Safari Soap Opera

This last week we have had some zoo/safari animals in the block center. The kids did the obvious roaring, fighting, and eating each other for the first couple days but today they took it to a whole new level:

"Giraffe, you are my mom." (said by Hippo...adoptive mom?)

"Yeah, I am your mom, Baby Hippo."

"You are my best friend Zebra, you can come to my birthday party by the water."

These parameters were expressed and accepted by all.....and happy playing ensued, well at least for a few minutes. I'm not sure exactly what happened....

"I don't like you Zebra! We are NOT friends!"

"Baby Hippo, be nice to your friend." (Mama Giraffe scolds)

"You are NOT my mom anymore. You are Zebra's mom."

"I don't want to be your mom or your friend!!" (Mama giraffe exclaims in frustration)

"You guys can't come to my birthday party by the water anymore."

Zebra charges and bites..Hippo's death is finalized after a few moments of ripping and roaring noises.

All they needed was for the Hippo to come back to life as Elephant and live among them for a few years before revealing his true identity, and only because his Cheetah sister (a biological twin) is in desperate need of a kidney transplant and he is the only match. Or maybe the Lion (who we all thought was a male) could announce that he was really a she and that she was the actual mother to this unlikely family. (Of course this is possible because at the time she gave birth to the Hippo and Cheetah twins she was an unfit mother and the state took them away and gave them to her sister, the Giraffe.....but the real twist is that Lion and Giraffe are not related at all!!) Zebra has also recently escaped from maximum security anger rehab...for "killing" Hippo.

Then it would have been the perfect day on "The Days of Our Safari!" (Oh wait...there should probably be some sort of wedding, maybe between Crocodile and Gazelle....an unlikely match to be sure, but now you are hooked!)

You should also know that I had a really hard time trying to decide on a name for this post because the options seemed so endless: "Days of Our Safari," "As The Safari Turns," "One Safari To Live,"...I guess I am quite un-original.

Secrets

This afternoon in preschool this was the snack time conversation:

Little Girl: "You know what?"

Little Boy: "What?"

Little Girl: "When my daddy really has to go to the bathroom he is in there for a really loooong time."

Little Boy: "Yeah, my dad is like that too. When he goes in there he stays there for like fifty-one-hundred hours."

At this point some of the others children chimed in with commentary on their own father's bathroom rituals;

Girl: "When my dad goes in we have to go use the other bathroom, downstairs," her voice full of annoyance at this inconvenience.

Boy: "My dad always takes a book," his voice tinged with confusion

Boy: "My dad is SO slow in the bathroom..." his voice trailed off leaving the unsaid "I don't know why he is so dumb" hanging in the air.

I did consider intervening to change the topic of conversation, I mean they were eating snack for heaven's sake! But it was just too funny to hear them and they didn't seem to care. There is just something about a 4-year-old spilling family "secrets" that makes my day.

Spring....

Today I looked out the preschool window to look at the giant pile of snow that refuses to melt from the back corner of the yard. (This is actually a little bit of a ritual...I look at it and I curse it silently in my head). But as I stared and cursed I saw something new....

A slightly darker green strip of grass! I could not believe my eyes so I quickly scanned the rest of the yard for more and amazingly the entire perimeter of my back yard is surrounded by a green-ish border of grass!!

All this did was make me want more...

My pedicured toes are practically begging to wiggle freely in brightly colored flip-flops

My skin needs to be more freckled by the overwhelmingly hot sun of summer

My eyes look forward to being hidden behind giant sunglasses all day long

My ears long to hear the laughter of kids playing in the street in the afternoon

My taste buds are impatient to eat otter pops and snow cones

I officially need it to be spring....

Better

Just A Few Of The Things My Cousin/Roommate Tera Does Better Than Me:

*Bake Muffins
*Get up on time
*Work on projects while I sit lazily and watch TV
*Make Lasagna (without meat I might add!)
*Be nice to people
*Support me when I have a mini (or not so mini) breakdown over bingo cards
*Floss regularly
*Drink Water
*Make her bed EVERY day!
*Plan an actual meal (like side dishes and stuff) on her nights to cook.
*Help her family and friends
*Be an amazing friend and cousin and roommate to me!!

I love living with Tera because since she is so much better at all these things than me...I can be a slacker!!

Why Be a Preschool Teacher?

On Wednesday night I was talking to one of my preshcool moms about the Valentine's Day party her little girl would be attending the next day (Thursday). We were going over the names of kids in the class and talking about what we would be doing during the party when I heard very loud crying in the backgroud coming from the little girl in my class:

Preschool Mom: "Oh, she is so upset. She really wants to say hi to you. Is that okay?"

Me: "Of course!"

Little Girl: Sobbing....sobbing...sobbing

Me: "Sweetie, what's the matter?"

Little Girl: "I (sob) just (sob) miss (sob) you (sob) so (sob) much (sob)!"

Me: "Oh it's alright! Don't be sad....remember I will see you right after breakfast tomorrow."

Little Girl: "Ok (gulp) Miss Dawn. I love you!"

Me: "I love you too. See you tomorrow."

It was so sad but so very cute and as I tried to fall asleep last night I couldn't help but thinking how glad I am to be a preschool teacher. :)