Droopy Boy

SHAPE UP: A few days ago I discovered a Web site that offers a nice explanation of shapes (one-, two- and three-dimensional). So today, Annabelle and I explored it, with CJ listening from the couch (more on that later).

It was great - the site even had patterns to download so we could make some three-dimensional shapes (which strikes me as a MUCH better way to learn about them, instead of just looking at a 2-D drawing of them!). Annabelle crafted a cylinder, a cube and a tetrahedron.By poking around, I learned the shapes lesson was a page on Birmingham Grid for Learning (BGfL) site. In their "About Us" section, BGfL claims to be "arguably the most comprehensive learning resource of its kind to be found anywhere in the UK."

Further, they say they provide "a wealth of information and activities that are not only educationally sound, engaging and fun, but are also highly focused on appropriate interfaces for each key stage and for teachers." Quite an ambitious undertaking by the folks in Birmingham, England, wouldn't you say?

There's so much on the site, it's overwhelming (as in overwhelmingly awesome). I think a good jump off place for us on future visits to BGfL is on their Primary site (for 5 to 11 year olds).

STRUCK DOWN: Out of nowhere, this morning CJ was suddenly stuck with a mystery affliction. At first he complained that he slept too long last night (he was up before 6!) and that made his heart hurt. Odd.

He continued to complain of midsection discomfort. "I feel like an old man, but I don't need a stick (cane)," he described.

Soon, his bottom lip and chin were quivering with chills. I sent him to the couch and got him a blanket. As he lay there trembling he asked, "Is God real?"

I asked him where that came from and he said, "I don't know. I just thought of it."

Soon after he said, "Great, now my brain hurts. The chills are getting around." CJ was convinced this new affliction was "because I'm tilted" (laying down).

Annabelle was pestering CJ. She just didn't know what to do without her partner in crime. It was a good thing she had a playdate this afternoon. ...

PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES: This morning I heard Annabelle singing, "Pack up your troubles in your old kid (sic) bag and smile, smile, smile." It surprised me. I didn't know that she knew that song.

I asked her how she knew it and she said "from commercials." Of course. Through the magic of the Internet, I was able to quickly find the ad she knows it from - it's for a Dell laptop.

Through YouTube, I was able to find a version of the song that's by a gentleman playing guitar. It's captioned, and it's fascinating to read the words (before today, I had never known any of the song other than the one line from the chorus!).

As it turns out, the song is a WWI era composition, first published in 1915. According to Wikipedia, its lyrics were written by George Henry Powell under the pseudonym of "George Asaf" and it was scored by his brother Felix Powell. It won a wartime competition for a marching song.

Naturally, we had to listen to a couple of different versions of it, including a really old one and one that appears to be from a movie (but unfortunately he poster didn't say which movie - but I have reason to believe it might be from "Oh! What A Lovely War"). And later, I found a 1917 recording of the song on Wikipedia.

Through further reading, tonight I learned that composer Felix was a staff sergeant in the British Army. However, lyricist George was a pacifist and a conscientious objector when conscription was imposed in England 1916. In a way, this made sense to me, really, because my take on the song is that it's rather sarcastic or ironic. Telling someone to "smile, smile, smile" while the Kaiser's army is raining down bullets on you seems rather silly, doesn't it?


PLAYTIME: This afternoon, Annabelle and I went to the home of a new friend she made while we were playing in the sand at Discovery Park last Friday. By the time I'd even made it over to say 'hi,' Miss Talkative had already told the child and her mother her name, my name, where we live, and that she's homeschooled. (Note to self - give the kids a refresher course in 'stranger danger'.)


Rick came and stayed with CJ while Bee and I went for the visit. The girls had a good ol' time. They spent a lot of the 90 minutes doing artsy craftsy things, including making some tissue paper flowers and enjoying a fresh made batch of homemade slime.
RALLYING: By about 7:30 tonight, CJ was starting to feel like himself. (He'd been down and out on the couch since shortly after sunrise.) He said he felt like playing a hack (a fan/programmer altered Mario-related game). First he played his own hack-in-progress and then Christian helped him download a couple of other people's hacks.

BEE TO THE RESCUE: Just before bedtime tonight, Annabelle came to the computer to fetch me. She informed me she'd set up an animal adoption center and wanted me to adopt a pet.

I ended up adopting a snail, a hedgehog and an echidna (a spiny anteater).