I did some volunteering at Monkey's school recently and on one day read Tikki Tikki Tembo to his class as a mystery reader. The story is a big favorite in our home, and his friends in school loved it as well. I threw in some folklore history, some facts about China and an art project making Chinese lanterns. I was a rock star in my own mind - until I made the horrid mistake of having a quiz on the topics we had discussed.
The quiz was actually fine - it was that I hadn't brought enough prizes for every single child in the class (foam globes). Cannot believe I made such a rookie mistake but the prize idea was very last minute and not well thought out (spotted the globes at Michael's the night before and there were only four). A competitive rewards system just does not translate well with the 6 and 7 year old crowd (cringe!).
After the four were handed out, an adorable little boy in the front burst into tears of disappointment, much to my absolute horror. The teacher helped handle the situation with professional care born from years of experience with inexperienced parents who think they are way cooler than they truly are (um - that would be me).
Lesson learned and I am sending in a conciliatory something for the entire class next week to ease my guilt and embarrassment. Agh!
The Chinese lanterns gained new life as my husband and Monkey found a creative use for the ones Monkey made at home with leftover paper. I walked in to find them whispering over a coffee table they'd flipped upside down and rigged with a bungee cord. They used this to propel an Angry Bird toy at an Angry Bird pig they'd hidden inside a tower of Magna-Tiles surrounded by the lanterns. I joined in and ended up decimating the pig tower before they did - gaining some respect points. I take them wher-ev-er I can. Really. Anywhere and everywhere these days.
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