Because my computer is being a major pain right now, this otherwise fantastic post will have to be abbreviated. Getting right to it...
As you know, I am babysitting myself into some money this summer. The two kids I watch three days a week are really big sweethearts, but could use a little help with their song knowledability repetoires. So, being me, I decided I would try to help solve the problem. We sing anything I can think of: The Farmer in the Dell, Have you ever been down the water spout (high school chorus, ahh memories), Baby Shark (HOBY), Old MacDonald, the ABC song with me doing the sign language.... lots of stuff.
Because one of the boys was bedridden the other day, I really had to pull out all of the stops in terms of variety of songs. This led me to my second grade favorite, The Little Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly. Now these boys, 4 and 3, are pretty good at learning the lyrics if you repeat them often enough, but they usually hang onto the words from the beginning and the end more than anything else. So we were in Sam's Club running errands with their mother and we were siniging to pass the time in the vegetable and frozen food sections. I am pretty sure there are eople blogging tonight about the morbid babysitter they saw today at the store.
Anyway, the story turns funny here as I am quietly singing how the dog chased the cat and she swallowed the cat for the bird, for the fish, for the spider, for the fly... and I don't know why she swallowed that fly... and in their loudest voices I was joined with "Perhaps she'll die!" Cheerfully done in preschool fashion and at intervals of the verses of the song, those were the only words the other customers could hear as we perused the celery and carrots.
I am not ashamed of my actions and the boys were oblivious, but it does make you a little self-concious to hear "perhaps she'll die!" repeatedly. Once again I was there, like that time in kindergarten I was picked last ... the cheese at the end of a whole farm full of people and animals. I was the big cheese (or ham) standing alone in the store with two adorable boys who thought the cart was their rocket ship and spinning in circles was the highlight of the day. It's possible I have never been happier to be the one standing alone. When the reward is smiles, can you ask for more? I'll be the cheese anyday. Love always, ~Heather
P.S. For all my french readers, tous les chansons sont pour les petits enfants. Ils sont adorable et bien sur drole. Pour le plupart ils sont populaires partout dans le pays. Quelque petit chose de culture. Je peut vous envoyer les paroles ou un CD si vous voulez! Vous me manque beaucoup, beaucoup!! Bisous, ~Heather
As you know, I am babysitting myself into some money this summer. The two kids I watch three days a week are really big sweethearts, but could use a little help with their song knowledability repetoires. So, being me, I decided I would try to help solve the problem. We sing anything I can think of: The Farmer in the Dell, Have you ever been down the water spout (high school chorus, ahh memories), Baby Shark (HOBY), Old MacDonald, the ABC song with me doing the sign language.... lots of stuff.
Because one of the boys was bedridden the other day, I really had to pull out all of the stops in terms of variety of songs. This led me to my second grade favorite, The Little Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly. Now these boys, 4 and 3, are pretty good at learning the lyrics if you repeat them often enough, but they usually hang onto the words from the beginning and the end more than anything else. So we were in Sam's Club running errands with their mother and we were siniging to pass the time in the vegetable and frozen food sections. I am pretty sure there are eople blogging tonight about the morbid babysitter they saw today at the store.
Anyway, the story turns funny here as I am quietly singing how the dog chased the cat and she swallowed the cat for the bird, for the fish, for the spider, for the fly... and I don't know why she swallowed that fly... and in their loudest voices I was joined with "Perhaps she'll die!" Cheerfully done in preschool fashion and at intervals of the verses of the song, those were the only words the other customers could hear as we perused the celery and carrots.
I am not ashamed of my actions and the boys were oblivious, but it does make you a little self-concious to hear "perhaps she'll die!" repeatedly. Once again I was there, like that time in kindergarten I was picked last ... the cheese at the end of a whole farm full of people and animals. I was the big cheese (or ham) standing alone in the store with two adorable boys who thought the cart was their rocket ship and spinning in circles was the highlight of the day. It's possible I have never been happier to be the one standing alone. When the reward is smiles, can you ask for more? I'll be the cheese anyday. Love always, ~Heather
P.S. For all my french readers, tous les chansons sont pour les petits enfants. Ils sont adorable et bien sur drole. Pour le plupart ils sont populaires partout dans le pays. Quelque petit chose de culture. Je peut vous envoyer les paroles ou un CD si vous voulez! Vous me manque beaucoup, beaucoup!! Bisous, ~Heather
Comments
Grosses bises,
Alice
(Especially since in the french comment on the bottom I put that these were American, cultural, children's classics!)