Building day

About two weeks ago we put out a 'call' to local homeschoolers to join us for an afternoon or building projects. One of our goals for the day was to get to know some fellow homeschoolers. We have come from a very organized and active homeschooling group, to a group which is spread out by great distance and are not as active as we have been used to. Meeting other homeschoolers hasn't been as easy as just joining in the activities. So we decided that making our own activities might be the way to do it. Our other goal was to have fun and share something we really enjoy doing.
We had four challenges planned, all of them from this great blog. I had set them up in different areas of the main floor, with the intention that if the kids needed to spread out they had that option. There were fourteen kids from three families that joined us, and very quickly the building began. They decided to tackle the same challenges at the same time. The first was spaghetti cantilevers, for which the kids self separated themselves by gender.
Observing how the kids tackled the problem solving was particularly interesting for me. The boys did very little discussing or preplanning, they just dove in. Each child in the group adding what they thought would be beneficial, without approval. It worked for them, they were quick and efficient.
The girls group chatted to create well laid plans, they measured and discussed, organized and discussed, put together and discussed. They took much longer (there were no time constraints), more interactive and equally as successful. It worked for them.
The paper bridges to hold money were done by larger groups, and became a fun game of competition. The marshmallow towers and arches were done side by side as individuals (which the kids decided) and as the comfort ability level rose among them, marshmallows became consumed and the play went outside.
It was nice to chat a little bit with new families, make connections and future plans. The building was fun. It is always great watching my kids overcome their uncomfortable feelings of being the new kids (in such a big way) and reaching out to make friends. They welcomed everyone into their home, suggested games to play, took leadership roles at times and were able to stand back and observe at others. Not that expect any different, it just warms my heart to see them navigate so gracefully and successfully.