Crushing Egg Shells

I've been thinking about Julie from Are We Having Fun Yet? who recently asked about activities for little boys with allot of energy....first Julie, I don't know any other kind of little boy :) second I think I've got something he'll LOVE: A Mortar and Pestle!

Little people (boys and girls) between the ages of birth and 18 years, enjoy exercising something the experts refer to as "cause and effect". With my own Spirited little boy (Middle Man) I have always called it, "What will happen if?" "What will happen if...I sit in this mud puddle?" "What will happen if I feed the dog my casserole?" "What will happen if I touch this wet cement?"
You get the idea...
Anyway, most children enjoy finding their own answer to that question, the reaction to their action. And, it has been my experience, that spirited little boys enjoy MAKING something using ACTION (notice I did not say FORCE)...
Enter: The Mortar and Pestle
It's wooden, makes a great grinding sound (or banging sound) and with action, something new can be made from something familiar. Dry (pre-rinsed) egg shells become a fine sand like powder (to be used in art projects)...Cheerios become Cheerio powder (yummy when added to yogurt) peanuts become small peanut pieces (perfect for ice cream sundae toppings)...making a graham cracker crust? He's your man! Set him up with a box of graham crackers and look out.
My Little One tired of this quickly (he's not yet two) BUT when his big brother (9 yr. old Middle Man) got home from school, he went right to it, like a moth to a flame. "What's THIS?" He asked excitedly. "Can I try?" and there he sat, making big things smaller using action, for a good 25 -35 minutes.
Then later on when it was bed time, just after I turned out his light he said, "In the morning could I try making some more stuff with the mortar and pistol?" I quickly corrected him, "You mean 'pestal'?" "Oh, yeah, P E S T A L." he said with a smile on his face.
"Yes." I said and kissed him goodnight.
~~Have fun everyone.
PEACE
~~MM