Disclosure: As a member of Netflix’s Stream Team, I’m super-duper happy to continue the convo this month about what the kids are learning- and from whom. Although I’m compensated, all thoughts, opinions, and gadget-happy kids are entirely my own.
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Half of parenting is instilling important values in your kids.
(The other half is yelling inane things from either the top or bottom of any given stairwell. “Trucks aren’t for nostrils!” et. al.)
And I’m not going to lie; raising strong, smart, savvy, safe girls in this day and age isn’t a cakewalk. (That said, raising guy children isn’t that simple, either.)
(100% of parenting is really, really hard.)
And even though I may not have been an ace scientist in my day- or any day, in any era- I want my gals to love science. Why? Because, right now, they love science. That may not always be the case, especially if they’re not constantly aware of girls and women and mothers and old ladies who love, appreciate, and experiment in all things scientific.
Recently, seven year-old Nora started watching Project: MC² which, admittedly, I had wondered if it was too old or tween-y/teen-y for her, regardless of its STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) heaviness. But from the opening montage of the girls getting ready for their days with the help of inventions they had created, even I was hooked. And so when Suzy, age 5, wandered in and became engrossed in this show about super spy girls who thwart bad guys with math and science, I let it roll.
The following is an interview…
…Between Nora and Suzy, with gentle guidance from me, their interpreter mother. (Because, goodness gracious.)
S: Nora, what’s the bad guy’s name in that first show I saw?
N: I’m thinking. We can move on from that.
Me: What’s this show about, Nora?
N: Suzy, what do you think the show’s about?
S: Like, I thought all the girls’ names started with MC.
N: That’s not what it’s about.
S: And that they were all squares.
N: No. Here’s what it’s about: It’s about four girls trying to save a prince, because if his rocket launched, the owner of a company was going to download something bad to everyone’s phones from Facebook or something, whether they’re friends or not.
S: What does MC² mean?
N: I don’t really know.
N: Let’s move on from that, too. The four girls are really good at making gadgets, and that’s how they saved the prince. They were so good at making gadgets that they helped launch the rocket.
S: Oh.
Me: Do you have a favorite character?
N: Who’s your favorite scientist girl, Suzy?
S: The girl wearing the hat. The leader of them.
N: Mine is the girl making the science projects all the time, she’s very, very smart. She tries new things with her experiments. Explosions, sleep potion, steel noodles (?), blueberry noodles, all sorts of stuff.
S: The girl with the hat has the computer. She’s been in the club the longest. She was the first secret agent.
Me: Her Mom is played by Danica McKellar, who was on this other show when I was little-
N: She tries to save people from something bad that’s going to happen.There was this silly part where they thought someone trying to help the prince was a bad person. They tied him up. But then they talked to him. They also have this gadget that tells if people are telling the truth.
S: And he lied once.
N: And then she almost hit him with the spatula. The girl I like.
Me: Who’s this show for, you guys?
S: Someone’s who’s a big kid would like this show.
N: And they have to like science.
S: And be smart.
Me: Like you guys?
Nora and Suzy: Yeah.
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