Movie Maker

I haven’t been able to volunteer at school as much as I used to since work is really busy. I still try my best to prioritize getting away whenever possible. There was a toy making session that my 7 year old daughter E got to participate in and I definitely wanted to be a part of that core memory.

When we got all set up and the kids were getting seated, the toy maker announced that they were making a movie maker toy. This consisted of a few spools, a rubber band, and a way to hold a card so it flips really fast as you turned one of the spools. It was pretty cool and the kids were really excited to make it.

When the parents were being assigned to tables, I went to E’s table so I could hang out with her. She was really excited to do this with me and I got to make sure all the steps were followed if she got stuck. I also got to float around to the other tables to help. Some of the kids struggled, but most of them got it figured out by themselves, which was a relief to the parents in attendance because we were greatly outnumbered.

E was excited to draw her movies on the cards. She made one about love that was really cute and ended up with tons of movies (and snagged more blank cards to make more at home). Her eagerness to do any sort of art is unmatched…it’s crazy.

Next we got to make a sound machine. It consisted of a ruler, a plastic cup, and a rubber band. You slid the cup around the ruler that was strapped with the rubber band so you could pluck the instrument to make different notes. This one was great because it took less than 30 seconds to make and all the kids finished it on their own.

We got to wrap things up so we could clean up. There was a lot to sort, but we got it all done. I even had to dig in the trash because the school recycled dried markers (and people threw a lot of markers in the trash). Luckily, it wasn’t trash that was piled up for hours so I didn’t mind.

I gave E one more hug and they had to go back to class. It was a longer volunteering session, but it passed by so quickly at the same time. She was so proud to show it off at home and of course went to draw more movies before bedtime. Hopefully she will keep the toy and remember the time we got to spend together at school because it was an awesome session.