Papi's day off

Ever taken a day off to simply enjoy it with your kids ? How valuable time is that for you ? Do your kids like when you do that with them ? Do you mind for them not going to kindergarten on that day ? What do your kids want you to do ? What do you plan to do with them ? Do the plans come to life ? Are both parents around ? Is it just you or your partner as well ? What do you feel by being the only parent on this special day ? Do they ask for your partner ?

Mami was going to school, and Papi was not working today! What about kindergarten ? Today was going to be boring at kindergarten, it was good to be with Papi.
"Papi, where are we going ?", asked the Little Girl.
"It's a surprise", said Papi.
"Why is Mami not coming ?", asked the Little Girl.
"Mami went to school", said Papi.
"Why did Mami go to school ? She does not like to be with us ?", asked the Little Girl.
"It's a grownup thing Little Girl, Mami loves you!", answered Papi.
They walked a bit, the winter seemed to be disappearing and small hints of spring could be felt in the air.

They walked for a bit to the garden where some flower could be seen.
"Wow, beautiful."
Papi and Little Girl searched for stones, round stones, the Little Girl liked to collect the stones. Soon a little squirrel passed by. The Little Girl tried to chase the squirrel. But the squirrel was too fast. Another squirrel came. From the top of the branch the Little Girl got the feeling the squirrel was laughing. The Little Girl said to the squirrel: "Hello, you want a nut ?".
The squirrel starred still at the Little Girl. Another squirrel appeared on another branch. And then another. But they did not approach, not without seeing the nuts. But the Little Girl had no nuts.
"Come to my house if you want nuts, I do not have with me", said the Little Girl.
The squirrels seamed to understand, for they started following the Little Girl back home. The Little Girl could see the squirrels hopping from branch to branch. I was lunch time, Papi prepared lunch for two. While that, the Little Girl gave some peanuts to the squirrels. While the Little Girl gave nuts that the squirrels liked, Papi made a special effort to make things the Little Girl liked.
"Papi, we must leave some food for Mami, when she comes she will be hungry!", asked the Little Girl.
"Just like the squirrels, they ate the nuts, but are taking some for their mommy."

The Wise Owl

How do you teach your kids about freedom ? And freedom of animals ? Do they understand what is being tied ? Do your kids feel restrain ? And when you allow them to do what they want ? Do they impose restraining in animals ? Are they kind to animals ? And kind to other kids ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl was looking at the owl, the owl looked sad. The Little Girl did not like to see sad animals.
"Hello wise owl, are you sad ?", asked the Little Girl.
"Huu, huu!", answered the owl.
"Why are you sad ?", asked the Little Girl.
And the owl stretched its wings.
"You want to fly ?", asked the Little Girl.

"Huu! Huu!", answered the owl.
"Why don't you fly ?", asked the Little Girl.
The owl lift its tied foot.
"Oh, you are tied, you can't fly", said the Little Girl.
"Huu, huu!", said the owl.
The Little Girl untied the owl. The owl opened it's wings and made a strong flap. The owl started flying and made a circle around the Little Girl.
"You are flying", shouted the Little Girl.
"Huu! Huu!", said the owl.
The owl flew two circles around the Little Girl.
"Are you happy ?", asked the Little Girl.
"Huu! Huu, huu!", said the owl.
The owl flew three circle around the Little Girl.
The owl was happy because he was free to fly.

Two Indian Girls

Do you take your kids to fantasy costume parties ? Do they enjoy going ? What costume do they like ? Has it happened that another child goes dressed the same way ? How do they feel about other kids with the same costume ? How do you feel ? Do you think on another costume for next party ? What do you tell your kid? Tell me your story, here is mine...

Little Girl put on her costume! Today she was an Indian princess. She put on the headband and a beautiful red feather. The feather was special. the day before the Little Girl me a red and purple parrot.
"Hello Parrot!", said the Little Girl.
"Hello, give Polly a biscuit!", said the parrot.
"I do not a a biscuit.", answered the Little Girl.
"Hello, give Polly a biscuit!", said the parrot.
"But I do not have a biscuit!", said the Little Girl.
"Hello, give Polly a biscuit!", said the parrot.
The Little Girl was upset, but she went to find a biscuit! She did not know where to get a biscuit.
The old library lady passed by. "Hello Little Girl!", said the old lady.
"Hello, give Little Girl a biscuit!", answered the Little Girl.
"You are in luck, today I have some biscuit, here, take one", and the old lady gave the Little Girl a biscuit.
The Little Girl ran to the parrot.
"Hello Polly, here is a biscuit!", said the Little Girl handing the biscuit to the parrot.
"Hello! Take this red feather.", answered Polly the parrot.
The Little Girl was happy, she had now a beautiful and special red feather. With the feather, the Little Girl made her Indian princess costume.

