The intention
A birthday party for son Louis (8) to celebrate. Met 11 children and two cars to an outdoor playground where each one made a catapult (and use…)
The approach
Reserved a party for Friday afternoon at nature playground Het Woeste Westen (at the Westerpark in Amsterdam). After school the boys (and a girl) picked up from school and crammed into the cars. Then on the way from Oostzaan to Amsterdam West, through the Coentunnel.
The result
A huge traffic jam in front of the Coentunnel. Na 25 minutes one of the males had to pee and then everyone wanted to go outside. Next to me it was reported that there was 8 cars had driven on top of each other and that this could take a while. The children wanted to drink and then they got hungry. That's why I got the cake out of the car. Finally unwrapped the presents. The children went to play to their heart's content between the stationary traffic.
After an hour and a half we were able to continue and we still made the catapults. Closure at the restaurant with the yellow M. When we brought the kids back to school on Monday, All parents indicated that the children thought this might be the best party ever: the first highway party….
The lessons
Children deal with situations like this much more creatively and flexibly than we do. A nice party doesn't always have to cost a lot of money (although the damage in the tunnel was considerable…)
Further:
Making a catapult at the Woeste Westen is definitely recommended!
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