Open Mic Night

So- since I have been terrible about writing lately, I figured I would open up the page to other contributions.  And it turns out, Noah wrote a great poem at school last week and Zoe just spent some time putting together a great little book earlier today.

First I will start with Zoe's work (Zoe is 5 and in kindergarten).  I will type her words and translate in parentheses.

Nobrs dod sop. (Numbers don't stop.)

Its fon to kat. (It's fun to count.)

I lik Nobrs. ( I like numbers.)

Doy yoy lik nbrs (Do you like numbers?)

3, 7

Som peBl dod no haw to kad (Some people don't know how to count.)

I like Nobrs 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( I like numbers. 1,2,3,4,5,6)

It's really cute- she even cut the little pages and taped them together in book format.

Now, on to Noah's contribution.  In class last week, his teacher asked them to write a poem about spring. (Noah is 9)

Spring Dream

Drip, Drip Drip

Can you spot the rain's tip?

Will it ever stop?

I sort of want to hop.

I'll be entertained by a bunny

as it hops around and acts funny.

I'll sling-shot myself off the swing

When I hit a cloud, I will cling.

I'll pull myself on the cloud

then I'll yell very loud.

When I came to the ground

you won't believe what I found.

"Hooray!", I cried

"The rain has stopped, everything has dried."

I woke up from my dream

and let out a little scream

I have not found the rain's tip

but still...

drip, drip drip.

A big thank you to Noah, 9 and Zoe, 5 for contributing to my blog and keeping it from falling into complete and utter derelict status.

Different Perspectives

Upon exiting the bus this afternoon, Noah rolled his eyes and said, "Well today was completely wasted! We got NOTHING done! We had a totally useless thirty minute assembly."

What was the assembly about? Why was it useless?

"The Cat in the Hat came to visit. It was so dumb. It was mainly for the little kids and we just had to sit there and watch."

*loud sigh followed by dramatic eye roll*

An hour and a half later, four-year-old Zoe practically jumped off the bus and was shouting with excitement at me as we crossed the street. The bus was too noisy and I couldn't hear her, but as soon as we got in the door, this is what I got:

"Mommy!! Guess what!? GUESS WHAT!!??"

What?

"The Cat in the Hat came to our school today... and we all got to go and wave at him... and his tail was pointy and pointing in my direction... and he waved at ME!! "

Wow! How exciting. You should tell your brother who came to see you at school today.

*Noah enters the room*

"Noah! GUESS WHO CAME TO OUR SCHOOL TODAY!?"

Noah, his interest genuinely peaked, "Who??"

*jumping up and down*

"The Cat in the Hat, THE CAT IN THE HAT!!!"

*massive eye roll*

I interjected, "Noah, tell her how exciting that is."

Now imagine a completely neutral mouth with a half-raised, awkward eyebrow and flat tone to his voice:

"Oh boy. How exciting. Lucky you."

We need to work on his acting skills.

The Preschool Dating Scene

At dinner last night, Zoe casually mentioned, "Eddie likes to jump on me and hang on me when we are outside."

As a response, DJ jokingly told her she needed to stay away from the little boys and was teasing her about it. Suddenly, Zoe began to defend her actions.

"But, Eddie likes the Bear Hunt song and I like the Bear Hunt Song. And Eddie and I both run like this (insert demonstration) during the Bear Hunt Song! And, Eddie likes to play in the kitchen with me. We make ice cream."

I wonder what an online personal ad for a preschooler would look like?

Looking for: single male, 4 or 5 years old. Must love long walks in the pretend forest whilst listening to the "Bear Hunt" song and jumping for hours on the trampoline. Pretend cooking skills a must. Interest in a good debate over the big issues such as bedtime, wardrobe and meal choices , a plus. Dislike of Hello Kitty, Barbie or the Disney Princesses and an inability to reach the bathroom light, use the potty and antagonize siblings need not apply.

Kids Today are So Pretend Lazy (Conversations with Zoe)

ZOE: When we sing Bear Hunt, we run like this (demonstrates) when the bear is chasing us!

ME: Oh wow! You run very quickly! You know, I remember singing that song when I was in preschool.

ZOE: Ohhh... that was a LONG time ago!

Me: Umm, yeah. So... what do you do when you come to the fence?

ZOE: We open the gate (demonstrates again).

ME: Hmmm... because we had to climb the fence....

ZOE : Well, it's easy to open the gate.

ME: I suppose so. What do you do when you get to the water?

ZOE: We go in a boat and use the stick things to make you go (oars).

ME: Wow- we had to swim.

ZOE: That's weird, why??

ME: Because my preschool couldn't afford pretend boats!

ZOE: (completely unmoved by my sarcastic response) Well, why didn't you just pretend the carpet was the boat? Because there are sharks and crocodiles that probably ate you.

ME: Well, I guess I didn't have to worry about the bear anymore if the sharks and crocodiles got me, huh?

ZOE: Well, when I went in the boat, I saw some sharks and they were tiny babies, so I don't think they ate you.

ME: Oh whew! I'm so glad!

ZOE: But the bear ate you because you didn't go through the gate.

Why Do the Rules Keep Changing?

Okay- so about a month ago, I posted THIS about my daughter. We got up early on picture day, curled her hair and then she refused to smile for the photographer.

Thankfully, the company has a policy where if you don't like the picture, you can send them back on picture re-take day and they will try again. Knowing this day was coming, I took Zoe shopping. I told her she was going to take her pictures again and I was going to let her choose whatever outfit she wanted to wear for pictures. She was extremely excited about this and happily picked out a dress and matching tights. She has asked to wear that outfit every day since we brought it home.

This morning, picture re-take day arrived. I pulled her outfit from the closet anticipating her excitement when she learned that today was the day she would get to wear her new outfit to school. We had even already discussed her hair and I agreed NOT to curl it again, but to only put a little bit of curl in the ends. She doesn't like it curly.

And then she stumbled in the kitchen and announced she didn't like her outfit.

The rest of the morning was filled with this:

How can I effectively parent when she keeps changing the stinking rules!!???

(I will be sure and update you when I get these pictures back- it should be interesting!)

**linking up with Wordful Wednesday @ parenting BY dummies.