Have Chainsaw, Will Party
We held a social experiment at our house, a.k.a. a co-ed fifth grade graduation party, with twenty eleven-year-olds. After much deliberation, my son invited fourteen boys and five girls. He and I brainstormed, starting two weeks in advance, to come up with games, activities, and food. We planned a water balloon toss, four-square, a variation of tug-of-war, karaoke, dancing, and s'more-making over our backyard fire pit. Each child was to bring either a bag of chips, 2-liter drink, or cookies. Nowhere on the invitation did it say "BYO skateboard," or "BYO Chainsaw", but kids read between the lines.
As the first boys arrived, my son was still sawing wood for the fire with an old handsaw. We could've just had a wood cutting party, if only boys were invited. They flocked around; they all wanted a turn. They were hot and sweaty before the first girl even arrived. During the pandemonium of drop-off, while kids were descending upon the yard like a swarm of locusts, bringing cell phones, skateboards and a ramp, and enough food to keep them going on a desolate island for two months, one of the neighborhood boys slipped home. He returned minutes later with a chainsaw. Oh, did the boys' eyes light up like fireflies! Now THIS was a party!
My husband intervened and redirected the boys to other, safer, activities. The chainsaw went back home.
The water balloons were a hit, though short-lived. After that, the girls stood in a clump talking, checking their cell phones, and stealing glances at the boys. My husband played basketball in our driveway with several boys while a few others set the skateboard ramp up in the road and went at it. I was torn: Do I let them skate in the road? I let my own son skate in the road but would their parents approve? Do I redirect everyone and move right into the next scheduled activity or let them be? They all looked like they were having fun.
Then the decision was made for me: I watched as one boy went up the ramp and landed on his arm on the asphalt. He winced, but got up and moved it, slowly. I directed the party to the backyard and got him an ice pack.
The boys then organized themselves into two teams and played soccer, and then football. Girls sat on the deck, eating and drinking, watching the boys, and daring each other to jump off - and taking the dare. Some boys floated up to the deck to crank the music and vie for the microphone. After dark, everyone unified over the s'mores and sparklers.
As kids were leaving, they told my son, "This was the best party ever!" Parents told us we were brave. My son commented later that we didn't do the activities and games we had planned. He added, "But that was what made it so fun, that we could do whatever we wanted. I mean, we're not in school". As with any experiment, sometimes there are unknown variables and the results are surprising.
As the first boys arrived, my son was still sawing wood for the fire with an old handsaw. We could've just had a wood cutting party, if only boys were invited. They flocked around; they all wanted a turn. They were hot and sweaty before the first girl even arrived. During the pandemonium of drop-off, while kids were descending upon the yard like a swarm of locusts, bringing cell phones, skateboards and a ramp, and enough food to keep them going on a desolate island for two months, one of the neighborhood boys slipped home. He returned minutes later with a chainsaw. Oh, did the boys' eyes light up like fireflies! Now THIS was a party!
My husband intervened and redirected the boys to other, safer, activities. The chainsaw went back home.
The water balloons were a hit, though short-lived. After that, the girls stood in a clump talking, checking their cell phones, and stealing glances at the boys. My husband played basketball in our driveway with several boys while a few others set the skateboard ramp up in the road and went at it. I was torn: Do I let them skate in the road? I let my own son skate in the road but would their parents approve? Do I redirect everyone and move right into the next scheduled activity or let them be? They all looked like they were having fun.
Then the decision was made for me: I watched as one boy went up the ramp and landed on his arm on the asphalt. He winced, but got up and moved it, slowly. I directed the party to the backyard and got him an ice pack.
The boys then organized themselves into two teams and played soccer, and then football. Girls sat on the deck, eating and drinking, watching the boys, and daring each other to jump off - and taking the dare. Some boys floated up to the deck to crank the music and vie for the microphone. After dark, everyone unified over the s'mores and sparklers.
As kids were leaving, they told my son, "This was the best party ever!" Parents told us we were brave. My son commented later that we didn't do the activities and games we had planned. He added, "But that was what made it so fun, that we could do whatever we wanted. I mean, we're not in school". As with any experiment, sometimes there are unknown variables and the results are surprising.
Comments