Rainbow Buffalo

(There is a company that makes kids' drawing into stuffed animals -- isn't that just a brilliant idea?  

I may have to make one myself with this buffalo FPFJ drew for his friend Chilembi's birthday card.)

Homework

Homework is a new thing for Finn.  Owen loves to help.

Homework is so we can learn how to read.  And so your mom reads to you and you can learn how to read to.  My homework for school is FUN.  We do reading.  I have two word lists.  The words are:

a

and

dad

is

the

mum

no

it

at

we

to

was

big

she 

me 

on

The letter sounds we have learned about are: L, T, H, F, C, K, I, O

(they teach the phonetic alphabet! we are learning together....) 

I get books to take home AND my library book.  The book has pictures and mom or dad has a sheet with lots of words that go with it.  I get to tell my own story and also to hear the book story every day.  The kids in the book are Biff, Chip, Kipper.  They dog, Floppy.  My library book this week had 5 chapters.  It was called Postman Pat.  He had a cat named Jesse.  

Jamaica Day

Jamaica is a country. It is an island.  It is in the Caribbean Sea.

The capital of Guatemala is SO EASY.....Guatemala City.  I do not know the capital of Jamaica by memory.  Mommy tells me it's Kingston. Mommy teaches Passports and I take the class with the big kids.

The flag is:  yellow X, green triangles at the top and bottom, black triangles at one side and at the other side.  Yellow is for sunshine, green is for hope, black is for strength and creativity.  Strength like in the football game.  How good you are at skill.

We studied pirates so we could make pirate puppets.  We made story bracelets using the colors of the beach, the sea and the Jamaica flag.

the story of five kitties.

I am Five. I have Five Kitties.

Meow is my first kitty but it is my 3rd favorite kitty because it's a little bit old but it looks nice. Meow is the dark gray one. it's name is just Meow because I just made it up in my head. Nana says I was a baby and I took it from the store and I would not let it go. If you wanted Finny to come home, you had to bring the kitty. I never let go of it. Geeze-Louise, I was still in the crib.

Meow can dance or sing or meow or walk or it can.....TICKLE YOU!!!!

It could clap : Ming ming ah ming ming ming ming. Or BANG: BOOOOOM! BooooM! bbboooommm! It can hit the drum. It smells a little bit like coffee. It has a spring it it's tail - a pretend one.

The next kitty is "Kitty with Hands." See. Listen: "My name is Kitty with Hands!" This kitty can do butterfly kicks and dance and do capoiera. It can TICKLE YOU RIGHT THERE and tickle you with it's tail. Kitty with Hands can "click" and CLICK faster yet! And it can "Tra-La-La!" and fly like Captain Underpants and sing in music.

This kitty with the next kitty--it is also "Kitty with Hands." I'll show you. This one I think it's a girl. It looks like a girl, it's more cleaner. The "Other Kitty with Hands" is more brown and it's dirtier and maybe a girl could be dirty or browner.

This kitty is blue and red. Look -- it has paint on it -- on the ear. And there is a heart on the tag. It can tickle you. It can also sing or dance and do capoiera OR it can do karate and front flips. This blue kittie can do a bum drop in the water. It is called Webkins Kitty. Mary and Kyla gave me the Webkins Kitty at summer. Not this summer but the summer before. It's not gray, it's blue. Really. it's BLUE ONLY.

ALL the kitties can tickle you. They are all ticklish. Only they laugh if you tickle them very hard. They like sing-laugh when they laugh. They sing the song like the one at assembly (Valderie, Valdera! My knapsack on my back!)

This year for my birthday I got a NEW kitty. It looks very cute. very very very very cute and I love it. It's different because it's gray and white. (Mom: but all the kitties are gray and white?! Finn: NO THEY ARE NOT! Some are even Pink! Their noses are even pink!)

