Granddaughter's Effort

 My writer's group, Franklin Senior Scribblers, is on the radio.  So, when I learned that my granddaughter only had a half-day of school, on my recording day, I invited her to the radio studio.  I said I'd show her and her friend around a TV and radio studio.  She can watch and listen to the Scribblers record.  Also, she can read a story, too.  

Surprisingly, she jumped at the chance.  Here is what she will record.  She is ten years old.

    Dutch the cat

Has so so so so much Fun!

Hi, my name is Dutch and I am a small orange cat who lives

in New York City with my owner Isabelle and she is the

nicest person ever. She gives me all the treats I want

so she is the world's best owner.

Ok today is my birthday and guess what Isabelle brought

  me – to try to think………………

 Now i am going to tell you. She gave me a ride on the subway

and there were these people dancing all around me and it

was so so so very much fun.  When we got off the train

she took me to a pet store full of treats and let me get

some to eat.  It was by far the best time of my life.

The next day is Isabelle's birthday, so I am going to

pull her to the park and I will go and play with her.  She

will have so much fun – I mean so so so so much fun   

   

Ok! Today is Isabelle's birthday  and now we are going on

and walking (5 min later still on the walk).  I am pulling

her to the park now. We came to the park and played.

and we had so so so much fun.  Happy Birthday! 

  

Irreverent, funny, or just Stupid?

My four-year-old granddaughter gave me a "Dancing with Jesus" figurine.  See it bends in the middle; there's a spring separating the top from the bottom.

I was appalled!  But she is only four years old and didn't buy it to mock Jesus or trivialize Him in any way.  She bought her grandmother a figurine of her hero.  In fact, she asked me a question when I opened it that led me to think that her parents tried to discourage her from purchasing it and presenting it to me as a gift.  She said, "You like Him, right?"

So she must have insisted on getting "Dancing with Jesus" because Grandma loves Him.

The figurine is irreverent and stupid, but the thought behind purchasing it as a present is a beautiful gift.  

A New Moral

Yesterday morning, as I was driving my granddaughter to school, we listened to Aesop's Fables.  We arrived just as the narrator was reading the fable of Androcles and the Lion.  I parked the car but didn't get out of the car because I wanted to hear how the fable ended.

My granddaughter said, "C'mon Grandma, let's go?" 

"Don't you want to hear how it ends?"

"I know how it ends."

"Does the lion kill Androcles?"

"Yes."

"Well, what's the moral?"

"The moral is that sometimes you have to do what you have to do."

"Oh."

After kissing my granddaughter goodbye, I went to the car and listened to the end of the fable.  Because Androcles once helped the lion by taking a torn out of his paw, the lion recognized Androcles in Circus Maximus and didn't kill him.  In fact, he kissed him and purred!  The crowd was amazed, and the emperor freed both the lion and Androcles in recognition of Androcles kindness and friendship.

You have to do what you have to do.  Where did she get that from?

After School Experiment

eggs covered in water

Starting to fizz

My granddaughter and I were experimenting after school today.  The directions said to cover these Peep Easter eggs in water.  So I searched through the house looking for the biggest bottle or jar I could find.  I even considered a large pail.  But when I opened the package, I saw that the eggs were already in their own containers.

Next we wait for the bubbles to stop.  Change the water and watch the eggs hatch and grow.  Stay tuned.

BTW, in the sink you can see the we washed rocks.  That's our next project.  Stay tuned for that, too.

Tone

Tone of voice is important.  The problem is that one doesn't realize one has a tone until after the fact.  For example, I've been told that I have a sharp, hurtful tone.  I don't really mean it and am surprised at people's reaction.  It's something I'll always be working on.

Today, when it was time for my granddaughter's nap, she was goofing around. In exasperation I said, "That's too bad.  Now go lie down."  I saw a surprised look on her face (not happy, more shocked), and she started to cry.  But since she was heading towards the bed, I didn't say anything.  I watched her go lie down.  She softly cried herself to sleep.

Crying because I said, "Too bad; now go lie down?"  It had to be my tone.

In the afternoon, the table was turned.  Granddaughter was at the table doing a craft, with paper, scissors, and glue.  I was getting something out of the refrigerator and saw some chocolate candy in there.  I took one to give to her.  She said, "ExCuse me.  I'm busy."

Actually, she sounded just like her mother.

Tone of voice must run in families.

Kitty and the Granddaughter

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Once upon a time there was a little granddaughter that had a favorite chair to sit in, whenever she came to visit her grandparents.  She had tried the big recliner that Grandpa always sat in, but that was not comfortable for her.  It was too hard to get up and into, and impossible to get out of.  She also tried the couch that was Grandma's favorite place.  But that wasn't cosy enough, unless Grandma was sitting beside her, reading a story.

So Grandpa bought his little granddaughter her very own chair.  It was perfect for her.  It was pretty.  It fit her size.  It was comfortable,  It rocked if she wanted it to.  And it was nice and soft.  She liked it very much.

In Grandma and Grandpa's house lived a big bad wolf a naughty kitty.  Whenever the Granddaughter was in the same room, or just happened to cross the kitty's path, that naughty kitty would hiss at her.  This frightened the little girl.  Besides, that kitty was always watching the granddaughter with an evil eye.  And that's not nice.

One time when the granddaughter was not visiting her grandparents, the kitty had the nerve to jump up and into the little girl's chair.  She even took a nap in it!

But just then, the granddaughter came to visit.  When she came into the room and saw the kitty asleep in her favorite chair, she screamed.  "Out, Out!  Bad Kitty."  And then the granddaughter HISSED at the kitty!

The kitty was so frightened that she jumped off the chair, and scampered out of the room so fast that she knocked over a plant.

Later on, Grandma found the kitty hiding under her bed.

And the naughty kitty never took a nap in the granddaughter's favorite chair, again.