My Little Entrepreneur

I love watching episodes of Olivia (you know that cute pig that's always dreaming big things--like staring her own pet wash or becoming the world's greatest scientist...)

Little Lewie doesn't watch this cartoon as much these days, but he's just like her (except he's human and a boy).  My son rarely sleeps beyond 8 hours per night, and every morning, he wakes up with this new found excitement to start the day.  Last week, he claimed his art teacher called him "Artist of the Month" (I'm yet to confirm this), and so he made it his mission to create his very first train book over the weekend, complete with very special train illustrations.  After all, as Artist of the Month, he must be busy showing off his drawing talents.

Before this, he requested that Santa Claus buy me a barn to put in back of the house so that we could begin setting up our model railroad collections.  (We only have one--our Lionel Polar Express), but Lewie would like to have a model railroad train collection just like you see at museums. 
    
Lewie:  "Mommy, you can ask Santa for a barn, and then we can set up our trains, and we can charge everyone $3 to come see them.  Isn't that a good idea Mommy?"

Me:  "Lewie, Santa doesn't get me anything for Christmas anymore.  I'm too big.  I'm an adult.  He only buys for you.  Besides, Santa can only afford to get small gifts for little boys and girls.  He can't give someone a barn.  He'd go broke."

Lewie:  "Well, I saw a commercial Mommy where Santa bought someone a car for Christmas."

Me:  "Well that's not real life Lewie.  That's pretend..."

Probably my favorite moment this month came when we decided to go to a hibachi restaurant to celebrate my friend's 40th birthday.  At first, I saw it as a date night opportunity with hubby, but then I thought it might be fun to have Little Lewie come along too.

Well, let me just say that the hibachi grill was a huge hit!  Lewie was in awe of everything--the roaring flames, the spatula tricks, the chef's jokes.  As the chef was making creative designs with our food, Lewie used the opportunity to make creative designs with the rice and vegetables he had on his own plate too.  Then my son proceeded to tell us how he owns his own restaurant just like this one and that he's an awesome "cooker" too.

Lewie sitting in front of the hibachi grill.

Lewie and our hibachi chef.   Lewie kept saying, "I love this guy!"

My husband, friends, and I couldn't stop laughing.  Even the hibachi chef was genuinely touched that my son wanted to emulate him.  By the end of the night, Lewie decided he was going to own his own hibachi restaurant.  It would have trains running in the background (of course), and it would serve all the food that he loves--pancakes, French toast, sausages, bacon, etc.

*          *          *

Yes, just like Olivia, my son has one grand imagination...  It makes me wonder what he'll eventually do when he grows up, but then again, I'm not quite so sure my husband and I have that figured out yet either....  Ahhh, to dream!   

I Don't Remember

"I don't remember," is Lewie's everyday answer to "How was school today?"  This has been his answer at age three, four, five, and now...even six.  Since I'm not satisfied with the answer, I start prodding some more, "Did you study a letter?"  Did you learn a sight word?  Did you read a book?  Did you do a craft?" 

The "I don't remember..." answer usually stays in tact, but thankfully I see the work that he brings home, and we start reviewing it together.

One day, his teacher sent home a poem called "Nothing."  After a quick Google search, I couldn't find the author, but I did see that it is shared quite often in many school districts.  I thought it would be worth repeating here because it's definitely been our theme for the school year so far...

Nothing

 

When children come home at the end of the day,

The question they're asked as they scurry to play

is, "What did you do at school today?"

And the answer they give makes you sign with dismay.

"Nothing. I did nothing today!"

Perhaps nothing means that I played with blocks,

Or counted to ten, or sorted some rocks.

Maybe I painted a picture of red and blue,

Or heard a story of a mouse that flew.

Maybe I watched the fish eat today,

Or went outside on the swings to play.

Maybe today was the first time,

that my scissors followed a very straight line.

Maybe I sang a song from beginning to end,

Or played with a special, brand new friend.

When you're in Kindergarten

And your heart has wings,

"Nothing" can mean so many, many things.

 

I'm so glad our teacher sent this poem home the other day.  I might not be happy with my little boy's answer, but I know he's learning because it does come out often in very unexpected ways...

 



Our Train Costume - Welcome to the Halloween Express

This year Lewie wanted to be a train--a steam train to be exact.  Last year he was Brewster from Chuggington, but this year he wanted to be "the real deal."  It was no cartoon characters for him.

So, after much deliberation (since Halloween has now become a full family event), we decided we would make our own DIY costumes.   That's right.  Lewie would be a steam train, Mommy would be the coal tender behind him, and Daddy would be the passenger car behind me.

Everything is made out of cardboard. 
We used electrical tape for the spokes and a thin piece of wood for the connecting rod.

My coal tender used stove liners for wheels. 

My husband was supposed to be a caboose until Little Lewie changed his mind
and wanted Daddy to be a dining car.  The windows are obviously made of construction paper.

It was not easy.  Since all three of us lack the creative gene, we weren't sure of what size boxes to buy, what type of paint to use, or what type of details we needed.  We probably used a tank of gas running back and forth between Walmart, Home Depot, the UPS Store, Uhaul, and Joann's Fabrics.  (If we were better planners, I'm sure we could have gotten the boxes for free.)

Still, we worked tirelessly on our costumes all week long and were pretty pleased with the outcome.  In the end, Lewie had an awesome time pretending he was a little steam train.  He huffed, tooted, and made bell sounds as he led his kindergarten costume parade and then led Mommy and Daddy through the dark streets of our town.  We just adored the fact that he got so much into character...



Walking through the various rooms of his school.

Leading the kindergarten parade...

Visiting Grammy at work...  It's a yearly tradition.

Trick-or-treating...  We were surprised at how many people took pictures of us with their cell phones.

Our little train conductor...

Daddy enjoying coffee from his dining car...(A house was actually handing out coffee along with treats!)

 I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!!  I wish the holiday continued all weekend long.