Meet Robo



I started school on Monday of this week, but my children didn't start until Friday. (Technically, my son hasn't started yet, since he attended VomitFest on Friday.) As I left each morning, I gave my daughter the standard sister-babysitter instruction. "Don't boss your brother. Treat him like you would any other child you would care for. Play with him." And I gave my son the standard mother-to-slothful-son instructions. "Don't watch more than 2 hours of TV. Don't spend the entire day playing on the Wii by yourself. Play with your sister. Play in your room. Work a puzzle. Read a book." I was hopeful, but I knew my instructions were probably falling on deaf ears.

That's why I was so surprised when I arrived home on Wednesday. Meet Robo. Robo is my son's creation which greeted me in our living room. I am astounded by C's creativity. He didn't just build himself a friend. He built an armed guard. Robo carries a badge and a gun. He has gloves for hands and wheels for legs. But Robo's most interesting feature is his mouth. It opens wide to hold a small stash of LEGOs, and when C is finished playing with the LEGOs, he gives them back to Robo via a convenient slot in his head.

Robo is just one example of why, when Super D and I received a letter from the school district telling us that C had qualified for the Gifted and Talented program, we decided to enroll him in it. C may have many attention problems in class. He may be one of the most disorganized, distracted kids I've ever met. He may not have the best study habits. He may not earn the best grades. But I'm proud to say that he is incredibly creative. He asks the most interesting questions. He says the funniest things. He looks at the world differently than mosst 10-year-olds. He poses an interesting viewpoint. Once he's taught to harness his creativity and energy, I think he'll do great things for our world. Good luck with that, Mrs. H!