My goals:
- make it FUN
- have them make fun things
- go as over the top as possible but not spend much
- make as much of it myself as possible; try to infuse it with maker ambiance & attitude
- this one sounds a little fuzzy, but I honestly want to see inspired expressions on their faces multiple times during the party --- is this possible?? what does it take?
Here's how this is going to go down - Spy Training Camp
1. Arrival activities
- Background check: upon arrival, the child sits down with an intimidating parent holding a clipboard and is asked questions (i.e. Have you ever been stopped by the police? Have you ever hidden broccoli under the table? Can you hold your breath for more than 15 seconds? Do you consider yourself to be physically fit?) Then, child is given first mission - the art of observation while being discrete.
- Observation mission - each child is given three questions that they have to answer without being obivous that they are looking for the answers. Then they put the answers in the respective boxes to qualify them for door prizes later.
- Everyone gets a handmade cardboard briefcase, packed with stuff to do at the party.
Here's an example that Max and I prototyped beforehand:
I've made three things that I will show as examples (these will also be the door prizes - some kids will be taking these home with them by the end of the party):
Right: a deluxe spy tablet. I got a lot of ideas from Max on this one - just things he's mentioned at various times. I put a dry erase pen in a holder so you can write on the plexiglass (and erase it when you want something else). There's a (fake) game cartridge the exact size as a Nintendo 3DS game cartridge to ensure compatibility with their other devices (it's the yellow/red thing in the silver pocket). The screen is where you speak into if you're having communications with other spies or headquarters. And the keypad on the bottom right has a working switch that lights up the orange LED at the top when you press it.
Left: a box in the shape and likeness of a book where things can be hidden. The cover is based on the real book series "The Mysterious Benedict Society". We've read the whole series to Max and it's fantastic - especially for the budding spy! I had loads of fun drawing the cover and spine for this. I think I'd want to win this door prize most of all (but that's just me). Oh well, I can always make myself another one!!
7. After we take a break to sing Happy Birthday and have some Italian Ice, we'll get back at it and prepare for shooting practice. They'll take out their marshmallow shooter packs and assemble them. I think if any parents stick around, we'll use them for target practice.
- When I wanted to see if something would work, I'd prototype it and run it by Max. There is a very awesome indicator that tells me if it'll work and it's beyond anything he says: his eyes light up and he inhales sharply. This is such a gratifying and inspiring response; it makes me want to make more of them! I love to see my son inspired and I hope that I can set him up to seek inspiration and make inspiring moments for himself and others.
- Max doesn't inherently want to make things just to make things. He's not wired that way. But he will make things (and imagine things) if it leads to play. And it's amazing that the things he makes then take on a richness no purchased toy could seem to provide. It's almost a reverence for that thing. I hope I'm not putting words in his mouth, but that's how I feel anyway.
- The ideas for this party are from all over the place. I pulled things from Pinterest, You Tube, stuff I watched my son doing in other contexts and some insights from Thad at Camp Combe. The real trick was to assemble everything together into a cohesive play scenario. The story line for this is very important to me, because without it, I don't think it would work.
- I'm not sure that the kids will be able to do a lot of the things independently. Maybe. But maybe not. We'll see tomorrow. At first I felt this would be a flaw. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt getting the parents involved would be a *really* good thing (as long as it's the child's vision that prevails). I pondered for awhile about making additional briefcases for the parents but I didn't have any parents rsvp (which I'm using as an excuse to let myself off the hook for making loads more briefcases!). But seriously, I'm considering what the maker experience would need in order for parent/child to share the experience.
- I'll admit it - I have a very selfish reason for doing this. I want to inspire a way of thinking for these kids. It's not just entertainment. It's not just to mark another year for my son. And it's not just to create memories. All of these things are great, and I expect them. But it's more than that. It's to give these kids the opportunity to act on inspired thought and make things, and for them to have a chance to approach life with a maker attitude. I think eyes lighting up and the sharp inhale should be common place and we should all be doing more of that!
I'll let you know how it goes!