On the side wall where cars pass by, however, there are two small movie posters that show the current movie fare, and as our car passed by today, Kieran called from the back, “Mommy! That place must be a movie theatre! I know it from the signs!” This is a child who has been to one movie in his life, a year ago, and yet he still remembers the posters displayed all over the theatre. He saw two similar posters this morning on an otherwise bland building and managed to conclude that the place is where people go to see movies.

I really need to remember to ask Kieran the next time I’ve lost my keys or have that feeling I’m forgetting something at the grocery store.

And in other developing news, Liam was very excited to have finished two bracelets for a friend in the knitting block of his handwork class. (All children at Waldorf schools learn to knit in first grade. Not only is it fun and relaxing, but it builds fine motor skills for later work with pencils, pens, and paint brushes.) Today, though, he made the mistake of speaking about handwork class to a 2nd grade child. I’m not sure what Liam heard from his older schoolmate, but all I know is he climbed in the car at pickup time today saying, “Mom? Mommy? I am so in trouble in 2nd grade because they have to learn to purl in that class and they say it’s REALLY HARD! And I thought knitting was hard! I think I should stay in 1st grade forever….”

He was, however, a bit more relaxed when I told him that since he knows how to cast on, cast off, and knit, once he learns the purl stitch he’ll be set to tackle any knitting project he dares to pursue. Last I heard of this, he was imagining knitting a functional robot. I guess I should have put some explanation on the phrase “any project you wish to pursue.”

So these former pets have a good life at this zoo-it’s not fancy, but all the animals have lots of space, toys, good food and clean water, and a caring staff. They have animals you might expect in this situation-wolves, dingo-domestic dog hybrids, lemurs, baboons, spider monkeys, and many kinds of smaller, cuddly-looking animals. They also have some giraffes. Now I have no idea who on Earth would think that giraffes just might be the perfect backyard companion, yet there they are. So anyway, there is some good being done here with these animals, and the boys love to come and run around and and watch the animals play.

We spent a happy morning running around and watching the ring-tail lemurs swing around in their trapezes. We watched the wolves running back and forth with a huge ball. Liam and Kieran occasionally were chased by some chickens of various breeds-the place has some free-range domestic chickens, and this time of year their are chicks around. The boys would get too close to the chicks either by accident or by intent when trying to pet the young birds. Then an angry mama chicken would scoot across the grass at the boy, wings flapping, cluck-cluck-clucking, and beak snapping. At one point one of the mother chickens actually managed to touch Liam’s hand. He ran to me unhurt, big blue eyes wide open, and said, “Wow, Mommy, that chicken is really scary when she is protecting her babies. I think that what sounds like ‘Cluck, cluck, cluck,’ to us, really means ‘Don’t mess with my babies, mister!’”

I had to agree with him as angry chickens do look like they mean business. Liam showed me where the chicken had nipped at his hand. “Mommy, I’m lucky she didn’t really peck at me. That would have hurt. Hey! I think I’ve just discovered what the word ‘henpecked’ means!” And off he ran, looking to tell Kieran of his new vocabulary edition. ( This is what we call “Summer Schooling”.)

It turns out that the chickens are not the only domestic birds in residence at this zoo. There are some Guinea fowl, and also about a dozen peacocks and peahens. One of the peacocks is an albino-he really is pretty. Our Indian friends invariably describe these birds as “varmits” and “pests”, and that they certainly can be as they are not shy about running up and grabbing tidbits of food from people, trash cans, or the grass. Ill behavior notwithstanding,though,  these birds certainly are beautiful. Liam found one long tail feather lying on the ground, and he picked it up, admiring the “eyespot” at the end of the feather. He got another vocabulary addition when he asked about how the feather shows all the colors of the rainbow as he waved it back and forth in the sun – I told him the word for that is “iridescent.” I love language and words, and it really is fun to share that passion with my son.

Liam ran back and forth across the grass with his brother, and after a bit he noticed tail feathers lying in various spots on the ground. Together the two boys made a game of running and picking up the feathers, and before long, they had a big bunch of beautiful feathers. Of course they both wanted to take the feathers home. I thought to myself, “What are we going to do with these feathers when we get them home?” After all, the feather are over three feet long, and the boys must have picked up about a dozen of them. But they really wanted to keep their feathers, so I promised they could keep them, and as it was turning hot, and the animals were all beginning to nap, we agreed it was time to go home.