Today the Little Girl was going to the costume party, she was going dressed as an Indian princess. the Little Girl saw the Purple Girl at the party. The Purple Girl was dressed like an Indian princess.
"Hello Purple Girl!", said the Little Girl.
"Hello Little Girl, you are also an Indian princess.", said the Purple Girl.
"Yes, yesterday I was with a red and purple parrot that gave me a red feather for a biscuit!", answered the Little Girl.
"That is funny, yesterday I was with a red and purple parrot that gave me a purple feather for a biscuit!"

The Cancan Dancers

I enjoy theme parks and the certain element of surprise you have if you don't look at any programs for the street entertainment. I like being surprised by spontaneous shows starting at the place I am. Do you like these street entertainments? Do you like walking through streets where you always experience something new and refreshing ? Do you like to take your kids to those places ? How do they act when they suddenly see a clown coming from behind a tree ? How they act when suddenly they see a talking lion coming in their direction ? What about flash mobs ? Or simply the theater next door starting a dance show at the street and taking the audience inside ? tell me your story, here is mine...

The family was walking down the boulevard. the street was wide and a lot of performers on the street. the Little Girl was excited, she had never seen such entertainment.
The little Girl could see a man juggling 3 balls in the air. The Little Girl could see a silver statue that each time somebody put a coin in a platter, the statue would start moving and thanking. The Little Girl could see a man with a monkey, and when the monkey moved the winch, the Little Girl could hear music. The Little Girl could see a man playing with swords, he was eating the sword, the complete entered his mouth.

Suddenly the music became louder, it sounded like the music from the cowboy movies. And ladies with beautiful dresses, with big round skirts, started dancing in the street. they gave their arms to other people on the street and suddenly there was a crowd of people holding arms and dancing with the legs.
The dancers took the crowd to the theater. Everybody started sitting as the dancer went up the stage. The Little Girl did not want to sit, she went with the ladies up the stage as well. The Little Girl danced with the lady dancers, and everybody in the crowd cheered.
The Little Girl was dancing, and everybody came from the street to see her dance. She danced, and danced, and danced, like she was one more star in the night sky. The lady dancers were also stars, but the Little Girl shined brighter. And everybody enjoyed, and in the end everybody clapped hands in joy.

The Butterfly Bride

Have you taken your kids to a wedding party ? Do they know what a wedding party is? How did you explain the wedding to them? Do you explain love ? Do you explain why the married couple wants to be together? Is it like a princess tale? Do your daughters think about the wedding as a fairy tale? How do you dress your kids for the wedding? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl saw a beautiful white butterfly on the green grass. The butterfly had beautiful wings that looked like a bride's gown made of the finest silk. The white butterfly was sad.
"Why are you sad beautiful white butterfly?", asked the Little Girl.
"I am marrying today the most beautiful butterfly, but the butterfly has not yet arrived for the wedding, and all my friends are waiting.", cried the beautiful white butterfly.
"I will help you find your groom butterfly, don't cry!", said the Little Girl.
"You are so nice, my groom is dressed in a beautiful black tuxedo.", said the white butterfly.

"And I will look for a butterfly dressed in black.", said the Little Girl.
The Little Girl started looking around the garden for the black butterfly.
"Hello blue butterfly, did you see the black butterfly?", asked the Little Girl.
"Yes, the black butterfly was with the yellow butterfly."
The Little Girl continued the search for the black butterfly.
"Hello yellow butterfly, did you see the black butterfly?", asked the Little Girl.
"Yes, the black butterfly was with the red butterfly."
The Little Girl continued the search for the black butterfly.
"Hello red butterfly, did you see the black butterfly?", asked the Little Girl.
"Yes, the black butterfly was with the green butterfly."
The Little Girl continued the search for the black butterfly.
"Hello green butterfly, did you see the black butterfly?", asked the Little Girl.
"Yes, the black butterfly is with the white butterfly."
The Little Girl was surprised, but she continued the search for the black butterfly.
The Little Girl found the white butterfly flying with the black butterfly in the middle of the garden.
The black and white butterflies were dancing as they flyer. They were making the love dance of the wedding.
The Little Girl was watching the wedding of the black and white butterflies.
The black butterfly in a beautiful black tuxedo.
The white butterfly in a beautiful white wedding gown.
And the dance was a black and white ballet. But soon all the colorful friends of the butterflies came to dance together, and a rainbow of color blessed the wedding of the black and white butterflies.

