Yesterday evening, I encouraged the children to rush through their evening chores, which were considerable, because Daddy had a lot to tell us about his day. I threw in an offer of hot toddy to sweeten the deal. Even Lincoln, who tends to quietly wear his displeasure on his face during evening clean-up, became visibly excited and did his chores cheerfully.
In record time, the couch cushions were off the floor and back in place, a mountain of clean laundry in the floor was sorted and put away, and the boys’ room was straightened. I threw a grumbling Prairie in bed a little early and made the hot toddies. The older three kids eagerly gathered around the kitchen table with their hot toddies.
Sidney looks angry here, which his funny, because he is rarely, rarely angry. That expression is his deep thinking face, especially when he’s just figured out something.
Sid brings props to the table to help the children visualize his explanations — a whale shark, a seal, a fish, and a rat.
Sid can be a little dramatic.
The whale shark, seal, fish and rat are part of Sid’s drama, but remember, he is not telling the children a story. He is telling them about his day, which was spent at the wastewater convention.
The whale shark eats the rat, but the whale shark isn’t really a whale shark. It actually represents a manifold box that Sid designed and built for the show. The rat represents another manifold box at the show.
The whale shark (our manifold box) speaks in a deep, manly, authoritative voice. Just use your imagination, okay?
I think that turned out to be a nice lesson for the children about business, competition, and building a quality product, don’t you?
Prairie Sings 