Rainy Day Library Fun

The coach emailed early in the morning. The fields were closed. No soccer.

Shane was still as fully of energy as ever. Carrie was not. The weather was wet. What's a dad to do?

Library programs. Lots of library programs.

Shane was the oldest kid at story time. He still enjoyed "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly!" When his attention wandered, we looked up storm books...

...and played around.

We didn't have to wait long for the next program, the one that captured my eye.

Lightsaber Training.

The blades were padded, but the peril real. The instructors taught their padawans four basic strikes and a few basic stances (including a force push).

Then, they paired the kids off...

...and told them to whack each other's sabers!

There were many, many close calls. One lady almost lost her phone moving in for a picture. The funniest moment was when the instructor asked the kids to spread out. Shane nearly stabbed a little girl in the butt when he checked distance. Then he kept his saber up like he was contemplating it. She never noticed. Her mother started to laugh and laugh...

One instructor tried to introduce meditation. He had the kids closer their eyes and imagine what he described. "You're in the kitchen....you go open the fridge....you get our a lemon....you give it to your mom....she cuts it open....pulls out the seeds......and hands you a slice.....you take a bite!" Faces were made. "Aha! Do you see the power thoughts can have on your body?"

By that definition, I have meditated all my life. I've called it daydreaming and zoning out.

It was a good mini-lesson. Visualizing is a good skill to have.  

But wait....there's more. There was a third library program I spotted. It was at a different library, though. Shane snacked in the car to keep the grumpy away.

We worked out some of our energy outside before we went in, too.

Which was a good idea, because the next program was not likely to appreciate extra energy (physical energy, at least).

Shane went to a beginner chess meeting for K-2nd graders.

It helped that Shane already knew most of the rules and how to play. The teacher was an avid chess player and thorough. I learned the history of en passant (it took a minute).

Shane did well all things considered.

The teacher knew his stuff, but his lesson sweet spot was a little older and less energetic than Shane (unless he was purposely trying to set expectations and increase patience...chess is a deep game like that!).

He had all the kids play a game with kings and pawns only. Before that, he pulled me to play a speed demo of what he expected. I lost, of course.

I thought Shane performed admirably for the first fifty minutes. We needed some run breaks in the hall to finish the hour.

Survival meant popcorn!

And chessman cookies!

We stayed out and about for almost five hours. Meanwhile, Carrie got a good nap in and the weather cleared out! Shane spent some time with Henry digging up mud and yelling into a sewer grate.

It was a productive Saturday. Happy October!