Here is part two of highlighting some of our weeks living and learning.

Minecraft. Oh heck what a discovery! About six months ago I set up Minecraft Pocket Edition on Brigit’s tablet. She poked around a bit and created waaaay too many pigs, but soon lost interest. Since then she has focused on building things with crystal climbers and Legos. After spending time with playmates that played the game she returned attention to it, then during our recent road trip the wide world of creating got more complex. When I loaded the app on my tablet there was even more attention. Her brain exploded with ideas and plans, while having much fear about ‘survival mode’. My brother is a fan of the game and has much deeper knowledge than me. The difference between him and me is that he has actually played it before. I am still quite a fledgeling along with Brigit. The nuances between creative and survival are becoming clear to Brigit through daily sessions with her uncle. He loves having something to teach her and she is soaking it in! I could dive in and figure it all out, but when you have an uncle with prowess why would she need me?! I have no desire whatsoever to be the one stop shop for all that she is interested in. I am sitting back and letting her teach me as she figures stuff out – a role reversal. We both have tablets that can connect on the network, so it works out great. She is so excited to teach me something. I would like to say I play stupid so she can have more opportunities to teach me, but it is not an act.

Park visits. Kids in our new Texas neighborhood are kinda mean so far. Brigit walks up to them, smiles and introduces herself. So far, kids look at her strangely and proceed like she is not there. WTF? A couple of times there was an ‘alpha’ kid who straight out told her they did not like her. How dare Brigit propose a game of tag? We had extensive conversations about individuals choosing how and with whom they spend their time, and how she has the choice as much as them. The concept is still sinking in to the open and welcoming mind of my lovely girl, but reality sucks sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, she has found some sweet playmates. I just hope the good and bad experiences are getting the warranted amount of time in her busy brain.

Roller skating rink. She and I packed up our roller skates and went to the local rink for a three hour open skate session. Again, she tried to converse with kids her age, but they were soon called to a birthday party set up in the concession area. In their absence and wanting to expand her skating prowess, she sought out other people. She ended connecting with an older woman who was just learning to skate, encouraging her to keep trying and showing her how to ‘glide’. Another connection she made was with a young lady about 12 or 13. Brigit has evolved with roller skating since she got her skates in December. She is pretty smooth and is getting faster. What she saw at the roller rink this week was skating backwards and doing spins and swirls by the young lady. She sooo wanted to learn it. I am just figuring out how to skate again (with a wonky left skate, by the way) so I was not the person to try and show her. She introduced herself to the young lady and asked a bunch of questions. I have no idea what the conversation entailed, but I did observe about thirty minutes of intense conversations between Brigit and the young lady about skating as they rolled around the rink. Before we left they shared a big hug. I expect that next week’s session will be more intense with a few more bruises than this week. I love watching Brigit constantly seeking more skill and pushing herself to learn, as well as finding resources to do so. I am glad to be of help, but feel no need to force anything upon her, no matter how much I have the tendency (and it is definitely there!). The miracle (or not so much) was that Big D joined us for a second session. He has not skated for 30 years, but laced up those tan and orange rentals and rolled away! As with me, getting back on the wheels was quite nostalgic, and he is thinking of getting his very own pair.

Lego Adventure. I know this place is an elaborate ploy in a large metropolitan area to encourage the purchase of a play building supplies provided by a huge corporation. We went anyway. It had rides and a water play area too, so the attraction to Brigit was inevitable. We spent a few fun hours exploring the space. Most of her time was spent building and testing cars on a race track and in the water play area (no surprise). Until thunder and lightning forced us inside, Brigit spent a pleasant chunk of time with a new found friend hunting ladybugs and protecting them from the spraying water. Don’t be deceived – the picture reflects a look of joy not terror. Hard to tell by she just got squirted during a chase. I too found a new friend – in the mother of the other girl, which always makes future activities more pleasant. The place encouraged Brigit to exercise in the climbing playscape inside and water park outside. She was able to build to her heart’s content and, of course, came home with a little kit to build and keep. As a result of getting her first Lego set last Christmas Brigit has been inspired to build build build! She has taken to breaking down already built things lately, sending us to the internet and library to research architecture and structures, they trying to recreate them. We spent an hour at a construction site last week so she could just watch the workers prepare frames and rebar for pouring concrete. I am excited to see where this interest takes us next!