ms. fix-it

A couple of months ago, I showed Sage how I used a screwdriver to change the batteries in her light-up Mickey Mouse toy. She seemed fascinated by the process, and insisted on 'helping' me close and reopen Mickey several times over. Of course, I couldn't let her play with the screwdriver on her own, so I looked for a toy toolkit in the nearby toy stores. Guess what? Not a decent one to be found, because tools are considered a 'career toy', and boys do not have career toys. Apparently, make-believe for boys is only supposed to encompass robots and cars; and God forbid that girls should go around playing with tools!

So I put the toolkit project on the back burner, and bought her other learning-tools-disguised-as-playthings instead, like her watercolor paint set. But tonight I found out that she hadn't forgotten the screwdriver-- as I was watching her smear paint on Manila paper, she suddenly got up, came over to the chair I was sitting in, inserted the end of her paint brush into one of its screws, and started twirling away. When I asked her what she was doing, she informed me, "I fix chair, Mommy."

Which means: back to the toy stores...