I’m proud of our Family Math Games program at the library, because it was my idea to make lots of games available to families, one Saturday a month, and ask only that at least one parent plays with their kids.
And it just makes me happy when it works!
Today I had ten different groups of parents and children playing together. The kids were learning, and everyone was having fun.
Few things make me happier than hearing a parent teach their kid a concept playfully and lovingly. I heard kids practicing counting and strategy. I saw a little girl happily driving a pink car to grandma’s house using shape cards. I saw older kids helping younger kids figure something out.
Their smiling faces when they brought a game back and looked for a new one made my day.
It was beautiful and reminded me that I really do have an awesome job.
It also reminded me of when our family used to regularly play Monopoly Jr. together after dinner most evenings. It was so fun to get to see a roomful of other families having that same experience.
And it was slightly sweeter because my youngest is about to move out and start his adult life on the other side of the country. This is a good thing — He has grown up and is spreading his wings. But it makes me happy that I can take something our family did that was great for our young kids and spread it to other families. Even the ones who already would be playing games with their kids have new games here to try out.