Friday, April 23, 2010

PG rated spelling practice

Today was such a FUN school day!  Gabe, Quinn and I were huddled up around the door of the fridge, where Gabe's new magnetic dry-erase board is located (gotta love the Target $1 hot spot!!).  This week we are learning the phonograms "ear, ur, and ir."  So we were huddled there doing some spelling practice, using words that contain our new phonogram friends...words like girl, earn, and squirt.  I would say a word, and then we would work together to decode it--with Gabe writing each word on his board.  Quinn was standing next to Gabe, and as Gabe was breaking down the word aloud, Quinn was shouting "A!"  "O!"  "E!" "DO!" (...do means 'two')  Little Quinn was desperate to start spelling too.  I smiled and tucked the moment into my heart.

Then we played a spelling game of hide-and-seek monkey.  It is very similar to normal hide and seek, only the hider is a plastic monkey....and he hides only near objects containing one of our new phonogram friends.  For example, in the first round I had Gabe close his eyes and count, and I hid the monkey near a "shirt."  Then I would give Gabe clues.....like "the monkey is hiding somewhere in the living room."  Or "the monkey is hiding up high, somewhere higher than your head." 

Eventually Gabe wanted to be the one to hide the monkey.  So I closed my eyes and counted.  When I began hunting for the monkey, Gabe was generous in giving me some hints.  "Mom!  It's.....in the room that I am in.....right NOW!"  And he hopped into the kitchen.  I looked everywhere.  No monkey.  I asked if it was inside something.  He thought long and hard...and said yes.  This will be funny later on in the story.  And then he bounced down the hallway.  I asked for more clues!  He said........"it's somwhere where I keep my body healthy." 

I asked him, "Is it in the kitchen?"  Gabe replied..."No."  I said, "But you told me that it was in the kitchen before!"  I'm thinking....."where does he keep his body healthy???"  I said, "Is it in the pantry?"  He said, "No!"  I asked, "The bathroom then??"  Gabe sheepishly replied, "where do I keep my body healthy?"  and a huge grin erupted on his face.  I know that grin anywhere.  That sly grin!  I put my hands on my hips and said, "Gabe.....I am CONFUSED!!"

Then my 4 year old innocently clued me in.  "Mom, it's by my peepee, where I keep my body healthy!"  And sure enough, he pulled down his trousers and there was this sad little yellow monkey hanging out of his underpants.  I burst into rolls of laughter, and said, "That poor monkey will NEVER be the same!" 

And Gabe--with a serious and very concerned face said:  "Why, mom?  Why will he never be the same??"