Xander's Current Favorite Poem

As a part of our 'curriculum' I read a lot of poetry to the boys. This is the poem that has caught Xander's fancy and is his current favorite... I think I read it about 8 times today!

Adventures Of Isabel

Isabel met an enormous bear,

Isabel, Isabel, didn't care;

The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,

The bear's big mouth was cruel and cavernous.

The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,

How do, Isabel, now I'll eat you!

Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry.

Isabel didn't scream or scurry.

She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,

Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.

Once in a night as black as pitch

Isabel met a wicked old witch.

the witch's face was cross and wrinkled,

The witch's gums with teeth were sprinkled.

Ho, ho, Isabel! the old witch crowed,

I'll turn you into an ugly toad!

Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,

Isabel didn't scream or scurry,

She showed no rage and she showed no rancor,

But she turned the witch into milk and drank her.

Isabel met a hideous giant,

Isabel continued self reliant.

The giant was hairy, the giant was horrid,

He had one eye in the middle of his forhead.

Good morning, Isabel, the giant said,

I'll grind your bones to make my bread.

Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,

Isabel didn't scream or scurry.

She nibled the zwieback that she always fed off,

And when it was gone, she cut the giant's head off.

Isabel met a troublesome doctor,

He punched and he poked till he really shocked her.

The doctor's talk was of coughs and chills

And the doctor's satchel bulged with pills.

The doctor said unto Isabel,

Swallow this, it will make you well.

Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,

Isabel didn't scream or scurry.

She took those pills from the pill concocter,

And Isabel calmly cured the doctor.

Ogden Nash

Hmm... well, I guess it is right up there with Jason's first poem, Jabberwocky!

November 6

It has been awhile since I have posted anything -- time keeps getting away from me and what with the daylight savings nonsense, it is even moreso. Now the boys' sleep schedule is all messed up again with Xander going to sleep late and Jason waking up early... sigh.

But all that aside:> We had a good Halloween. On the Sunday before the big day, we went Trick or Treating on the Waterfront. Xander was Buzz Lightyear and Jason was Obi Wan Kenobi. Xander was thrilled to bits. Then on Halloween proper, Xander was Sir Rascus the Monkey, Jason was Obi Wan Kenobi, and Tom was a Knight Errant. I include pictures. I stayed home to hand out candy and to defend the house from small children who were interested in moving in:>

News: Hmm... well, Mom will be coming here for Christmas then we will be going to Arizona in February for the RenFest and a brief vacation. When he heard about the RenFest, Xander asked 'Can I take my sword and poke real knights?' Auwe! That child. It should be interesting. The way I am planning it, we will fly into Phoenix, drive to Apache Junction and spend the night in a hotel. The next morning, bright and early, we will head to the Fair. I have, perhaps foolishly, promised to make the boys outfits to wear for the openning ceremonies. Now I just have to get going on that! Maybe we will do a Knights Unit in the preceeding month, to prepare for the trip...

Other news on the travel front: Tom will be off to Wichita, KS for three days the first week of December and then again for several days the following week. He also expects to be sent back to Singapore in the summer. Sigh. We are almost accustomed to this at this point.

As for the boys, they have one last swim lesson tomorrow then Jason has the junior Olympics on Monday. After that we shall have to find other physical activities to challenge them through the winter months. I believe, but must doublecheck, that the local pool is open until Christmas. If that is the case and if the open swim times are acceptable, maybe I shall take them there to play. Most kids will be in school so the place shouldn't be too wild. Meanwhile, both boys have announced an interest in... of all things!... snow shoes. They saw them at REI, and yes, they are available in child sizes! I pointed out that we really don't get enough snow... but that hasn't fazed them.

And Jason is continuing to improve in his reading and math. I have gotten copies of a popular program called 'Singapore Math' and we shall test that out to see how he likes it. At the moment he is primarily working on memorizing addition/subtraction/multiplication patterns. It will be nice for him to be able to do his sums in his head as well as on paper.

Xander is also learning, of course, rather in his brother's wake. When Jason reads, Xander (mostly) listens -- and even if he is dancing around, he is usually following the story. He can tell you what happened and takes great delight in 'acting out' the stories that he heard -- with his own additions, of course! And when they are in the car, both boys 'reading' books, Xander will turn to Jason and ask 'what is this word'?

Madlibs also continue to be a passion with the boys. Yesterday it was Xander who requested that we do Madlibs. Why? Because he had a new adjective (one of his favorite words) and he very much wanted to use it... I need to go find more Madlibs or, better yet, I need to start creating some!