Evidently Keegan pays attention to his sisters' geography discussions.  While driving around town the children were inquiring about the plants beside the road or on medians.  I explained that many were just prairie weeds growing wild, but that others--especially within city limits--are planted and tended by hired workers.  We talked a bit more about the purposes of these grassy islands between lanes of traffic.  Keegan perked up at my makeshift term, "islands in the road."  Pointing at the center median he asked, "Is that Road Island?"   Befrore I could answer he was shaking his head and declared, "Road Island is small." 

In other news, I will be working with Keianna on her memory work.  Specifically on John 3:16.  Her unfortunate rendering is, "For God so loved the world  that he gave his only forgotten Son..."  That just won't do. 

Kendra explained it all at lunch today, "If you have a migraine,  you have to kill it as soon as it hatches, or it will lay eggs, and the eggs hatch and grow up...."

I asked if migraines are like chickens. 

"No, more like spiders."

The children are drawing with colored pencils at the table.  Keianna asks, "Daddy do you know how to sharpen pencils?"  (Perhaps only Mommy has this talent?)  Ken replies that he can, and willingly sharpens it for her. 

A few minutes later, Keianna looks up from coloring to announce, "I'm proud that Daddy can sharpen pencils!"

Keegan:

Keegan did a "no no" and was corrected.  (For doing something I had just told him not to do.  Third time this week he's had short term memory that way.)

Anyway, I said, "Keegan you must obey mommy."

Keegan, with a wide eyed, innocent look and a voice filled with awe at this new revelation, "I didn't know that."

Kendra:

Then, I asked my sweet Kendra to help me remember the window measurements when we went curtain shopping, reminding her, "I need your young brain to help me." 

I love her reply, "Yes.  Mommy, your brain is so busy!"

I'm not forgetful, my brain is just busy.

On the way to church, I glance back at Keegan, who is singing merrily in his booster, and chatting stream of consciousness to himself about everything and anything. Suddenly, I do a double take: His hands are covered in blood!

"Keegan, what happened to your hands?"

He looks at his hands, as if noticing them for the first time and shrugs in a kind of nonchalant fascination, "I don’t know."   

A pause while he ponders his fingers-- then his face lights up!  He's figured out a logical explanation for it all, and says,  "I think they are raspberry."

Ah, boys! They come in all flavors! 

I handed five year old Kendra a book; Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei, and sent her off to read.  Soon she was back to give her oral narration.   To my surprise she said, "Galileo learned that the earth wasn't the center of the universe when he went outside to play his trumpet."

Trumpet? 

Galileo played trumpet? I listened to the rest of her sweet and precise narration, then admitted that the trumpet part confused me a bit. Offering to show me the trumpet paragraph, she bounded off to get the book. 

Soon she was back, having found the intriguing trumpet reference.  The book stated that Galileo went outside, pointed his instrument up to the sky, and made his discovery.   When I asked how she knew it was a trumpet, she was confident, "Well, you don't lift a piano up to the sky.  Violins you pick up, but you point them more to the side.  Flutes too.  It HAD to be a trumpet."   Yes, obviously it would be a trumpet!  Good deductive reasoning and process of elimination make trumpet a logical assumption! 

So, we talked about non-musical instruments, such as our microscope.  

It demonstrates a good reason to do narrations or discussion even when the child is a good independent reader.  Sometimes they get interesting notions about things.

Overheard from three year old Keianna yesterday, "Daddy's going to Kaira's practor, but he's really ALL of our practor."

Three cheers for Kaira's Practor (the chiropractor).    

Today I asked Kendra to explain the the difference between even and odd numbers.  It took me awhile to unravel her answer:

Me, "Kendra, Do you know the difference between even and odd numbers?"

Kendra (slowly, with a thoughtful look),  "Well, girl numbers are odd, but boy numbers are even."

Many men would agree with her assessment that girls are odd, but I was a bit confounded by the whole gender/number thing and ask for more clarification; "So...Is 5 a boy number or girl number?"

Kendra replies, laughing (as though it should be SO obvious), "5 is a GIRL number!"

My follow-up, "Ok, so 5 is female; is it odd or even?"

Kendra (answering sweetly and patiently, but the amusement in her eyes reveales she feels this has already been explained sufficiently), "Odd. Girl numbers are all odd right now."

Me, "Hmm... Ok, Is 10 male or female, odd or even?"