This kitty can go snorkeling and diving down for dolphins or up for dolphins up in the sky. It can go as fast as dolphins in the sea. It can tickle you IN THE ARMPITS! I have not made a name yet. Maybe next week. I think so. The kitty will make up a name for itself and it will tell me in my ear and I will tell you. Next week, after school it will walk downstairs and tell me.

The new kitty is having a hard time taking the photos

All my kitties speak English. Everything in English. They don't understand French except what I understand like un bateau. they understand that. They know everything I know. Even I know how to put on my shoes. They wear clothes. But they're furry -- the furry stuff is their clothes.

Kiss!

Finny's session with the kitties. Interviews and Photos. (no agents, no translators)

Lufupa and Kafue

Under the marula tree at Lufupa Wildnerness Safari Camp

even kitties go camping

mommy is about 4.5 years along....

(it was about 6C at night, mommy has the warmest coat in zambia)

I SEE SOMETHING!

Running interference

This is a funny picture with my friends Margret and Taonga. Margret is 6 and Taonga just turned 3. We were all home from school on "Africa Freedom Day." We are playing but also working. They are modeling for a project making some signs that will show that if you protect yourselves from getting malaria you can play and have fun instead of going to the clinic and getting injections. Mr. Derrick says I will get 'photoshopped' right out of this picture so it was really funny to think that I am there but in the project I am not!

"Taonga" means "Thanks" She is usually very smiley and happy now that she is not afraid of mzungus but she was (1) pretending to be sick and (2) is scared of getting her picture taken.

Once upon a time

One day in the wild where the cheetahs live I found a serval. (In this story I am a grown-up, I live in the wild and I have a pet serval.) The serval was catching a bird by jumping so high! He jumped high and then he caught it. I watched from my car, and after I went back home and then to the park.

In the forest Owen saw a tiger. (In this story, Owen is a grown up, and he lives in the forest, we're friends) Then something bad happened. Owen forgot the way back to his home. He saw a house that looked familiar and he didn't know he were standing right by his house. At first he didn't know and he said "I don't know where my house is but this house looks familiar!"

He said "Where am I? I am lost! I'm in our car and I don't know which way to go!"

"Uh oh! There are snakes in the forest!"

"Uh oh! That's the end of the street but that's the way home!"

Vroom-vroom-vroom-vroom-vroom (x maybe..... uh, four more times)

Vroom - vroom 4

Vroom - 3

Vroom - 2

Vroom 1

HOME!

BEEP BEEP! Honk! Honk! Open the gate, "I'm home!" ... have some snacks, then dinner then Owen sleeps. Owen is happy to be home.

"A One about Cards" The side-splitting adventures of the tomato with claws

An oldie-but-goodie From Finny's writing journal, Dec 29, 2009

( he hasn't authorized the release of his latest story about 5 underwater kids, he says, "maybe later.")

A One about Cards

And do you know what is a bait? A bait is like this -- a bait is like a TOMATO WITH CLAWS! You use it for eating lightbulbs and rabbits. Rabbits eat bait because they like bait. They like it because their tummy is that big -- UP TO THE CEILING. Their tummy is so big because they wre eating the bait and the food and their tummy went so big up to the ceiling. They were eating diapers too.

Chef FPFJ

My hand is moving SO FAST YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE IT!

new art space

mom finally gave up on us using the designated 'art room' upstairs and moved the art table we got from Anja and Nina downstairs. The light is horrible, we leave our big messes out for all the world to see but....we actually USE it so in the end she is happy!

ART

Finn's artistic self is coming through. At school, art time is very much about following directions. It is so painful to see all the kids 'art' up on the walls...everyone's work identical, every flower the same colors, etc. PAINFUL. But this is the way it's done and I'm doing my best to respect the method (and the madness.) To the school's credit they expose even the youngest kids to a wide variety of materials and techniques which I know no other school in Lusaka does. LICS primary arts program has a brilliant new teacher who really pushes the boundaries of the kids abilities and the administrations capacity to grasp the value of creative art. That is a whole other wonderful topic which hopefully Owen will write about soon -- term 3 has many school-wide arts activities.

