I couldn't think of a Theme for this post, so be prepared for stream-of-consciousness. I will number the streams for our convenience:
1. On the subject of Theme (or the lack thereof), Harper is writing a story to enter in a contest and I'm having to back away slowly because she refuses to incorporate The Elements of a Good Story. I've tried reading good stories and pointing out Character, Plot, and Conflict. She will smile and say yes, I have always enjoyed Caps For Sale, "Okay, here's my story: Stingray, Fish, and Octopus are going ("wouldn't you rather write 'swimming?'" I ask her. "It's more interesting." She declines and says 'going' IS interesting, Mommy. And now I know how Hemingway's mother felt.) to school. They are going to do math. Then it is time to play. (I suggest now might be a good time for the Conflict. She thinks for a minute) They meet a new friend named Crab. Crab is funny. He puts sand in his mouth and then spits it out!!" And it goes on like that. That quiet yet annoying noise you hear is me gritting my teeth. Her illustrations are pretty adorable though:
2. Hudson has just decided he also wants to enter a story in the contest. It is going to be about a turtle and a stingray who kill a bear. I have a feeling Mater will somehow factor into the plot as well. Someone alert the Newberry Award committee.
3. Helena learned to pump herself on the swing this week! She learned the same way Hudson did--sheer parental neglect. I promised her I'd be right back out to push her, and I got caught up in loading the dishwasher or something else equally industrious I'm sure (because I would never be doing something useless or self-indulgent while my child wanted to swing) and lo, I looked out the window and she was swinging pretty high. I went out and asked the other two if they had given her a push. (Harper's answer was "NO" and the subtext was "as IF") Then I had her jump back on and show me how she'd gotten started. I made a really big deal out of her doing it by herself because I love helping my children discover their independence. My motives are super selfless and have nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I might get a few minutes of quiet while all the independence is happening.
4. I think Helena is going to be right handed. Which makes her odd in my family--both Harper and Hudson are lefties, as are 3 of my 4 nieces who can write.
5. Last Friday at school, our science experiment involved dropping some Mentos into a 2-liter Diet Coke. The geyser that spouted forth prompted Harper to announce, "That must have carbon dioxide just like my Daddy's BEER!" Because Every Guinness is a Learning Opportunity might as well be our family motto.
6. I'm finishing up The Hunger Games trilogy. I have liked them fine. I do find all the fascination with a post-apocalyptic world interesting. Does it make people feel better about the current state of things to imagine that it could be much, much worse--"Well, you know the Democrats/Republicans might be awful, and the economy is tanking, but AT LEAST we aren't battling flesh-eating zombies or mutant vampires, and at least we can still live on the surface of the Earth and not 10 miles below it." Hm.
7. Well, I have promised Hudson I'll help him with The Sea Turtle Conquers the Mighty Bear (and Also Mater Helps), so that will be all for today.
4 comments:
Perhaps I'll have Abby enter "The Princess and the Cat." I confess, I've never truly listened to it to know if there's a good plot, though I suspect there was some conflict with all the animated voices. I did hear some strong words like "heartfelt" and "original" though.
I'll send you the link. They get a certificate just for entering, though Harper is CONVINCED she is going to win an ipad. Which she will have no idea how to use because she has never actually seen one before.
Thanks! It's a Dickensian length. I hope she gets credit for verbosity. The saga's gone on for weeks now. I usually fall asleep as she pets me and tells me the tale. Mind you, I'm supposed to be tucking her in. She'll do anything to procrastinate bed time and she has the softest little fingers that make me soooo lazy.
I had to laugh. Elizabeth wants to write a book, too, but won't act on "suggestions" I make about it. It is, no surprise, about fairies, princesses, and a little girl who wants to fly. I think I find a story about a stingray a mite more interesting. Super-impressed about Helena's swinging. I kinda forced E into it at 4, and Sarah's just now getting it. Wish I'd perhaps pushed the independence thing a bit more...
And Hunger Games - worth reading? They so seem like something I wouldn't like, but then might. Read a review of a new book called Abundance, in which the authors say that doomsayers about our imploding world are wrong, and back it up with stats and good news. Let's don't tell the Preppers.
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