Today at the park, Alice stuck a stick into a hole on some playground equipment, then put another stick on the end, making a Y-shape. Because I have trouble making conversation with children, I always seize upon these types of discussion topics. So I said, "Alice, what alphabet letter is that?"
She looked at it for a second. "Y."
She looked at it for a second. "Y."
"Yo-yo. Yellow. Yubber."
I hadn't heard of that last one before, so I said, "Yubber? What's a yubber?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Alice replied, "A machine that makes swimming pools."
****
A couple of weeks ago, we were driving back from Pullen Park and I was asking Simon questions to try and keep him awake, so he could take a proper nap at home. We always have to remind Alice not to answer questions directed at Simon. I was asking Simon basic questions like "What animal did you ride on the carousel?" and "What color was the paddle boat?" After several questions, Alice complained, "Mom, why aren't you asking me any questions?"
So I started asking her some questions."How many pedals were in the pedal boat?"
"Four."
"What was the shape of the steering wheel?"
"A circle with a line coming out of it."
"What letter of the alphabet does that look like?"
"Q!"
"How many bridges were there?"
"Two."
"What shape where the bridges?"
"Rainbow shaped."
"What letter in the alphabet has two rainbow shapes?" I was thinking of an m.
"S!"
"Good! Can you name five words that start with s?"
She did, with a little help. (I can remember what the words were.)
"Can you think of any other letters that have two rainbow shapes?"
"G." (lower case)
"Great! Can you name five words that start with g?"
She did, with a little help. (I can remember what the words were.)
"I can still think of one more alphabet letter that has two rainbows..."
She had trouble coming up with the last one, but I said I'd give her a coin for her piggy bank if she could figure it out and finally at home she came up with the m.
Without a moment's hesitation, Alice replied, "A machine that makes swimming pools."
****
A couple of weeks ago, we were driving back from Pullen Park and I was asking Simon questions to try and keep him awake, so he could take a proper nap at home. We always have to remind Alice not to answer questions directed at Simon. I was asking Simon basic questions like "What animal did you ride on the carousel?" and "What color was the paddle boat?" After several questions, Alice complained, "Mom, why aren't you asking me any questions?"
So I started asking her some questions."How many pedals were in the pedal boat?"
"Four."
"What was the shape of the steering wheel?"
"A circle with a line coming out of it."
"What letter of the alphabet does that look like?"
"Q!"
"How many bridges were there?"
"Two."
"What shape where the bridges?"
"Rainbow shaped."
"What letter in the alphabet has two rainbow shapes?" I was thinking of an m.
"S!"
"Good! Can you name five words that start with s?"
She did, with a little help. (I can remember what the words were.)
"Can you think of any other letters that have two rainbow shapes?"
"G." (lower case)
"Great! Can you name five words that start with g?"
She did, with a little help. (I can remember what the words were.)
"I can still think of one more alphabet letter that has two rainbows..."
She had trouble coming up with the last one, but I said I'd give her a coin for her piggy bank if she could figure it out and finally at home she came up with the m.