Tightrope Walking

Balance, that is something we want our kids to develop! How do you make your kids develop balance ? With a bicycle ? Walking on the roadside pavement ? Climbing trees ? have you tried tightrope walking ? How do you encourage them after they fall ? Do they feel that falling is part of the learning ? Do you panic when they fall ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl believed tightrope walking was easy. the clowns did it while everybody laughed. They fell but somehow never actually fall to the ground. They managed to get their balance on the tightrope.
The Little Girl wanted to do the same.
Papi got her a rope and put on the ground. Stretched the rope. the Little Girl placed her foot on the rope, then the other foot. The Little Girl lift her first foot and carefully step into the front. The arms were stretched to help the balance. The Little Girl was looking with great attention at the rope.

"Do not look at the rope, just feel it and look to the end of the rope.", Papi tried to help the Little Girl.
The Little Girl wiggled on top of the rope trying to keep her balance.
"It is difficulty Papi, but I can do it!", said the Little Girl.
A quarter of the way the Little Girl lost her balance and restarted from the beginning.
"I am now going to make it all the way! look Papi!", promised the Little Girl.
The Little Girl made her second try, this time she managed to go further on the rope. She went half way. the Little Girl lost her balance again.
"From the beginning again, Papi!", said the Little Girl.
And there she restarted, carefully, foot after foot, lift the back foot and move it to the front, keep the arms stretched to help the balance, foot after foot, and she... made it!
"I made it Papi! I made it!", shouted excitedly the Little Girl.

Flowers for Mommy

Do your children often have spontaneous acts of parent love ? Do you encourage your children to express their love ? Do you often express your love for your children ? When was the last time your children did something spontaneous for you ? How do you feel when they express themselves ? Hod do they show their love ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

"Papi, I want the watercolors!", asked the Little Girl.
"Why Little Girl?", asked Papi.
"I want to paint Mami, Papi and me".
"I like your paintings , they are getting better and better everyday", encouraged Papi.
"I also want paper, I want this white cards".
"And why is that ?", asked Papi.

"I want to make invitations for a party", answered the Little Girl.
"What party ?"
"A birthday party!", said the Little Girl.
"Whose birthday ?", asked Papi.
"Mami's birthday!"
"It is still a while for Mami's birthday."
"Let's take these flowers for Mami, she can smell the flowers and wait for the birthday!", suggested the Little Girl.
"That is a good idea, let's do that, let's take these flowers for Mami!".

Disneyland

Do your kids fantasize with Disneyland ? or with other theme park ? Do you use it as a reward for them ? Or you take them just because you like it ? Did you go there in your youth ? Do you make memories your kids will cherish ? How does the family look like with the cameras ? Do you make movies ? Do your kids prefer to chase the characters or the rides ? Do you sit waiting for the parades ? How excited are your kids ? tell me your story, here is mine...

"Papi, when it's my birthday I want to go to Mickey's house", asked the Little Girl.
"When is your birthday ?"
"It's when yesterday I am like this", and the Little Girl showed 4 fingers, "and then I become like this." showed the Little Girl proudly 5 fingers.
"That is so nice :) And you think Mickey is waiting for you ?", asked Papi!

"Yes, he wants to have breakfast with me, and then he wants me to visit him at the cinema, and then he wants me to take a picture with me..." started explaining very excitedly the Little Girl.
"Wow, he has lot's of plans for you..."
"Yes, he likes me, and also we can go and dance at the restaurant with Minnie and Pluto. and they like me very much!"
"Papi likes you!", said Papi.
"Yes, and I like Papi!", laughed the Little Girl, "and I like Papi when Papi takes me to the house of Mickey".
"So you want to go to the house of Mickey on your birthday?", asked Papi.
"YES!", shouted the Little Girl.
"So you know that you must always put away your toys after playing ?"
"Yes Papi".
"And you know that you must wash your teeth before going to bed ?"
"Yes Papi".
"And you know that you must go early to bed ?"
"No!" said the Little Girl.
"Yes you do!", insisted Papi.
"Ah, OK, I will go early to bed!", promised the Little Girl.

