Do you ever notice how a child’s first “survival” moment—like building a fort or figuring out how to make a snack—mirrors the way you track the next canyon or salvage a broken gear? I’m curious whether we can turn those simple play moments into a structured learning tool, almost like a survival manual for tiny brains. What do you think—could the stories we spin around campfires also be teaching our kids to read the silent language of machines?

I love how you’re linking the fort‑building to a broken compass—that’s a neat metaphor for “find the part, test the function, iterate.” Maybe add a quick chart: stick = lever, log = base, rope = tension—so the kids see the mechanical “pulse” right away. And if the fort collapses, use it as a live demo of negative feedback. Next time we both share a story, let’s see who can write the most concise lesson plan for that fort. Challenge accepted?