At home it's still ART (as opposed to artWORK) -- creative, messy and experimental. The combination of school/home art theory is finally 'working' and while I see the value of children being able to manipulate different materials and learn the skills they teach at school - there is some value to simply doing as you are told (isn't there?).....I know that very few of the children get to do art which is truly creative and experimental -- painting on the walls, sewing snakes from fabric scraps (stuffed with beans that we hope don't sprout or attract unwanted houseguests!), drawing shapes and colors that are whatever you care to draw.

There are many studies about how a child's art progresses -- a face with eyes and a mouth, then stick arms and legs coming out of the circle head, then a body, then hands then hands with 100 fingers (eventually pared down to 5), etc. Finny's art of people is still at the very early stages but when he does creative work the stuff he produces is to my mind-boggling. He makes complicated pictures of airplanes as viewed from above with clouds and contrails and all the wings in the 'proper' places, he draws blind blue cheetahs, and paints owen swimming underwater, it's quite amazing and quite different from anything I've ever see! His personal artwork is definitely quite different from what I would ever 'tell' him to draw or 'help' him to make. He always disappears and does this work on his own....only showing us when he's done.

The photos above are (1) a drawing he did which he actually put together as kind of a paper quilt -- this is just one 'panel'. The drawings in the quilt are all orange and all geometric sketches with a circle in the center of the page and different configurations of lines and triangles connected to it. There was a story behind it but I neglected to write it down and now he won't tell me. That is another funny thing -- he does not like to keep his stuff around and frequently will not 'let' me put something up on the wall he does not like - even if I love it! He also deletes most of the photos he takes. What does THAT mean? Is it zen or psychotic? Let's go with zen. I try to take photos of his artwork just in case it doesn't meet his standards and it disappears into the rubbish bin before I can tuck it away in the kids' giant keepsake-box.

The lego project is ongoing and one he came up with totally on his own -- he makes models of different things, lately rooms of our house. This is the dining room. The first one of the series was of our living room: complete with 2 couches, 1 red chair, walls, chimney and.... one little black lego sitting loose--the 'projector' which we use to watch movies sometimes.

Mommy bias shining through of course, but isn't he just too much?

Song

Ribbit Ribbit HOP, Ribbit Ribbit HOP.

The tattooed Lady!

Ribbit Ribbit HOP

Hop hop RIBBIT!

Hay-ya!

Hay-ya!

Ribbit ribbit

HOP HOP!

RIBBIT!

Ski Jumping

Once upon a time there was ski jumping, the best practicing in the world. Before you do skiing you should do bungee jumping. The ski jumping is the best thing for practicing climbing trees. (sigh). Once upon a time, the end. my story is done.

GOAL!

Finny and Owen

Daddy goes to play basketball and he jumps and puts the ball in the hoop. Then he goes back home. Then we have breakfast and Owen goes to climb his favorite tree in the back of the yard. Then I go climb the same tree that Owen is climbing. Me and Owen jump down our branch that we like jumping down. Then me and Owen go inside the house and we play with those big wheels and then we go upstairs and play with our favorite cars. My favorite car is a Hotwheels car and it's blue and it has fire! Owen's favorite car is all red and it has glass windows.

I’m #4. I’m messy and my friend is Lionel Messi

Mr. Messy himself, modeling his barca kit

One day me and Barcelona were going out to the field. The game was starting. First the goalkeeper kicked it out to the Barcelona people and the Barcelona people scored goal.

Barcelona 1, Manchester 0

The Barca goalkeeper kicked it out again. The Barcelona people got it and they scored the goal again.

Barcelona 2, Manchester 0

Then the Manchester people got the ball. The Manchester people were trying to score a goal. I did a header into the goal and the people were cheering for me and I won the game for my friend Lionel Messi!

Manchester lost. Barcelona won.

