Touchy Feely

The theme this week at school is "five senses," so Daddy and Mommy have constructed a box, which Madison will decorate later of course. The top of the box has a hole in it, and the idea is that Madison sticks her hand through the hole and tries to guess what is inside. Already, we've placed a plastic fork in there, and a marshmallow too. It's been a fun exercise, and as you can see, Madison is enjoying a lot. Simple things, eh? Tomorrow, Daddy is working on a "Sounds" bingo game, where we have bingo cards with objects on them - and we'll also have on our computer sound effects playing randomly that match the images on the card. First person to get five in a row is the winner!

When I was younger, on a trip to Wyoming, my parents put us on a memorable "five senses trail" in Grand Teton National Park. We had blindfolds on, and walked a trail by holding on to, and following a string that ran along the side of the path. From time to time, we'd stop and use one of our five senses: do you smell that fragrant flower? Or, can you hear the running water? We might set one of these up for Madison some day - it was fun. It's also educational, of course. In the meantime, our "Touchy Feely Shoebox" is a fun thing to do - and we can also use it for show and tell this Friday!

Speaking of five senses: it's still raining. Tropical Storm Lee has blessed us, and we can smell the rain, hear the rain, feel the rain, and see the rain. Just don't ask us to taste it.

Music classes today had us all playing a classic little tune called "Singing Sounds," by Jan Keyser. It's two notes: do and re. Madison is learning how to use her hands on the keyboard, and also learning to draw specific notes. Today's note to learn to draw is re, affectionately called "Hang On Re," because he's right there dangling off the bottom of the scale.

Homework today has been drawing a bunch of those over and over again, and then drawing the do notes again. Maybe Daddy can follow along with Madison this time around, and actually learn to play the piano! So far, I'm a master at playing "Singing Sounds." I can be a concert pianist! Just imagine the symphony orchestra beside me, ready to accompany the masterpiece. Then the conductor taps his baton, and a hush falls over the expectant orchestra. The strings begin the masterwork, and with passion and vigor, Daddy begins to pound out: "Do, do, do, do, do, do, do..."

Hey, don't laugh. It can happen!

‎"Sometimes the impossible can become possible if you're awesome!" -Rhino