moat without water

On the weekend, I took my children with a few friends to build a castle on the beach.

Children have a natural affinity for the beach and get busy as soon as their feet set foot on the sand. They have a clear division of labor and use molds of various shapes to make the castle exquisite. The little ones also read the book in advance and knew that a moat was needed around the castle to strengthen the castle's defense.

After the children built the castle and dug the moat, they began to take buckets to the sea to collect water and pour it into the moat. The children poured the first bucket of water in, and the water immediately seeped into the sand, leaving no water in the moat. The children went to get the second bucket of water and continued to water the moat...

Watching the children busy, I remembered a saying, "Watering water on the beach is in vain." No matter how diligent the children are, they go back and forth to fetch water, but the sand cannot hold water, and the moat cannot become a river. If you are an adult, you will give up after working in vain for a few times, but the children do not care and continue to build their moat.

I couldn't help but chat with the children. If there are large gaps between the sand, the water will naturally sink, and the moat will definitely not be able to hold water. The children looked up at us, laughed, and said, it doesn't matter if we can't keep the water, fetching and watering it is fun. I was shocked after hearing this. What a simple and powerful point.

Going to the beach is originally meant to play, bask in the sun, and exercise. The children ran around fetching water and watering the bottomless moat, which actually fulfilled our original intention. It's true that adults have an idea of what a castle and a moat should look like, so they unconsciously project it into the game.

After thinking about this, nothing is a problem, just let the children run and laugh on the beach. We do not impose our own goals on our children, it is enough to just live the present moment in a down-to-earth manner. As for the lack of water in the moat and whether the castle is adequately protected, in the game, it doesn't matter...