Both boys fell asleep themselves on the drive home, so I had time to think about the issue of what to do with the feathers. Finally I thought of a spool of rainbow ribbon that I have that Liam really loves. He used the ribbon to wrap his teachers’ gifts on the last day of school, and we had some left over. I wondered if he might want to tie the feathers together into a bunch and use them to decorate his room.

When we got home I gathered up the feathers and tied them with the ribbon. When I showed them to Liam he was just so excited that he bumped his head on the stair rail jumping up and down with excitement. After we tended to the little goose egg on his head, the boys and I went upstairs and Liam found the perfect spot to display his feathers:

The picture doesn’t quite do the feathers justice because it does not pick up all the colors of the feathers and the beauty of the eyespots at the ends of the feathers, but you can get the idea. Liam tucked the feathers into the the foot of his bed, and they make a bit of a canopy overhead as he sleeps. He is quite in love with his feathers, and I have a feeling the collection will grow as we revisit the zoo. Kiri has some feathers of his own, and of course he wants his own beribboned bunch, so we have a little more crafting to do after our next trip to the little zoo.

Right now we are in the midst of a fun weekend that is giving me lots to blog about, and so that shall be the subject of my next post – thanks for checking in, everyone!

With Hugs from The Menagerie House!

]]> http://menageriehouse.com/2010/06/26/zoo-trip/feed/ 3 liesl OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA http://menageriehouse.com/2010/05/29/laundry-adventures/ http://menageriehouse.com/2010/05/29/laundry-adventures/#comments Sun, 30 May 2010 01:02:42 +0000 lieslf http://menageriehouse.com/?p=803 ]]> Kieran has reached the age where he wants to help with household chores. Never one to turn down offers of assistance, I let him rinse dishes, take things out of the dishwasher, squirt soap, whatever he can do, really. Kevin does the same, and since he does the bulk of the laundry in our house, Kiri has lots of fun adding soap and vinegar to the washer, pulling the fuzz off the lint screen of the dryer, and pushing the buttons on all the machines. At our Parent-Child class at Waldorf, Kiri has recently been the first in line after snacktime to help wash dishes and empty the compost. As soon as he finishes eating, he rushes off to the apron rack and then asks me or his teacher to help him tie the strings. He just loves to be involved in household work.

He often pretends to be doing household work when he is playing. I’ll hear him mumbling to himself about folding clothes, or reminding himself not to spill the “water” when he is “washing” toy dishes in a sink set up in a tub on the piano bench. It is very sweet to hear his little soprano voice describing how to load a dishwasher-”the gwasses go on the second shelf-see? Shelf one, shelf two! And the pwates go on the bottom-see them standing on their sides? They never do that on the dining table! And now we add the soap-not too much! It rinses out in the water and we need to keep the Earth healthy!”-and so on.

The other afternoon Kieran helped me throw in an unexpected load of towels for the washer. I thought I was watching him closely, but I guess I missed something, or else he came back later to finish the job. Anyway, not too long after we started the machine I heard an awful thumping coming from the washer. Wondering if we would be shopping for a new machine in the near future, I entered the laundry room and opened the lid:

After I rescued Rocket from the water and dried him off, I asked Kieran why he had put the flyer in there in the first place. “Well, Mommy, actually, Rocket transformed himself into a submarine just so he could learn to do the laundry even better than I do!”

If you look closely, you’ll see that Rocket does indeed have his periscope up. At any rate, I just love helpers who take their jobs seriously enough to want to share the joy!

I tried to end the conversation, but Liam got it back to the wind, and kept asking for “just a gentle breeze!” Finally, after much whining and complaining and “Pleeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzz”-ing, he exploded in anger.

Liam: “If you don’t let me fly it I’m going to make a big volcano erupt toys all over the living room floor! And you don’t like messes!”

With a resounding “Hmph!!” he crossed his arms and stood up straight. His eyes dared me to deny him his desires.

He was so cute, and I’m still patting myself on the back for not grinning and running for the camera.

Finally, I reached out and hugged him, and he whispered, “When do I get to be an adult and make all the decisions about how the world should work according to Liam’s Rules?”

I haven’t had the heart to tell him that this is not the way the world works, either.

Growing up is not for the faint of heart.

