Fine Motor Skills

So, today the kids are home from school. It's their first official day of Christmas vacation. I have been encouraging them to spend the day playing Super Mario Brothers 3, an activity I affectionately refer to as "strengthening their fine motor skills". "Strengthening their fine motor skills" is a fantastic activity, because it also serves to "keep them out of my hair".

I left them to it all morning as I cleaned up after breakfast, did some laundry, and dabbled on the computer for a while. When I went up stairs to tell them to come down for lunch, they were already on Level 2 (remember, the level with the dancing cacti and the quicksand?).

Now, I distinctly remember that it took me months to get this far as a kid! I said to them, "How did you get this far already?" To which Sam answered, very quickly and seriously, "talent."

I guess kids nowadays learn on more complicated games, so the vintage games seem easy to them? It's kind of a shame that super graphics are needed now to sell systems and games. As kids, we were perfectly happy to play with the simple, left to right, prehistoric cartoon Mario. The simple games were fun.

I sat cross-legged on Sam's bed for most of the afternoon and played the game with them. It was a very nostalgic feeling. If the kids with me hadn't been my own, I could have imagined that I was seven years old again. playing with my sister, or the neighbours kids, or whoever. \

I think I'll bake cookies this evening. What's Christmas without cookies?