The Seat Belt

Are your kids educated with seat belts ? Do they put them on without hesitation ? Do they try to travel without the seat belt on ? Do the use it everywhere ? On cars ? On planes ? On trains ? In joy rides ? What do you do when they don't want to put on the seat belt ? Do they make a scene ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

Papi was taking the Little Girl to the party. The Little Girl was happy, she was going in Papi's car.
Papi sat the Little Girl on the special seat. The Little Girl came with some friends. Mouthy the plush dog and Jumpy the plush rabbit both came on the trip as well.
They were all going to visit the Pink Girl and the friends Beardy the plush bear and Neckie the plush giraffe.

The Little Girl put the seat belt on and told Mouthy and Jumpy to pout the seat belt on. Papi always said it was dangerous to travel without the seat belt. Jumpy put the seat belt on, but Mouthy did not want to put it on. Mouthy said that the seat belt made him feel very tight. And mouthy wanted to be able to move and watch out of the window.
The Little Girl told Mouthy it was dangerous, and if Papi saw he was not wearing the seat belt, Papi would be very angry. But Mouthy did not care. He sat and wiggled his tail.
Papi was driving the car, they were going slowly. Suddenly the Little Girl saw the Blue Boy through the front window. Papi stopped the car very fast to not hit the Blue Boy. The Little Girl and Jumpy both felt the pressure of the seat belt and they sat still in the car. But Mouthy did not have the seat belt on. Mouth flew to the front seat and hit the head on the front window of the car.
the Little Girl and Jumpy were safe, but Mouthy was hurt on his head.
"Next time wear the belt Mouthy!", said the Little Girl to Mouthy, the disobedient plush dog.

The Puppet Show

Do your kids like theater ? Do you take them to see some shows ? What about puppets ? Do they interact with the characters ? Do they warn the characters of dangers ? or do they run away and hide their eyes in the sight of danger ? Do they like to play theater ? Do they behave during session ? Do they talk loud ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The tailor was making a new mantle for the king. the Little Girl wanted to help the tailor, she was telling him always where the things he needed were.
"The scissors are on the shelf!"
"The cloth is on the table!"
"The thimble is in your pocket!"

But the tailor seam to be deaf. He did not listen to the Little Girl.
Finally, the tailor got the things he needed and made the mantle. It was time to take the mantle to the king.
On the way a wild boar approached the tailor. The Little Girl shouted with her lungs full of air: "Watch out with the wild boar!". But the tailor still did not listen to the Little Girl.
"ARGGHH!", shouted the tailor when he saw the wild boar. the tailor ran for his life.
The Little Girl was upset, "Man! The tailor does not listen to me, he is always getting into trouble!".
"Hello Little Girl, now you know how Papi feels when he talks to you...", said Papi.
The tailor managed to escape the wild boar, only to get between two trolls that were in the forest.
The tailor went up a tree.
"Don't come down, watch out with the trolls!", shouted the Little Girl.
Finally the tailor was doing what she told him. And now the tailor was throwing rocks at the trolls when they fell asleep. The trolls waked up and started finding one another.
The Little Girl laughed loudly, and told to the tailor that he could now come down the tree.
The tailor did what she said, and the Little Girl cheered.
"Finally!", said the Little Girl.
"See, it's much better when you do what people that know better tell you!"", said Papi to the Little Girl.
"Yes, Papi, I will do what you tell me!", answered the Little Girl.

The Dirty Tooth

Do your kids protect their teeth ? Do you need special actions to motivate your children to wash their teeth ? Do they wash the teeth with you ? Are they afraid of the dentist ? Do they know that sweets are bad for the teeth ? Have the tooth started to fall or break ? What about injuries playing ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

"I am dirty, I want to take a bath!", the Little Girl heard a voice, but she did not know where the voice came from.

"I am dirty, I want to take a bath, I hurt when I am dirty", The Little Girl heard the voice one more time. The Little Girl did not know where the voice came from, but she knew it should be near.

"I am dirty, I am all covered in a sticky sweet liquid", said the voice once more.

The voice seemed to come from inside the Little Girl.

The Little Girl went to look at the mirror, and when she opened the mouth she saw the little tooth complaining. "I am dirty!".

The Little Girl touched the little tooth. "Ouch!", said the tooth. "You are sticky!", said the Little Girl.

"Oh!, and your other tooth friends are also dirty!", observed the Little Girl.

