One of my favourite things about EldestGirl starting school has been her interpretation of new information. Generally her attention to detail and memory is annoyingly infallible, so I have really been enjoying some of her slips-of-the-ear.
Last week we had harvest songs. “Onions, peas and carrots, sweetcorn, beans and marrows and white bread to my toes,” she sang happily at the breakfast table.
“White bread to my toes?” I queried.
“Yes,” said EldestGirl confidently. “White bread to my toes.”
“I don’t know of any farmers who deliver white bread to people’s feet, my darling.”
“I am right,” said EldestGirl. “You will see.”
Later that week, YoungestGirl and I obediently trotted to the school for the harvest assembly. YoungestGirl was bribed to silence with a pile of food that rivalled the size of donations for the food bank. Whilst her face was buried in a chocolate brioche, the infamous song started up: “Onions, peas and carrots, sweetcorn beans and marrows and…” here came the white bread to her toes… But the words on the projector confirmed, “ripe red tomatoes”. I had to laugh.
One of the other mis-hearings recently was the stickers the children get for learning something new. There are lots of different colours for lots of desired behaviours – teamworking, courage and so on. EldestGirl’s aim is to get one in each colour. “I still need one for zillions,” she said.
“Zillions?” I asked.
“Yes, zillions,” she confirmed. “It’s a black sticker for zillions.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“You know,” EldestGirl patronised, “ZILLIONS!”
She finally got one last week. It turned out it was for resilience.
I am hoping I’m going to be awarded one for patience. To be honest, it seems unlikely at best.
