RSS Add-Me
Drama
So Max has gotten completely swept up in the David and Goliath story. Morfar gave him 11 of these Beginner Bible videos for Christmas, but this is the one he likes by far the best. He likes to watch it just about every day. I'm not amazingly impressed by the bug-eyed character (human and animal) animation of the series, but the videos do hit the high points of many of the major Biblical stories in a way that children like. This one starts out with Samuel going out to visit Jesse and his sons to anoint a new king then segues into the danger that a Philistine invasion presents to Saul and his army. David's brothers go off to fight, but David is left at home disappointed at not getting to battle the Philistines. Sooner than later, however, he gets his chance.
What Max really likes about the video is not heroic David, but big BAD Goliath. Goliath comes onscreen and laughs at the Israelites, Ha-Ha-Ha. He stomps around with his cool armor, sword, and spear. He literally thumbs his nose at his enemies and asks, "Are the Israelites nothing but cowards?!?" Max loves it all. He watches carefully, memorizes the dialogue, and has taken to alerting me whenever a particularly snappy piece of dialogue comes along. "Mom," he'll say, "this is how it goes. Listen. This is what you need to say." Then after the video is over, we have to re-enact the critical scenes. I have to pretend to be too small for the armor. I have to say, "Do you hear me, Goliath the giant, I'm ready to fight." And "You fight me with your heavy sword and your sharp spear, but I fight you in the name of God." Then I throw the stone, and Max recoils dramatically and slumps to the floor.
Since we've had this video in the house, Max has drawn oodles of Goliath pictures. Goliaths with spears. Goliaths with huge shields and helmets with mud flaps. Happy Goliaths, grim Goliaths, Goliaths with gritted teeth and lowered eyebrows. Stones flying through the air. Little Davids approaching and fighting. Philistines fleeing.
A couple of weeks ago he got absorbed in St. George and his fight with the dragon. We watched a couple of videos, read the story over and over, and made a few adjustments to the Goliath costume I made so that it could also be a St. George costume - added a little torch for dragon cave searching and got out his tiny stuffed dragon so he could whack it and step on it and stop the EVIL!
In the St. George drama, often I have to pretend to be the dragon. Max stomps around and then jumps on me. Then I have to wrestle with him and say, "I AM THE DRAGON! I TAKE NO PRISONERS! THERE WILL BE NO ESCAPE!" But St. George, of course, prevails and all is righted again. Until he wants to jump on me again. And again. This is potentially dangerous for my back and abdomen, but he loves it.
We haven't had quite as many St. George pictures around the house, but there have been lots of dragons. They tend to look a bit like huge snakes or crocodiles. Here's one of all three players in the basic St. George story. The tough knight, the scaaaaary dragon, and the princess (standing between them in the middle).
Last week Max got into pirates, and we checked out a couple of videos, made a pirate belt with jewels and straps for his sword, his dagger, and his little pistol. I also made an eye patch and a little red headscarf for Max to wear, and we did a craft of drawing treasure maps. Of the three, he's been the least interested in pirates, but he does like the little costume and thinks the belt is very cool, especially with the weapons in it. Here he is all dressed up.
"Aargh!"
Note Rosie in the background. She looks terrified of Cap'n Max, doesn't she?