Play to Learn

I complained to a friend the other day that the Bey Blades my son plays with are too violent. I mean, the name alone conjures an image of a dark alley crime scene involving sharp weapons in back pockets. Yet, when she pressed for more details, I realized that they're essentially tops. They're not quite the quaint twirling objects that children have been playing with for centuries, but close. Bey Blades gain impressive speeds when they're released from a rip chord and dropped into an arena, usually two at a time in a fierce competition.

The first few moments begin with a graceful dance, the tops circle one another several times before one appears to grow agitated and knocks the other. The other strikes back. The outcome of their battle may cause one to burst, requiring reassembly, or just to retreat into a corner pocket. Either way, the victor earns a point and the tournament continues.

This morning, I cast my aversion aside to play along with my second grader and saw the toys in a new light: a vocabulary lesson. 

"The tip and spin plate on that one makes it impenetrable," he declared. Counting points, he claimed, "You won that round because I wavered." Later he explained, "The ones with stamina aren't good in attack, but once they're in the arena, they don't want to give it up."

"I'm going to change the pants on mine," he announced.

"That sounds like personification. You're giving your Bey human qualities." He laughed out loud just as I remembered my original reservations. Did the children playing at Homer's feet in 8th century BC pit their clay toys against one another?! Maybe they did. And maybe they learned some robust vocabulary along the way.