Then there was the day when both girls set off to school in costume.
Goose's class had been reading Charlotte's Web and learning about farm animals. They concluded by dressing up as a character from the book or a random farm animal.
I give you Wilbur, Some Pig.
Astute readers will recognize the nose as a reprise of the "Third Little Pig" costume from last year's Book Week in Indo. Ears and tail did not make the trip home with us and had to be reconstructed.
Noodle had been working at a report on Ben Franklin with the culmination a "Wax Museum" wherein she was to dress like the old guy and give a three minute speech about his life and accomplishments.
She was resplendent.
And probably a bit more dignified than the man himself.
Her speech went quite well, though she confessed to having wobbly knees and a flock of butterflies in her tummy. Public speaking is a new thing for our Noodle.
In our quest for the perfect Ben Franklin report and costume we hit both the public library and the old Colonial section of our city. I always forget how much I love the restored 18th century buildings and the folks wandering about in mob caps and tri-corn hats and how I used to dream of having a job at Colonial Williamsburg doing crafty things like shearing sheep and spinning wool. I was so pleased to see Noodle (and Goose to a lesser extent, she was mostly focused on finding the bakery) catch the scent of history - specifically American history and get excited about it. True, we've been to many and sundry historical places - thousand year old temples and The Forbidden City e.g., - and my Chiquitas will do well in World History. But there is just something about them learning the story of the country we adopted them into. Good non-patriotic Mennonite that I am withstanding, I had moments of verklemptness when we read the Preamble to the Constitution together (children of the 70's, can you sing it along with me??). We read it, and the Declaration of Independence critically, of course. All men are created equal, to secure domestic tranquillity, what's up with that? And I'm very happy that their school teaches American history critically - history is told by the victors, what happened to the Native peoples? , what's up with that? But geez. That rhetoric of freedom, equality and happiness is good stuff. If only we could live up to it all.
If only.
(I hasten to add, to strengthen my Menno cred, that neither of my children recites the Pledge of Alliegence at school and Goose reportedly informed her friend that she does not do so "Because it is about guns and war and killing people, and we dont' do that". Ha.