Building the Foundation

I have two boys in the house building, inventing and creating, one a scientist, another a musician (kind motherly word for noisemaker/ future musician) at least for now, their interests may change as they grow.  I wonder if my little girl will be a builder too, a scientist? a singer a dancer?  Yesterday I showed her how to use the lego toolo tool to attatch the pieces, so she could build a truck for the duplo garage we just built together.  I thought it would be a good idea for her to get on board with the idea that she is a creator too (we all are really, all of us humans) and explore another avenue for creating. 

She is three now and she draws and builds, and makes her own songs, dances, stories and she is as alive as a flickering fire seeking fuel.  I suppose I did those things at that age too and I wonder when it was I began to forget how, because I know I did.  I wonder if it is possible to fuel that fire blazing in her consistently enough so it never goes out. 

I recall talking with classmates in Arts and Human Development about the crucial age for girls around eleven, when they can easily begin to lose who they are while trying to fit in, make friends, and attract attention of boys.  Girls are at risk of losing who they are, who they have become so far.  I wonder about the fate of the girls who don't know anything about themselves when they reach eleven.  I wonder back in time, was that me?  I  wonder ahead, will it be my little girl?

My kids I know, are lucky to be born into a wide family of makers and doers.   This family is composed of builders, farmers, engineers, doctors, artists, mathemeticians and musicians and more. They are luckier still because the makers and doers in our family enjoy sharing their skills with the next generation.  I am pretty sure my children have had a wider range of experiences now than I had graduating from high school.  That is not to say I had none, but that they have had many.  I know the boys are reaping the benefits already of the many experiences on which to hang new knowlege and more areas to feel success.  I hope they continue to reap the benefits along with my little girl who is just getting started.

Creation is empowering, motivating and engaging, and as humans whether we know it or not, I believe we seek it.  When I create something it proves to the world, and myself, "I can do it!"   But I wonder about the children who aren't getting the opportunities.  I wonder about the hands on classes in High School that were always full of boys, rarely girls.  I wonder if a girl's first and only empowering moment is creating a baby would it still be an empowering moment without the building blocks to make her strong?   I hope that giving my girl many opportunities and means to create will give her the fuel she will need, long into the future.  I hope her confidence, capabilities, and knowlege of who she is, is clearer and stronger, strong enough to light her path right through eleven to ever after.  So I am starting one block, one tool at a time. . .