Me: “Kiri, how old are you now?”

Kiri: “I is two but after my birthday party I will be 6!”

Liam: “No, silly, today is your birthday and you are 3!”

Kiri: “But I want to be 6 and go to kindergarten like Liam!”

Liam: “Kiri, 3 is way fun and you don’t want to miss it. You’ll get to go to nursery school – that’s like Kindergarten but only three days a week and without all the work. Trust me on this!”

Kiri: “Why?”

Liam: “Because I taught you how to write a letter to Santa that got you everything on your list. I know stuff!”

**********

As promised, 3 is treating Kieran quite well, although his party is not until Saturday, and I’m clinging to the notion that he’s still 2 until his party….I’m such a doting Mommy!

Aaaaahhhhhhh…………..the sweet memories of last summer. We drive past that fountain every morning on our way to drop Liam of at kindergarten, and it has long since been turned off and drained. We have had some very cold days, and an unusually long string of them, too.

It did moderate somewhat today when the temperature climbed all the way to 29*. We were coming out of the grocery store when the boys spied some sheets of ice in the parking lot to slide on. Liam asked me, “Mommy? How is it that there is still ice when it’s so warm outside?” You know it’s been cold when 29* feels like a warm spell.

But at least we are prepared for cold like this – I feel sorry for the strawberry and orange growers in the South!

I read somewhere that children start to identify as a particular sex sometime between two and three years of age. That sounds about right to me because during the last couple of weeks I have overheard conversations or been directly quizzed about the differences between boys and girls. To wit:

I was in the bathroom enjoying a rare moment of daytime solitude when suddenly my daydreaming was interrupted by the invasion of a small indignant boy…

Kieran: “Why, Mommy? Why you lock me out of da bathwoom? You my best fwiend in da whole wide world!”

Me: “I didn’t lock you out, kiddo. You opened the door and ran in.”

Kieran: “Oh.”

He stared at me for a moment with a concerned look on his face.

Kiri: “Mommy!”

Me: “Yes?”

Kiri: “You poop?”

I shook my head.

Kiri: “You pee?”

I nodded my head.

Kieran: “Mommy, stand up! People stand up when dey pee!”

I laughed.

Me: “Only boys stand up to pee, Kiri. Girls have to sit down.”

Kiri: “Oh, no, Mommy, this is easy-peasy. You jus’ stand up and point your P@^#% into the potty!”

Me: “Girls don’t have p@^#%es, kiddo. We can’t stand up to pee.”

Kieran’s eyes got big.

Kieran: “Weally, Mommy?”

Me: “Yes, really. It’s true.”

Kieran: “But Casey has a p@^#%. And he be a dog! So you have one, too, Mommy?”

Me: “Well, yes, he does. He’s a boy dog. I’m a girl.”

Kieran (with big eyes, whispering): “Girl dogs no p@^#%es, either?”

Me: “That’s right. Only boy dogs have them.”

Kieran looked quite shocked for a moment, and then turned to leave.

Kieran: “No time to talk now, Mommy. Me got to go. Bye!”

Me: “Where are you going in such a hurry!”

Kieran: “Me have to tell Liam about boys and girls and p@^#%es. He’s in Kindergarten and he NEEDS to know this!”

And as quickly as he arrived, he was gone.

********

We were putting shoes on to go out on a playdate at my friend L’s house. L has three children-E, a 3.5 year old girl, A, a two old boy, and S, a 14 year old ninth-grader..

Kieran: “Tell me, Mommy, what was da baby’s name?”

Me: “His name is A.”

Kieran (smiling): ” Oh, yes! And da other one?”

Me: “Her name is E!”

Kieran: “Right! She be just like me!….But….no…she be girl…so she no p@^#%, right, Mommy?”

Me: “Right. She has no p@^#%, and she’s two years older than you.”

Kieran: “Oh, no, Mommy, me baby! So me like A?”

Me: “Well, yes, A is a boy and he’s a bit younger than you.”

Kieran: “And da other mommy? Her name?”

Me: “Her name is S, but she’s not a mommy. She’s a really big kid.”

Kieran stared at the wall for a minute, trying to reconcile everything he’d just heard,

Kieran: “No way! She too big for kid. She be another mommy! Where be her baby?”

Me: “Well, sweetie, she has no baby. She’s a big kid, too young to have a baby.”

