Summer adventures #8&9

Yesterday I took the kids to the local bounce house. I had one last Groupon for it and I was really trying to hold onto it until later in the summer when we are desperate for something to do. But I just couldn't stand the thought of going to the swimming pool again so we went to bounce instead. I took my bag of stuff I need to teach VBS next week so I could sneak a peak and figure out what is going on there.

My friend Jana and I will be teaching two year olds this year. We're expecting to see some of our kiddos from mother's day out since most of them are turning two right now. I know right now that I will be busting out some "if you're happy and you know it" next week. Pre-school teachers are crazy. We have to be. Can you think of another profession where you need to break out in song at any given moment of the day to maintain order? Other than working at Disneyland or something?

On a bad day, two year olds are a cross between terrorists and little drunk people. They hit. They bite. They tackle one another. They steal. They fall down randomly. And most of the time you can't understand what they are saying. But if you break out in song something magical happens. They stop what they are doing. They look at you and listen. And if you tell them to clap, they will.

I wonder if this would work in war situations. What would happen in a battle if someone just climbed out of their tank and started singing "if you're happy and you know it" over a bullhorn? It is ingrained in our DNA to clap responsively. And everyone knows you gotta put down your gun to clap. Wow. I'm pretty sure I just came up with a peaceful solution to war.

Anyway. Speaking of busting out in song to entertain little ones. Our adventure today was driving down to New Braunfels to their public library so the kids could see Joe McDermott for the first time. Oh my word. This man is adorable. Jake and Emma Mae loved him! We had to buy his CD before we left and they listened to it all the way home.

After the concert we bought some sandwiches and drove to another new park to us in New Braunfels. The kids loved it and played very hard. Emma fell asleep on the way back home while Jake listened to his beloved Joe. He had a smile on his face the whole way home!