The Office of Erik Dahl

Inauguration through the eyes of a 2 year old

Kelly has a great post with videos about Cooper’s reaction to the inauguration of our new president Barrack Obama.

head over to Kelly’s bog and check it out.

“I’m thinking in my brain”

I was driving around with Cooper this weekend. We were running a few errands just the two of us and had a few funny conversations.

While we were driving, he said something to me that I didn’t fully understand. So I repeated back to him what I thought he was saying, to which he would reply, “NO!” until I nailed it. I don’t remember exactly what I tried, but here are a few things that give you the flavor of the things I tried: I’m sinking in the rain, I’m linking in the grain, I’m drinking in the drain. None of these really made sense, and Cooper was starting to get a bit frustrated.

As it turns out. He was saying: “I’m thinking in my brain.” Well, of course that’s what he was saying it makes perfect sense now. I tried, but failed to figure out how he had formulated this idea, so I did the next best thing and pursued the dialogue to its logical conclusions. I asked him, “What are you thinking about in your brain?” to which he replied, “trains!”

Here’s how the whole conversation went:

Cooper: I’m ——ing in my —-.

Me: You’re drinking in the rain?

Cooper: No, I’m ——ing in my —-.

Me: You’re stinking in the lane?

Cooper: No!, I’m ——ing in my —-.

Me: You’re blinking in the drain?

Cooper: NO!, I’m ——ing in my —-.

Me: Oh, you’re thinking in your brain.

Cooper: “Yeah. I’m thinking in my brain.”

—–

I try in vain to get him to explain how/where he learned about thinking in his brain.

—–

Me: “What are you thinking about in your brain?”

Cooper: “Trains! What are you thinking about in your brain, Pa?”

—–

We have a discussion about what each of us are thinking about.

—–

Me: “What are you thinking about in your brain now?”

Cooper: “I’m all finished.”

—–

A couple seconds pass in silence…then

—–

Cooper: “I can’t stop thinking in my brain!”

Its a girl!

Its official, or at least 85%-90% official:

It’s a girl!

Cooper is going to be a big brother, and we are going to have to figure out what it means to have a daughter.

…oh, and now the name game begins again in ernest.

Cooper’s First Movie: From His Eyes

We recently discussed getting Cooper one of those digital cameras designed for kids. In the meantime, I decided to give Cooper a flipVideo camera I had lying around. Below is the result of this experiment.

WARNING: some of the images in this video may be disorienting. These images were shot by a two year old. This film is a representation of what its like to experience the world as a two year old.

There is an interesting moment in the movie when Kelly is holding the camera and there is a distinct difference in both aesthetic and perspective.

I hope this is the first of many film collaborations with Cooper.

What do you think?

5 dangerous things you should let your kids do

I know this one is a bit old, but I was reminded of it today by a colleague. Tully Gever gives a great 10 minute talk at TED about the value of kids doing seemingly “dangerous” things. I couldn’t agree more with the points he makes. Kids need to be taught the value of engaging authentically with the world around them. Our children need to understand how things the world works and be empowered to act in that world. Part of that empowerment comes from allowing them (by providing opportunities) to explore “seemingly” dangerous aspects of the world.

He says that kids should be able to (1) play with fire, (2) own a pocket knife, (3) throw a spear, (4) deconstruct appliances, and (5) Break the DMCA.

You’ve got to watch the video for all the details. I promise, you won’t be disappointed. The video is only 10 mins. Give a look, and leave your reactions in the comments.

Gever Tulley, founder of the Tinkering School, talks about our new wave of overprotected kids — and spells out 5 (and really, he’s got 6) dangerous things you should let your kids do. Allowing kids the freedom to explore, he says, will make them stronger and smarter and actually safer.

This talk comes from TED University 2007, a pre-conference program where TEDsters share ideas.