HYPOTHESIS: By performing a task where they have to work together, children can be taught the value of cooperation.
PROCEDURE: Like last month's Superhero Adventure, I wanted to set up a task where the kids would have to bridge a gap together. This time, I figured it would be dimensional wormholes... that way I could narratively have monsters come out of the wormholes while giving the kids something they would have to plug up.
Zephyr claimed he was Pokéman, a superhero who used super-powered pokémon cards to fight bad guys, while Lyric wanted to be Rocket Boy. I think Lyric just wanted to stay in his pajamas, honestly, but I thought it was pretty neat how he made a story around them.
Whereas last time I ended up using a shoehorn to extend between the two kids, this time I had the idea of using a rainbow tube from this seldom-used play tent the kids had. This turned out to be a great prop. The kids loved using it.
I wasn't exactly sure how far apart to put the two wormholes, so I put them about 10 feet apart from one another. As it turns out, I WAS WAY OFF.
I tried to correct it by saying we had to go into the other dimension, and in there all sorts of geometry was weird. It was admittedly a weak and expositional section of storytelling, but whatever. I moved the two wormholes closer together so the kids could put the tube between both.
Teamwork!
RESULTS: The kids seem to be getting better at working together when they need to... and I heard a story about them hugging each other as they left school, making other parents and nannies envious that they seemed to be siblings that get along. I'm not sure you can draw a direct link from this to that, but it's all a rich tapestry and all. I think we're seeing some real results here!