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“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is in full swing.
The following is another simple, great addition to your holiday wish list…
I hope it finds its way into your home.
You’re about to see what a cutthroat dynamic addition it’s been to ours…
Please remember, if you will, that I live in a house full of men…
Even the pets are male.
Go figure.
Aside from my own mother, God bless her very existence, there is nary another female in sight…
The competition at times is stifling.
There is no such thing as a “friendly” game of anything…
Please don’t misunderstand…
For the most part, Sons #1-#5 are great sports…
But there is only so much you can do with an environment that is constantly dominated by males.
May I draw your attention to an addition to our continuous and constant educational pursuits that is a tremendous asset?…
Behold… “Potty Points”…
It has a nice ring to it, does it not?
I must give full credit for this idea to two individuals…
my friend, Jeanne Bradley, and Bill Gates…
I’ll explain another time about Bill…I promise.
The concept is a fabulous one…
You post a simple white board in a space that is susceptible to “useless down time”…
or “potentially productive time” that is otherwise “wasted.”
I don’t think that I need to elaborate any further for you where ours is located…
On this board, you converse with family and friends…
or in our case, anyone that happens by, in need of a restroom.
I post photos and memorabilia…
topics related to what we are currently studying…
“Love notes” to Sons #1-#5…
(I’m quick to admit that they don’t necessarily see them that way)…
It is great for ongoing conversations…
Educational reinforcement…
Encouragement…
Slipping pop cultural references into our studies…
Poor, poor “Office” obsessed child…I’m praying for you.
( I actually found it quite clever and hysterically funny…don’t tell Son #1.)
In keeping with the spirit of the season…
I decided that we would engage in simple word derivatives/word formulation activities,
so I posted this…
The question was:
How many different words can you make out of Merry Christmas!
For the remainder of this post,
my personal thoughts are italicized for the sake of ease and clarification for the reader…
I’m just reporting this as it happened…
and continues to happen.
I started the game with several words…
Others chimed right in…
“Hmm, this is fun…a nice respite to the often heady nature of this board.”
Day #2: I came in to this message about a third of the way down row #2
“Nice try, Madre…you thief! Please ‘thank God for the effort to be polite here‘ see #15 and delete #38.”
Later that evening, my husband comes to me where I am deeply engrossed in reading.
“May I speak to you?” “Uh oh…what’s Son ( fill in a number here) done?” “Is it bad?” “Are stitches needed?”
“It seems that you have overlooked a rule in the word formation game.” That’s it?!?!
Good grief!
“You can’t use a letter more than once if it’s only in the word(s) once, you know.
I think that word #32 is your writing.
Can you change that asap?”
“Good Lord, you’ve got to be kidding…this was supposed to be a FUN activity!”
Enter Son #5 who doesn’t yet read beyond simple words…
“Can you come to the bathroom with me?”
He points to the board and says, ” I would like to add the word myrrh to the list. And please put an initial behind it for my name. I want people to know I did it.”
“Myrrh?!?” Hmm…am I spelling this correctly? Can it be that Dr. Raymond Moore and Dr.Oliver DeMille are indeed, correct??!?…that if I “leave a child to learn naturally, they are fully capable through a third grade education?!” That if I “inspire don’t require” it all works out in the end?!?!?
Son #2’s initial contribution?: Cher.
He, along with #1, needs serious intervention measures.
This morning at 1:00 a.m. …
It’s “hero hubby” again…
“Do you know who is using double letters that don’t exist in the phrase?!?” Word #s 75,76,and 77 are all infractions.”
“For the love of everything moral and decent! Do you know what TIME IT IS?!?!”
Followed by…
Son #2: “Psst…Mom!” ( urgent whisper)
“Do you think we could move to a holiday phrase or song title next?”
“That’s IT! Where’s the eraser?!…
Happy Hanukkah to those celebrating!..
do Driedle games ever resort to this?!
Postscript: Son #5 has contributed 5 words as of this post…the last of which was “mime.” I’m seriously following up on the reading claim..
I mean it.
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