About a week ago Calvin asked to run a search on the iPad. He was searching for instructions on how to make the Michigan football stadium out of Legos. This morning, after having looked at some other examples, he made his own. He has plans to add scoreboards and boxes in the near future. I'm liking this concept to research to carry through process.
So Antarctica it is these days.
He spent the better part of the morning in the kitchen with Play-Doh, molding away before proudly presenting me with his three dimensional map of Antarctica. And all I know how to do is roll out snakes. But he asked me to help him make an ice cave and inhabitants, so while he made the cave I attempted a penguin.
I think both turned out nicely.
After molding the various land forms and plant and animal life of that forbidding continent out of the much less cold dough, we went to the library to pick up some more books and videos on the subject. When we walked in the librarians, who are always happy to see Calvin, since we live in a small town and practically at the library, were completely ecstatic. Turns out, the kid won one of the prizes in the summer reading program drawing and they were just thrilled to give it to him. This is the program I'd been reluctant to let him sign up for, and here he's won a gift card to the local pizza shop, and that will mean pizza dinner, no need to cook, on one night of his choosing. Mmmm..I fully admit that sometimes I am wrong.
Yesterday I happened to spot a local events calendar listing a Lego inventor's competition, sponsored by the Ann Arbor library. The projects were built on the inventors' own time, then dropped off for the event to a nearby hotel ballroom, and were on display for the public for a couple of hours in the evening. So we went. There were several tables with projects in all age groups, from preschool to adult, and we spent an enjoyable half hour or so walking from table to table.
Some of our favorites:
Lifecycle of a butterfly
Undersea adventure
apple car 
When we got home it was bedtime, but our own little inventor really really wanted to build. And what's the fun of a flexible schedule if you don't take advantage of it? We couldn't waste all that inspiration on sleep, so we let him build for a while. Then he built all through today, too. In fact, I have a feeling the floor in the front room will be covered in Legos for a while. And that's a beautiful thing.
Magic tree house and magic tornado
Special 4 in 1 boat
See...it was one, now it's four
creating 