At school this year they have an Invention Convention which serves a bit like a science fair but gives the kids lots more creative choices. All three of my kidlets had to invent something useful. I was hoping for a parrot silencer but none of them took on my persistent suggestion for their topic.
GooseyGirl invented a teddy bear alarm clock. She sliced the backside of this bear and inserted a pocket with room for an alarm clock. She decided this way you couldn't possibly sleep through an alarm because you are snuggling with the clock! RocketMan invented a rotating picture frame. The center photo spins really fast. He told me that regular picture frames are boring so he wanted an exciting one. The cat finds it especially interesting. He decided that it didn't quite turn out the way he expected but he was still proud of it. BirdMan made a very simple but effective invention. He created an armband that you can use to carry your pencils while in school. He put velcro on the pencils and they stick to the arm band so you don't have so much to carry between classes. Clever, eh? Oh, and I tried to take a photo of Oskar with my iPhone camera. I've discovered my cat won't let me take a picture of him with my phone because he has to sniff it every time I hold it out. He wants to be absolutely positive it isn't a kitty treat.