Kendra, "10 isn't a girl or boy yet. But it is even because 0 and 2 are even and it goes every other one. It goes; zero, then two, and then skip three to four, and skip five to six, then skip to eight then ten, so it is even.  It will be a girl number, then a boy number, and when it is a girl number the boy numbers will be odd."

Frighteningly, I'm beginning to understand her, so I ask one more question to cinch it, "Is 7 a girl number or a boy number?"

With an excited bounce and a melody in her voice, "It is still October, so it is a girl number still..but not for long!"

So, can you figure out the Kendra logic? What makes the numbers male and female?

No, she's not having tantrums; She's trying on summer clothes!

Clothes that fit go in one pile, too small in another, and too large in yet another.  After trying several outfits in succession and finding them all satisfactory, she cheerily announced, "I'm having lots of fits!"

Keianna (age 3) was evidently quite impressed with yesterday’s expedition. As she began recounting her experience this morning, I scrambled over to my keyboard to capture her bubbling monologue.

"Yesterday we got haircuts. We went to the haircut place and all got hair cuts. Not Keegan, and not Kieran: Girls got haircuts. Girls and Daddy-boy. Daddy is a big boy, not a girl. Mommy is a girl, she got her hair cut. Little boys didn’t get haircuts, just Daddy because he is soooooo big. Mommy cuts Keegan’s hair.

Kieran cuts his own hair maybe? Nooooo. Mommy doesn’t let him have scissors, he would cut his ear off. I don’t cut my hair, or my ears or any noses. Scissors are no-no except for paper. Keegan thinks Mommy is going to cut his ears off sometimes when she cuts hair. He is naughty boy and does not sit still for mommy to cut.

I did not cry for my haircut. Daddy didn’t cry either. Kaira didn’t cry and Kendra didn’t cry. Mommy did you cry for your haircut? I did not see you.

 

Kaira got her hair cut longer yesterday, and it is longer now.

After we went in the van from the haircut place Daddy went in a pizza store and got pizza for hungry girls. I ate pizza. Rrroar! I am a hungry KeiannaSaurus!"

Grandma stopped in today, and the children wanted to regale her with piano performances.  Each of the girls played a piece or two, then bowed dramatically. 

Keegan--age two--hasn't formally started lessons, but was determined to be included.  He too climbed up on the bench and improvised a piece or two.  At the end we asked whether he as going to bow, but he was already preoccupied with some new adventure, and isn't one to stand on ceremony.   

Kaira observed, "Keegan reminds me of Mordecai." 

My tired brain didn't understand at first.  Finally it dawned on me--Mordecai refused to bow! (To Haman's aggitation.)

The girl knows her Bible.

Keianna just turned three–an intriguing age. We never know what she will say next.

Yesterday at dinner she told me, "We are going to get another mommy. We will have two mommies." Surprised at this news, I asked why she thought this. Her answer, "Daddy said so. Daddy says we will get another mommy and have two." (Ken (aka Daddy) denies any plans for polygamy.)

Today she had more marital news. At a lull in the lunch conversation she suddenly gave a very important, "Well...." Followed by an an attention getting pause. Then she continued, "My husband is in Colorado." Not knowing of her marital status, we asked the husband’s name. She wouldn’t divulge this information, but told us that he is six years old.

If any Coloradans with six year old boys have further information on this alleged elopement, Keianna’s daddy and I would be quite interested.

This evening as I took a kleenex to Keegan's runny nose, I gave him a play-by-play commentary,  "I need to wipe off your nose.  There!  All done!" 

Keianna overheard from the next room and peeked around the corner concerned, "Mommy?  Is Keegan's nose gone?" 

It took me a minute to understand--I DID say I was going to wipe OFF his nose! 

This morning at breakfast Keianna (almost 3) announced that she wants a real lion. Her daddy and I tried to explain that this could be dangerous:

Ken: "What if the lion eats Mommy?"

Keianna (very matter of factly): "We have to buy a new mommy."

Me:"What if the lion eats Kendra?"

Keianna: "Then we have to buy a new Kendra"

Me: "And if the lion ate Daddy?"

Keianna: "We have to buy a new Daddy."

Ken: "What if the lion eats Keianna; Do we buy a new ‘Anna?"

Keianna (laughing and tossing her head) declared, "Nooooooo! God only made ONE ‘Anna!"

Ken: "What if the lion ate Keegan?"

Keianna, shrugging: "We have to buy a new Keegan."