The Little Girl picked up the tooth brush and the tooth paste. She brushed the tooth to clean it, then she brushed the other teeth. She held the plastic cup with water, took a sip and washed the tooth paste away from the teeth. She throw the water away.

She used the special towel for the teeth, the white stripe floss, and with that she cleaned between the teeth.

She opened the mouth to see the teeth. the teeth were all shining.

The Little Girl smiled, what a beautiful smile she has, with all the white teeth.

Tea Time

Do you host friends? Do your friends bring their children? Do your children help you hosting? Do you have the pleasure of welcoming guests? Do your children receive well others in their space? Do they share their toys? Do they offer cake to their little friends? Do they play together? Do they play being hosts as well? How much they learn from you? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl was at her kitchen. She was putting the plates and the tea cups for Papi and Mami. The Little Girl invited Papi and Mami to have tea in her room. The little table was looking very beautiful. The Little Girl put two plates for each person.

She heard somebody knock at the door. The Little Girl opened the door. Papi and Mami arrived for tea.
The guests sat at the little table. The Little Girl served tea to Papi and Mami. Then she handed two plates to each.

"This plate is for the healthy food, and this is for the food that is not healthy.", said the Little Girl handing the plates.
"This is healthy!", said the Little Girl giving a carrot.
"This is not healthy!", said the Little Girl giving the chips.
"Healthy!", apple.
"Not healthy!", cake.
"Healthy!", tomato.
"Not healthy!", lollipop.
"Healthy!", chicken.
"Not healthy!", ice-cream.

Roses are Red...

How much are your children exposed to love ? Do you tell them frequently that you love them ? Do they say they love you ? Do you encourage them to express their fondness ? How do you express your love with your partner in front of them ? Are you keen on having joint moments together ? To what you say no so that you can be with your children ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl asked Papi to pick her up at kindergarten. It was nice to have Papi pick her up. And today was a special day, she did not know it when she told Papi. At the kindergarten the Little Girl and her friends learned how to make little paper hearts. Postcards in heart shape. They even used a doctor thingy to listen to the heart beating.

Papi appeared at the class door. "Papi, I made this heart for you, I love you!", said the Little Girl proudly to Papi. "I think you have been learning about Saint Valentin today!", answered Papi.
"Where is Mami ?", asked the Little Girl. "She is at school, let's pick her up", proposed Papi.
They went to pick up Mami at school. They stood both at the entrance. Papi was holding a rose, and the Little Girl was holding another heart postcard.
Mami came.
"I Love You!", said Papi to Mami.
"I Love you Mami!", said the Little Girl.

Another great moment

Another great moment.
My daughter got entranced by reading the first mock-up of the new book. Received the print in the mail, and couldn't rest until i went through the ritual of reading a story to my daughter.

She loved the story, she really liked it and said to me that she liked it, "Papi, the story is beautiful!".
That is a huge motivator to continue.
While reading, and many days after having sent the story for creation of the mock-up , we really get a new feeling for the story. Some paragraphs that are not needed, they do not add anything to the story, and just makes the story to long for the kids. Other sentences are too elaborate for the kids, so need simplification. It is a huge pleasure doing this, and we do it with the feeling of creating something.
It is really indeed a great experience.
Now I'm doing the first proof-reading of the books in both English and Portuguese. And a dear friend is helping me with the German version as well.
excited moments these that i am living now, creating something, and especially feeling committed to my own promise made in July 2013 to myself.
A huge thanks to all the fans that have inspired me to carry on.

Dreamcatcher

How frequent do your kids have nightmares? How do they react? Do they avoid going to sleep? Do they roll over and continue sleeping? How do you calm them down? Do you stay in bed with them until they calm down? Do they come to your bed? Do the find reasons to avoid going tonnes? Do they resist falling asleep? Do they tell you the nightmares they have? Can you understand them? Do you feel they are fully awake when they have those night terror or still sleeping? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl did not want to sleep. She knew there was a big spider, a big giant, and a big one eyed monster, waiting for her on her sleep. But she was tired. The Little Girl was getting more and more frightened as she fell the sleepiness crawling in.
The Indian girl said hello to the Little Girl. The Indian girl told the story about the tribe shaman that could catch the bad dreams. The Little girl got excited, she wanted to talk to the tribe shaman. But to get to the Tribe shaman they had to go through a dangerous path to show how courageous they were. Only the courageous could talk with the tribe shaman.

