And We Didn't Even Break Anything at Firstlight

This Tuesday's No Girls Allowed workshop was so much fun that I was shocked when the clock said 8:00.  I don't think I'm the only one who had fun!

What do you get when you combine a group of first and second grade boys with their imaginations, a bunch of Nintendo DS devices, modeling clay, cool music, paper, pens, and encouragement? 

1.  You get boys drumming with ink pens to "I Like Captain Underpants" which, by the way, is actually a catchy tune.  If you can't appreciate that and a little reasonable potty humor, well, you shouldn't be in charge of a group of 1st and 2nd grade boys.  There's a time and place for most everything, and we weren't in the presence of the Queen.

2.  You get really cool superhero figurines made out of clay.  This is Carson's C-Man.  Wish you could see it up close.

3.  You get boys whose brains are buzzing with all kinds of funny, action-packed, and original ideas.  And they want to get those ideas down on paper which means they are writing . . . during the summer . . . with no one standing over their shoulders forcing them to do it.

4.  You get boys who ask if they can skip the next group activity because they "just want more time to work on my story."  

5.  You get boys who are reading poetry and rating each poem.  Are you kidding?  Everyone knows real men read poetry.

6.  And, you get boys who are totally cool if they have to borrow some girl's pink DS for the workshop.  Because you can be comfortable in your masculinity if you just wrote a story about a superhero who can run faster than 5 cheetahs and you just defeated Water Ninja.

7.  You get boys who are writing together, assuming the identities of their superheroes, collaborating on story lines, and having a blast!

8.  You get boys who run to their parents and ask for the first edition copy of Captain Underpants and the latest Shel Silverstein book of poems.

Last night, I was introduced to Bertha, a superheroine who turns into a bear when people are in trouble; Bart, a superhero who can fly and breathe underwater; Lightning Hero, a superhero who shoots lightning balls out of his ear; Water Ninja, whose nemesis is the Ice King; and C-Man, who uses his powers to battle Zombies.  

What were you doing last night?  What were your kids doing last night to exercise their imaginations and nurture their love of reading?