Squirt was just about the age of one when I brought home her first Sit & Spin. It didn't take her long to get the mechanics of it down and she began to spin for hours on end. Unlike the Sit & Spins of my day, this one played music and I don't think there was a toy in the house that needed batteries more often.
Changing the batteries became quite an ordeal and Gon came up with a grand idea. With all of the energy dispensed with spinning, why didn't the company design the SPIN in such a way where the batteries would be recharged during kid play?
It took every ounce that I had not to let him open up the Sit & Spin and pull a Tim Allen on it. Gon was ready to march down to Radio Shack and get all the components needed to Pimp Squirts Spin with a Battery Recharger.
Today, Squirt still loves her SPIN, so much she is reluctant to share it with her friends when they come over. Although our 5 year old has developed a set of 6-pack abs, the SPIN is starting to show signs of wear and tear. There is a crack down the middle. Plus, Squirt is growing like a weed and her legs are a bit too long and getting in her way of achieving optimal G-Force.
With Christmas around the corner I decided to look online and see if we can find one of those big Playground style SPIN's or Merry-go-rounds. This way all of the girls can play on it at the same time and it won't matter how long their legs grow. This type of SPIN will get years of use by all.
That's when I found this nifty little news article. Seems in a little town called Stinkwater, they have such a Roundabout playground apparatus. Not only is it a lot of fun for the children it is also designed to harness the energy of the kids playing by pumping up water to the town's people. Saving the town lots of money and resources.
That's the last thing Gon needed to read. Now he's talking about building Squirt a SPIN out of car parts, axles and other things. Trying to figure out a resourceful way to power up our own home!
I know what you mean about the batteries. Thanks to us the pink bunny has a yacht, he tugs on his private cruise ship! We were thinking of getting Binker a sit n spin for Christmas. I will look for one not battery powered. Mind if I add your link?
That play pump is ingenious. The whole program is. The people who install it localy and have a job for ten years....the same local guys maintain it. They don't outsource it to Pakistan ;-)
When I was in Nicaragwa I saw a well on a steep hil that I could hardly climb and women carried buckets up the hill on their head. They could use one of those merry go rounds.
I know what you mean about the batteries. Thanks to us the pink bunny has a yacht, he tugs on his private cruise ship! We were thinking of getting Binker a sit n spin for Christmas. I will look for one not battery powered. Mind if I add your link?