Check out this beautiful photo:
That's Anita, daughter of Epbot reader Kendra, dressed as a Princess Padawan and staring down Lord Vader like a total Jedi Master. LOVE IT.
And here's one from Jennifer H., who writes, "This is what a snow day looks like with my 4-year-old daughter."
Bwahaha!
And finally, if you've been with Epbot for the long haul then I'm sure you remember "Star Wars Katie," and the book we put together for her. Well, last month I got this tweet from her mom, Carrie:
I know a lot of us can relate to those tough times at school - some of which can leave life-long scars - but I'm so glad Katie has all of your comments with her, cheering her on.
I know she didn't set out to do it, but Katie has been such an inspiration to me these past 4 years. Not only did she show what young girls can achieve when they're not afraid to share their passions, she also proved just how staggeringly kind this community can be when we pull together for one of our own.
All good things, and things I want to remind both myself and everyone else of more often. So thanks, Katie. Sending lots of virtual hugs your way!
The book for Katie still make me happy when I think about it. I cannot imagine how good it must feel to have all those comments directed at her.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it's been four years. I've loved your blog since the beginning. Thank you for being so wonderful. :)
ReplyDeleteFour years, wow.... Now I have a four year old son who likes MLP as much as super heroes and his best friend is a girl who loves Star Wars. I love that he is at a place in his life that is judgement free so far, and I dread the day he comes home upset because something he loves makes him different.
ReplyDeleteIf you are looking for something new to watch on Netflix that has tons of girl power, may I suggest a show called RWBY (pronounced "ruby"). I would call it "American anime". As in, it's styled like anime, but was created here and is in English. It was originally an online series of shorts that have now been gathered into two "series" on Netflix. Each "series" is one long episode. Hubby and I watched the first one yesterday and it's great! I can't wait to watch the 2nd season.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine has a preteen daughter who is the lone geek in her grade. Thankfully, I live in a city that has several Cons and I've been able to provide crash space and other support to allow them to attend several of these with me in the past couple of years (her mother and I are huge geeks ourselves and were into costuming long before her daughter discovered cosplay)- seeing how she gains strength from meeting up with her geek friends has been immensely rewarding. I'm glad Katie can feel supported this way, as every little bit helps.
ReplyDeleteit would be great if a someone could publish this book and make it available for purchase or even at the library for other girls struggling with the same thing.
ReplyDeleteLike the rest of you, I cannot believe it's been four years! I made a contribution to that book discussing the bullying that I endured from grades 1-12. I was different. I've been a geek/nerd my whole life. In school, I was always myself, but apparently nobody liked "me." As I reflect back on that as an adult, I never realized the courage it took for me to simply be me. It was nothing more than my truth.
ReplyDeleteFrom the time I've had a conscious memory (so from about the age of 3 or 4), my heroines were Princess Leia and Romana II (from Doctor Who). I had no heroes; I needed no heroes. Now, I have so many more (fictional) heroines to add - Ace, Sarah Jane Smith, Hermione Granger, Professor McGonagall, Luminara Unduli, Ahsoka Tano, Aayla Secura, Shaak Ti, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Wonder Woman, and yes, even Asajj Ventress (probably my favorite of all).
Stay strong, Katie. Be yourself, and you will never regret it. It will be hard at times, and your peers will often not understand. But, as your approach adulthood, you will. You will thank yourself for it, and in time, others will also express their gratitude towards you for maintaining your integrity despite adversity.
I love the positivity! It's so great to see parents (and other adults) encouraging kids to enjoy their passions. Kids of any gender should get to be Jedi-princess-Stormtrooper-fairy-knight-droid-mermaid-ponies whenever they have the chance! It seems so difficult to emphasize individuality when so much of childhood turns into an exercise about comparison and "fitting in". Kudos to everyone who has found something they love and the people who support it!
ReplyDeleteDo we need to rally around Katie again? I'm up for it! ((HUGS))
ReplyDeleteMy son had a rough year in 4th grade (for all that we have a good school district, there were still a lot of kids who thought it was ok to tease someone because they like science and math). I pulled him out of public schools and started homeschooling. There's a huge amount of information on the internet to really customize your teaching, and a lot of great curricula sets, which can be pretty affordable if you shop used. We go to a co-op for social times, and the kids there tend to be quite geeky (my son did a project for game programming for fairy bottles (from Zelda), and pretty much everyone in the room knew the reference).
ReplyDeleteA great resource for those afraid to homeschool their children because they don't know enough math is www.khanacademy.org . It has videos and practice problems for math through multivariable calculus. Whenever I can't remember how to do something (like the difference between median and mode, which I keep for about a week after I look it up), or my son is blanking out on my way of explaining things, I just do a search for the video there, and that usually works. My son used to stress himself out, and get migraine headaches as a result. It doesn't happen as much now that we're homeschooling. The bonus to it is that I'm learning a lot, too (and remembering some of the trigonometry that I haven't used since high school). It's not always easy, but it's definitely worth it. The key to homeschooling, though, is to get a curriculum (so you don't just flounder and give up), at least to start, and to get into a schedule. It's easy to put things off if you don't specifically set time aside for it, but if the goal is to learn the material, you'll be surprised at how little time it actually takes to homeschool (on a good day, less than 2 hours).
Anyway, kids should be allowed to grow in the best possible environment. It's sad that there are kids who feel the need to tease other kids for their interests.
The kid in the storm trooper mask is my cousin
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