Catie made a “book” at daycare last week, and this is too good not to share. So, I give you….
Catie’s Feelings
The cover is a picture of her and a little boy in her class named David. They were playing basketball together. Do you see the hoop in between them that’s at their shoulder height? Aww yeah, my kid can slam dunk.
So, apparently the idea was to pick a few emotions, and the teacher asked them to draw it. Then she said, “So when were you happy/sad/whatever?” and she wrote on the page what the picture was supposed to illustrate.
Important to note: Catie’s drawing skills are, uh, less than stellar. She has a hard time pressing down the crayon hard enough to even make a visible scribble. We’re working on that.
“Catie is sad when Mommy said I didn’t get a treat.”
See the misery and woe in those sad scribbles? That’s all because I didn’t let her have a York peppermint patty five minutes before dinner. Yep. Worst mother ever, that’s me.
“Catie was happy at the beach with Mommy and Daddy.”
I love this one, not only because the sentiment is so sweet (aww, she remembers our fun trip to the beach!), but also because her drawing almost makes sense. Those scribbles actually look like wave lines in the ocean, right? Kinda? Maybe?
Whatever, *I* can see it.
And now, for our big finale (seriously, this is the last page of the book)…
“Catie was lonely on the playground.”
WTF? I have to be honest, I laughed when I saw this because it just doesn’t seem like her at all. I’ve never seen Catie lonely on the playground. This is a child who runs up to stranger-kids and says, “Hi, kid! Wanna play wif’ me?” So… uh… when exactly did she go all emo-kid on me?
I showed her the picture and said, “Sweetie, when were you lonely on the playground?”
She said, “Because, a mosquito landed on me, and it bit me, and it HURT!”
I said, “Well, baby girl, that means you were upset. Lonely means that you were sad and all by yourself. Have you ever felt like that?”
Her: “No, that’s silly!”
Right. That’s what I thought.
There you have it. Catie’s Feelings. Or something that she thinks means the same thing. Close enough.
I love teaching the differences in emotions and the words for them. What’s even better is when they remember it and apply it themselves. I saw the waves on the beach too, but I am trained in deciphering toddler art. After all, I did go to MoMA while in NY. lol
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@Hockeymandad, “but I am trained in deciphering toddler art. After all, I did go to MoMA while in NY.” best line ever! lol. I went there too with my gram and we thought the same thing. She kept looking at me going “seriously? These guys are famous for *this*?!” lol.
@Hockeymandad, Exactly. I went to MoMA a few years ago, so yeah, I hear you on that one.
OMG! The cover picture is cuteness squared. But from afar it kind of looks like she thinks the boy has cooties!
I totally see the waves…but like HockeyManDad I’ve been deciphering toddler drawings for years, so there’s that!
Dood, give the kid a treat some time, will ya?
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@AmazingGreis, I’m not sure exactly what’s going on in the picture, I think she’d been trying to take the basketball from him and then they both suddenly stopped for the photo? In the close-up version of it, she’s GRINNING at David while he’s looking very solemnly at the camera. Cracks me up.
Also? She gets treats all the damn time! Just not immediately before dinner or bedtime! That’s *it* as far as my food restrictions go.
I saw the waves too.
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@Mandi Bone, I think people who deal with kids a lot know what it’s about. 🙂
I think it’s cute when kids get their emotions messed up. I was a little taken back by the lonely at the playground too because your blogs always say she played with someone or show pictures of her grinning ear to ear.
And man, you need a trophy for worst mommy of the year. No treats before dinner? How on earth could you do that? Lol. Kids, I wish I was still a nanny. I miss moments like these!
@Jess, I know, same here. I read it and laughed because it seemed absurd, then I was like, “wait a second… WHAT???”
And yeah. I’m obviously the cruelest parent ever because I don’t let her have chocolate right before bedtime either.
I love it! How awesome!
@cat, Does Elizabeth brings home similar stuff from her daycare too? It feels like we bring home a dozen art projects every week (but most are much smaller than this one).
I get lots of art projects every week, and whatever projects some parent comes in to do (plant a seed, make a passport, whatever) but we’ve never had anything so awesomely New Age!
Oh, and I could totally see the beach and the waves, too. And the lonely one looked lonely to me, too. Or at least angst-y