Who Put Socks On The Porcupine?

The girl and I have a daily routine when I pick her up from pre-school. She tells me that she needs to show me everything that she did in school that day. I ask her to leave everything in her back pack until we get home. Once safely buckled into her car seat, she unpacks her back pack and hands me everything that is inside while I attempt to navigate the pick-up lanes, school speed zones, and general traffic, all under the watchful eye of Officer Friendly as he patrols the streets of our fair town.

Yesterday, I was treated to Mr. Snowman, the girl’s recent winter creation.

She handed me the accordion-legged Mr. Valentine while explaining that “his arm is broken” and telling me that “you need to fix him.”

The fact that she can hold a pencil and create that face is no small miracle. Captain Chaos’ teachers and therapists work very hard with her.

Then she handed me this...

A porcupine in socks?

Let’s see…

It’s winter, so they made a snow man. It’s February, so they made a Valentine’s Day decoration. But, a porcupine in socks? I thought it might be a ground hog, but ground hogs generally don’t wear spaghetti in their hair. I momentarily thought “Chinchilla,” but a quick Google search nixed that idea. So, I’m puzzled. Why did Captain Chaos' class make porcupines in February? Why did they put them in socks?

The girl isn’t telling.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Everyone Needs a Jeannie

Do you know that guy? You’ve seen him in commercials. That guy is the guy who cuts down a tree, mills the wood, processes it into pulp and turns it into paper in order to create a hand-written dinner invitation for his girlfriend. Yeah, I’m not that guy. One of the sacrifices that the Boss makes when she goes to work and I teach our children is that the children receive a very good industrial strength education. I do not spend a lot of time on art projects and stuff because it really is not my strong suit. Our classroom is not decorated in primary colors with fancy pictures to entertain young children.  My children are smart and funny and friendly but not well instructed in crayons, glue, and scissors. Now, if drywall were an art class…

Enter Jeannie.

Jeannie is the lovely young lady pictured next to the rather grizzled looking old guy. She’s one half of the team of Jim & Jeannie, two people who have actively guided me on my walk to Christianity during the last decade. They have been a blessing in my life. Jeannie is a very creative person, and does excellent arts & crafts. She came upon the idea to create pre-packaged art kits for children. I jumped at her offer to send craft packages our way. I’ll take any help that I can get to bring more arts and crafts into my classroom. Her box arrived shortly before Halloween.

Jeannie is fantastic!

The box contained written instructions, samples, and all the supplies needed to create wonderful Christmas crafts. She thought of everything, from patterns to cut out felt stockings and mittens to sewing needles for threading string to hang an ornament. She sent craft paint and brushes and a container of artificial snow to create wonderful winter settings. Jeannie’s box contained everything a homeschooling father like me needs to spend a week’s worth of afternoons creating art with his children.

The boys loved it!

Thanks, Jeannie!