Prince

SD (almost 3) has a new therapist working with him. She sometimes, affectionately calls him Prince or Handsome. She told me today that when she called him Prince, SD objected. He said she couldn't call him Prince, but she could call him Handsome!

Ben & Hen

From my SIL about her two oldest:

On Friday night we were doing Ben's (5) Parsha questions. OD said, "It's great that you remember so much about the parsha!" Ben replied, "Yeah- I have a stupid-pendous brain."

On Shabbos morning, Hen (3) asked me "Is it still Shabbos?" (I think she wanted to do something 'very muktza') I told her it was. She said, "But not so Shabbos, right?"

Bedtime

We had a babysitter watch the boys last night while Aba and I went out. I told the boys in advance. ZB (4 1/2) told me to tell the babysitter that his bedtime was 10:00. When I told him I wouldn't and that I don't want him up that late, he told me not to tell her when his bedtime was and he would tell her it was 10:00.

Passing Notes

The PT (age 6) is eating lunch. She puts a spoonful of food in her mouth. Suddenly, she arches her eyebrows and emits a whining tone, but doesn't swallow her food. She runs off to the other room and returns with a note:

I swa
loed a hole
Nootal!

Didn't Come From the Baby Store

SD (2 1/2) was acting silly. Jokingly, I asked him where he came from. His response-"The big brother store!"

PT Imagery: Jraffs

Mrs. B and I went to parent/teacher conferences this week and received mostly wonderful reports about all the kids, pfu pfu pfu. We expected to hear...interesting things about The PT, who, if you've been paying attention to all the franchised blogs, is a bit...different.

And of course, we did. She is her own inimitable self and will bow to the will of the masses only slowly and at her own pace. We are not worried about her and do not plan to assign any DSM-4 criteria to her.

One interesting thing we saw last night was an assignment she did for her first grade writing journal. Now, I have done homework with her and watched her write out sentences, and I assure you that this is a grueling experience. The PT doesn't do anything quickly, and writing four lines can easily be a 30 minute affair. I was quite shocked to see this, though (I'm sorry I don't have the original to scan):

JRAFFS (written backwards, of course)

JRaFFs R tol Bcuz
ther long neks.
JRaffS hav brn spts lic
choklet chps in ice crem

Translation:

Giraffes are tall because (of)
their long necks
Giraffes have brown spots like
chocolate chips in ice cream

Even the teacher was surprised by her use of imagery. I'm just shocked she could keep a train of thought going for so long.

when i grow up...

Today one of my 2nd grade students was helping sweep up after some girls made a mess with playdough during recess. One teacher said to her, "E, you clean up so well. Are you going to become a babysitter when you grow up?" To which E responded,

"No, I wasn't born Spanish."

**My apologies to any Spanish speaking people reading this. Apparently, this student's mother owns an agency which sends out cleaning ladies to people, and apparently, they're all Spanish. Please do not be offended!

Scary Tree

via my sister-in-law: We were walking on Sunday and passed a tree with a gate around its trunk (only in NY!). Hen (3) explained,

"They thought the tree was a monster."

it's about time...

the bandwagon has finally picked me up.

so, so many stories; i shall only write the favorites for now.

STORY 1: my friend Aliza called her siblings to say hi.

Gavriel (8) - Yochevy called you to tell you something so funny but I'm going to say it for her.

Yochevy (6) - No! I want to tell her!

G - Ok, I'll just give you a little hint. Yochevy accidentally called the circus before!

Aliza- What? How?

Y- Well, I was trying to call Moshie but the lady on the phone said, "We're sorry, all circuses are busy!"

STORY 2: My friend's nephew visits.

Yisrael (4) (points at floor) - wemember when i sweeped here?

Me - Oh yeah? You swept here with a broom?

Yisrael - No... with a bed.

STORY 3: My 2nd grade student, who has a language delay and frequently mixes up words, comes over to me:

Y: Morah, my stomach is drizzling!

Me: Um, like the rain?

Y: No... like it's kind of making noises (moves hands in circles to illustrate)

Me: Um... grumbling?

Y: **puzzled look** Uh, yeah that.

Advance Planning

Me (rummaging through Ann's lunchbag after preschool): Why didn't you eat any of the melon I cut up for your snack?

Ann (4): I just didn't want to have a stummyache.

Me: Melon gives you a stomache ache?

Ann: No, but if I ate it all, I would have a stummyache for the cupcake from (boy in class)'s birthday party!