Kieran: “You joke me? You not funny!”

He resumed staring at the wall, blinking in concentration.

Liam: “Mommy, I think Kieran is just confused.”

Kieran whipped around to yell at his big brother, who had unwittingly just taken him over the edge of sanity…

Kieran (crying): “No, Mommy! Me not confused! Me Kieran! Not confused! Me baby, me boy, me Kieran! ME!”

Liam: “It’s hard to be two, isn’t it, Kieran?

I remember this stage from when Liam went through it. It’s better this time because not only do I have have living proof that Kiri will eventually figure these big questions out for himself, but Kiri has an amazing big brother right there beside him to help.

Anyway, in the meantime, a conversation from the ride to school this morning:

Liam: “Hey, Mom and Kiri, I have a really fun pretend idea!”

Me: “What’s a ‘pretend idea’?”

Liam: “Oh, you know, like when you imagine something you could do if you could do anything you imagine? There’s a word for it…ffffaaa…ffffaaa..”

Me (after repeating that first sentence several times for my own interpretative benefit): “Hm, you mean ‘fantasy’?”

Liam: “Yes, that’s the word! I have a really fun and cool pretend fantasy idea! Do you want to hear it?”

Kieran: “Fantsy, fantsy, pantsy, fantsy-pantsy….”

Liam: “Mommy? Do you want to hear it? Kieran, stop it!!”

Kieran: :”Fantsy-pantsy, underpants…..under..fantsy…”

Liam:”Mommy? Make him stop! He’s totally ruining my pretend fantasy idea!”

Me: “Kieran, please stop talk…”

Kieran (with great 2-year-old pride): “Fantsy-pantsy underpantsy, fantsy-pantsy underpantsy!”

Liam: “Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”

Me: “Boys! Freeze! One at a time-Liam, what’s your idea?”

Liam: “What if everything you touched except what you want to keep turned into chocolate?”

Me: “Ooohhh, sounds good, could I turn my steering wheel into chocolate?”

Liam : “Yes, but only after you drop me off at school. I want to play with my friends this morning.”

Kieran: “No!”

Liam: “No, what?”

Kieran: “No chocolate! Only lollipops! Me say lollipops!

Liam: “No! Chocolate only! No lollipops. It’s my pretend fantasy idea and I say chocolate!”

Kieran: “Waahhhh! Mommy! Liam say no lollipops in his fantsy-underpantsy!”

Me: “Well, how about you both have your own ideas?”

Liam: “Well, whatever, Mommy. I just want to turn most of the world into chocolate.”

Me: “I think that sounds delicious, sweetie.”

Kieran: “Turn the whole Earth…lollipops!

Liam: “Well, guys, the Earth is pretty big….how about we turn part of it into chocolate, part of it into lollipops, and the rest can be a nice place for all the people and animals to live together and eat treats?”

Kiri: “Mmmmmmm, treats!”

Me: “Mmmmmm, treats!”

Liam: “Mmmmmmm, treats!”

If only real-world conflicts could be solved so easily!

…but it’s still a pretty nasty bug. I came down with it first, last weekend, and then Liam got it, and then Kiri. Thank goodness Kevin has managed to evade its evil clutches. We were down and out for most of this week – Liam missed four days of school, and Kevin stayed home from work for two days in order to take care of the rest of us. (Thank you, thank you, Dear Husband of Mine!). Several times Liam told me “Mommy? I wish I was a magician because if I was a magician I could turn myself into someone else and then I wouldn’t have this sore throat anymore!” The saving grace in all of this was that Gran-Gran was in town and was able to entertain sick children when the going got truly tough. Thank you, Gran-Gran!

Finally, this morning, Liam managed to make it back to school, Kieran and I made it to our parent-child class at Liam’s school, and Kevin returned to the salt mines of the pharmaceutical industry. After a long week of fevers, aching throats, coughing, and tummy troubles, I am happy to proclaim, “Thank Goodness it’s Friday!”

After two years of tears caused by being too small to go on many of the rides at the beach with his big brother, look who had a growth spurt just in time for some last-minute fun! When the three guys arrived back home, Kieran burst into giggles and said proudly, “Mommy??!! Me big enough to ride motorcycle like big boy!”

I bet this is the highlight of your summer, sweet boy.