FINAL SCORE

Barcelona 3, Manchester 0

The small guy with big ideas doing a post-victory dizzy-dance at Baobob College

Cheetah, warthog, buffalo, lion

Our resident cheetah

Once Owen was going to Munda Wanga and he saw a cheetah running very fast. The cheetah runned off and then saw a warthog and it did kill the warthog. The warthog ran very fast but the cheetah ran faster. The cheetah found the lion and the lion did kill the cheetah but the bones of the cheetah were so strong that actually the lion couldn't even kill it and the lion, he just did walk away.

Instead, he did eat a buffalo. The buffalo was running off and the buffalo thought the lion could not catch it but he did catch the buffalo.

The cheetah ran off to take care of its cubs. There were 2 cubs.

How to Climb a Tree

The climbing trees at our house are guava trees with smooth

bark and a wide branching trunk. This is me HANGING ON TIGHT!

First on the big tree in the back you have to stand up on the tree -- only if you can balance--on the trunk. On this tree the trunk is curved so there is a place to stand.

And then you have to climb. You have to hold your hands onto different branches. Leopards have claws but people do not so you have to hold on even with your hands. No shoes is better of climbing. It makes you have a better grip.

I can go around the the big bump, lower than mommy standing up, higher than mommy sitting down. I climb down the tree backwards but I look down so I won't fall down. I can see the branches that I have to step on.

A silly, curly tree in the Mutinondo Wildnerness Area.

Zag

Once upon a time there was a man named Owen. And every time he goes to the River he sees a cheetah. And then the cheetah runs off in the wild; it's in a park when the cheetah runs off in the forest. The cheetah sees some more people and he runs off in the forest and then the forest begins to shake!

The trees were squeeking.

It started to rain there. The man did go to the river and saw the cheetah drinking. In the forest it began to rain again....POURING down rain.

The cheetah did stay in a cave and the man did go home. He drove home.

WE drove home. 23b. I'm talking about when we were at Munda Wanga! The name of the cheetah is Zag.

Hedgehogs and Spinner Dolphins

Zanzibar Storyteller

Part 1: The Story

When Owen was going to the park the swings were bouncing and he did go on the swings. Then he did go back home. Then he went to the beach. He found a spinner dolphin and a regular dolphin like the kind of Zanzibar. He did go on the boat and take a closer look.

He went in the water with his swimming clothes on and flippers and a mask and snorkel. He saw spinner dolphins and hedgehogs in the water. The hedgehogs used to be on the land...they are only on the land.

So, there's the polar bear and he did come up and bite the heegehog and the polar bear and put the hedgehog in the water and then it was dead.

Owen was on the boat but he went back in the water when he saw the little white bubbles that were from the dolphins. Then he got back in the boat and Owen went back to shore. He felt good about his trip because it was nice and because it was our whole family.

Part II: The Revelation

Oh Yeah! I'm talking almost about our trip when our whole family went to Zanzibar! Oh, Yeah! Is that the same page? Mommy writes a "Z" like a "3"

The Hazard of Eating Bouncing Things

Part I: Owen from Number 8

When Owen was going somewhere to the lake and he heard a crocodile and he heard a dancing ball and he did hear a ball bouncing in the river and he did hear a journal bouncing in the River. And he did hear a Spinner Dolphin.

The Spinner Dolphin ate the bouncing things and the croc also ate the bouncing things. Then they died--from eating the bouncing things.

There was also a bouncy shark and another shark came and ate the bouncy shark.

Then Owen did go to watch the Seattle Mariners and Barcelona and Manchester United football players and then he did go back home. Owen lives far away on Number 8 in a country on the right of Zambia. You just turn and then go straight. You turn again and go in the driveway and check on the kitties.

Part II: Roan from Number 10

When Roan was going to a factory where they made balls and it was SO stinky and all the other people did bring books. Roan watched all the people sewing the balls with the things on their fingers and then he did go back to Number 10.

Only Roan and his mom and his sister are on Number 10. At home he did watch the Seattle Mariners in the night. They played the Hankies. The Mariners won 2 to 8 -- the Hankies lost but when he watched them again the Hankies did win. One to Zero on Hankies.