Early to bed, early to rise

When you get right down to it, the image is pretty scary. There's a rooster as big as you sitting on the foot of your bed:

Cock crows in the morn to tell us to rise
For he who lies late will never be wise.
Early to bed, and early to rise
Is the way to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.

I admitted my childhood concern about the rooster to the elementary students. My mom had true terror  tales to tell of a mean rooster on the farm where she grew up. That might have colored my worries. The oldest students were intrigued that "wealthy" might mean "rich".

Mr. Short Stack observes the chickens on Easter.

The students want to know if Mother Goose is a witch. She's got that pointy hat and Dorothy's ruby slippers. But her apron is bubble gum pink...

Explaining that ganders are daddy geese, goslings are baby geese, I blanked out that a female goose is ... a goose.  I was leaning toward "ninny", but that just means a silly person. Oh, honk!

Don't make me watch those flying monkeys.

Thumb print duck

This duck is kinda down, and I don't mean eider either. Norton the Very Best Preschool Bunny in the Whole Wide World died this afternoon. He was eleven years old, and brought so many little people lessons in caring and responsibility. I am not ready to write more about dear Norton and funeral arrangements as I get too teary.

On happier notes:

These cheerleader chicks are overjoyed to be on the sidelines for art class.

A fat hen with a nest on her head?

"Bwuuuck!," says the rooster as the eggs roll by overhead.

And who was the star of today's art class show?  Bwuuuck, you are right!  It's Rudy the Rectangle Rooster.




Images and text © 2013 Nancy L. Ruder with all rights reserved.


Bwuuuck!
Bwuuck!
Bwuck!