The first trial was the path of the spider. The Little Girl and the Indian girl had both to pass near the big spider with legs bigger then the girls. And the Little Girl and the Indian girl both passed by the big spider. The spider seeing that the girls were courageous did not even try to get near them.
The second trial was the path of the giant. The Little Girl  and the Indian girl had both to pass near the big giant with arms bigger than the girls. And the Little Girl and the Indian girl both passed by the big giant. The giant seeing that the girls were courageous did not even try to get near them.
The third trial was the path of the one eyed monster. The Little Girl and the Indian girl had both to pass near the big one eyed monster with a head bigger than the girls. And the Little Girl and the Indian Girl both passed by the big one eyed monster. The one eyed monster seeing that the girls were courageous did not even try to get near them.
They saw the tribe shaman, and the tribe shaman gave the girls a dreamcatcher. The dreamcatcher would grab the bad dreams while they were sleeping.
The Little Girl fell asleep. She dreamed a spider, and the spider was caught by the dream catcher. She dreamed a giant, and the giant was caught by the dreamcatcher. She dreamed a one eyed monster, and the one eyed monster was caught by the dreamcatcher.
The Little Girl could now sleep peacefully. With the dreamcatcher protecting her.

Policeman

Do you know who to trust ? And your kids ? Did you teach them how to differentiate between trustworthy and non-trustworthy ? Do they trust the Police ? Do they trust their teacher ? How did you explain them what are bad people that can harm them ? What safety and confidence do you have in their surroundings ? How do they know who are the bad people ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The policeman was doing is round. The Little Girl looked at the policeman in curiosity.
"Hello Mr. Policeman!", said the Little Girl.
The policeman seemed surprised, but smiled back at the Little Girl. "Hello Little Girl, how are you!", replied the policeman.
"I am good. Are you going to arrest bad people ?", asked the Little Girl.

The policeman laughed out loud, "Yes Little Girl, if I see bad people I will arrest them."
"that is good, If bad people come to rob the house, we will call you to arrest them!", said the Little Girl.
"Yes, you do that!", answered the policeman.
"Have you arrested many bad people ?", continued the Little Girl.
"Some, when they do bad things!", answered politely the policeman.
"Are there many bad people here ? Can we go safe to the kindergarten ?", insisted the curious Little Girl.
"This is a good neighborhood, if you see bad people call the police!"
"Thank you Mr. Policeman, it is very important to have police to take care of the dangerous bad people!", said the Little Girl.
"Thank You Little Girl", answered the policeman.

Mono-cycle

Do you like taking a walk with your children, simply enjoying the moment together ? Do you go to new places ? Do you go to places were you get surprises or unusual things ? Have you ever crossed somebody with a different hobby on the street ? How do your children react ? Do they say "wow" ? Do they also want to try it ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

Papi and the Little Girl were looking for ice-cream. It was the first time they were in this street. Neither papi nor the Little Girl knew where they could find an ice-cream shop. Looking in all they directions, suddenly the Little Girl said "WOW!".

The Little Girl was looking at a mono-cyclist. It was the first time ever that the Little Girl saw one. "Papi, is he from the circus ?" asked the Little Girl. "I want to go to the circus, I want to see the mono-cyclist.", said the Little Girl.
The Little Girl saw a broken bicycle. She went to the broken bicycle and took one of the wheels. She stood on top of the wheel and shouted to Papi; "Look Papi, look at me!". The Little Girl was balancing on top of the wheel. "Can you get me a saddle Papi, I need a saddle for this to become a mono-cycle."
"You need more than that Little Girl!", answered Papi.
But the Little Girl did not care. She took her little play pony from her backpack, and from the pony she took the saddle out. The little Girl had now her mono-cycle. the Little Girl was riding the mono-cycle. "Wait normal man clown, wait for me..."

