up.

Can we make something when you're done?

Tell you what, we'll make some time later when you and I can write a story together OK?

Good because I want to do something boring with you.
I genuinely didn't know what to say.

You want to do something boring with me?

Yeah, I'm in the mood for something boring.

In the end I agreed to making some time for Jack and I to be bored together. It's nice to know that my four year old son things that the subject in which I'm investing years of my life and thousands of pounds is boring and at the same time it's touching that he wants to be a part of it anyway.

I'm not even thirty and I'm already the boring parent. Wonderful.

Thursday 11 August 2011

Rain Bruises

It's been raining for a couple days now and there's no end in sight. We're trying not to let it govern our daily activities too much but it's proving difficult. 

The roads in Northumberland are pretty flooded so as we drive between destinations Jack hopes for big deep puddles so that we can drive through them at 50 miles per hour.

We were out driving through puddles when we hit a particularly big one and he said this. 

I like watching the splashes out of my window, I like the rain bruises...

It turns out that rain bruises are when a large amount of water spreads a layer of water over a window. Also known as rivulets. 
Take a jug of water and pour it on your windscreen. The resulting optical distortions as the water rolls off are rain bruises.  

What a great synonym. 

Sent from my iPhone... as if by magic

Wednesday 3 August 2011

TV on the go.

We've been in Scotland camping for almost a week now and Jack hasn't had much access to television during this time. Now I'm not one of these parents professing they minimize their kid's tv viewing to one show a day or anything like that. If Jack wants to watch TV generally he can, if we feel like he's been watching too much we turn it off and thus balance is maintained. 

Lately it would seem however that not even the lack of an physical television can stop him from watching his favorite shows. Today we're having a day in a playground, the beach and the catching a movie. On the way out Jack announced that he would be watching TV in the back of the car. As we drove he sat in the back with his eyes closed and watched Tom and Jerry. Periodically he would break out laughing and give us a commentary of what had just happened.

Tom just jumped on a trampoline and Jerry flipped it and it smashed Tom in the face...
I've got nothing currently to say about cartoon violence. 

He's been doing this for a while now. It started with him pretending that the wind screen In my car was a TV and that we were watching a show about people driving. It didn't seem like a very good show to me but he seemed to enjoy it. Eventually this evolved to him watching full blown Spongebob episodes on the wind screen. I'd get a commentary of what was happening, usually it resembled an episode that we had recently seen on the real TV. Now he watches new episodes though. Often about unanswered questions or things that he wants to see happen on the show. These shows don't always make sense and they often intermingle but he doesn't mind. His mental TV is exactly the shows he wants and how he wants them, presumably in HD, and no adverts. 

Who says TV destroys the imagination?

Sent from my iPhone... as if by magic