This afternoon, Benjamin told me he was bored with all of his toys. He asked if we could play with the Snap Circuits Jr. set I had given to him as a gift for his last birthday. Snap Circuits is an electronics kit with over 100 different projects. This toy has always been a favorite of Lisa’s son Josh and we had been saving it as an activity to do with Daddy. But…Daddy is in the city during the week this summer so I (reluctantly) agreed.

We had so much fun. Benjamin needed my help to understand how to follow the instructions (he is 6.5 and the toy is recommended as a kids’ gift for 8 and up…but I wholeheartedly recommend it as an activity for a grown-up to do with a 6 or 7 year old child). Once we both figured out how it all works – you follow very clear diagrams to snap different parts together onto a plastic board - we quickly got through the first few projects including turning on a light, powering a fan and playing a some music. He was so proud of his work that his face “lit up,” just like the bulb in the first project! I suspect we’ll do more tomorrow including #18, a Laser Gun

The projects get harder as you go through the book and by the end, kids will have made a doorbell, a burglar alarm, a radio and much more. Kids can even make up their own projects. When Benjamin read this, he told me he wants to create a robot – now that is definitely a project for Daddy!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 8:02 pm by Stefanie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.