Sand Castle

Do your kids like to play with the sand ? Do you take them to the beach, sandbox or playground ? Do they take the pail and shovel ? Do you make them use special clothing ? Do you help them with the constructions ? What do they like to build ? Or do they prefer to draw on the sand ? Do they build around the little animals ? Do they fetch leaves, branches or sea shells ? Or they bring some toys to play on the constructions ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

"More wet sand, this dry sand does not stand still." said the Little Girl to her soldiers.
"We cannot build a castle with this dry sand.", the Little Girl continued.
The soldiers started looking for some wet sand. They needed to dig a little more, perhaps the wet sand was under the dry sand. They searched everywhere in the playground's sandbox.
"We need more people to look for the wet sand.", said the Little Girl looking in the direction of the princess Beauty and prince Charming. Not a second more and the princess and prince were also looking for wet sand.
The Little Girl paused a bit to regain strength. She drank a bit of water, and she spilled some.
"Ah! Soldiers, spill your canteens on the sand, that will give you the needed wet sand.", instructed the Little Girl.
The soldiers brought the wet sand. The Little Girl used the shovel to place the sand in the pail and with each load the Little Girl made the castle towers. Now to build small walls between the towers and she had a beautiful square castle.
"Into the castle.", instructed the Little Girl. And all the soldiers took their place guarding the castle on the tower, walls and door. "You too.", said the Little Girl to the princess and prince.
The Little Girl dig a moat around the castle, "Now the castle is protected, to bad there are no crocodiles today to put in the moat, they must be after the pirate captain"

The Egg and the Spoon

Do you make games for your children ? Are kitchen utensils usually involved ? You make versions in cardboard or thick paper ? Do you paint your creations ? Do they involve more physical and agility or intelligence and creativity ? Have you tried the game of carrying an egg with a spoon ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl was looking at the birds. The birds seemed to be happy. But a small lady bird was sad, she was crying a lot. The lady bird did not have an egg. She wanted an egg, she wanted to have a baby bird. The Little Girl did not know what to do to make the lady bird happy again.
Other birds were very happy, they had a lot of eggs, and the parents were singing happily baby songs. The Little Girl saw a bird's nest without any birds. She climbed a a bit the tree and saw that there was one egg. The Little Girl asked the birds that lived in a neighbor nest: "Hello happy birds, why is that egg alone in the nest ?".
"There was a big bad bird that came and chased the birds that lived in that nest, they had to fly away.", answered the neighbor birds.
"And the birds never came back ?", asked the Little Girl.
"No, they never came back!", answered the neighbor birds.

The Little Girl did not hesitate, she fetched a spoon to not touch the egg, and carried the egg to the sad lady bird's nest. in the way a barking dog came and scared the Little Girl. But the Little Girl was in a very important mission, she could not get scared and let the egg fall. The Little Girl kept all her courage and let the dog bark near her while she held the egg safe with the spoon.
Along the way a group of bicyclists passed very fast, they almost caught the Little Girl by surprise, but the Little Girl held steady the egg with the spoon. The came a cat running very fast. the cat passed under the Little Girl's legs, but the Little Girl held steady the egg with the spoon.
The Little Girl finally arrived at the sad lady bird's nest. Carefully the little Girl placed the egg in the nest.
The sad lady bird was no longer sad. the lady bird started singing happily and thanking the Little Girl.
The Little Girl was happy, she found a home for the lonely egg, and found a loving mother to share the love with the new baby bird.
The next day the Little Girl came to visit the lady bird, and she found the lady bird singing with the baby bird.

Playground

Do you go often with your kids to the playground ? Do your kids ask you to take them ? Do they like the playground ? Can they stay for long ? Do they play with the swings, sandboxes, monkey bars, sliders or invent games on top of them ? Do they play with the other kids or play alone ? Do you have a ritual like going for ice-cream afterwards ? Do you go there by bicycle or walk ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl climbed the ladder quickly, other kids followed her. At the top of the ladder she made a small jump on to the platform. The other kids mimicked her. The Little Girl walked on the rope bridge to the platform on the other side. The other kids followed her. At the tower the Little Girl climbed the stairs to the top of the tower. The other kids climbed the stairs as well. The Little Girl slides down the slide and the other kids follow her.

The Little Girl runs around the play castle. The other kids followed her around the play castle. the Little Girl says: "STOP!", and all the kids stop. The Little Girl shouts: "RUN!", and all the kids start running. The Little Girl shouts: "JUMP!", and all the kids jump. The Little Girl shouts "Clap you hands!", and all the kids clap their hands. The Little Girl shouts "Stomp your feet!", and all the kids stomp their feet.
The ice-cream lorry comes with its music. It is playing a pop hit. The Little Girl starts to sing the song and stomping her foot. The other kids also sing the song and stomp the foot. The Little Girl sings loud and dances like on the TV. All the other kids follow her steps and dance to the song.
The playground was now transformed into a music show. All the parents watching and enjoying. When the music stopped the kids were exhausted. All the kids cried at the parents for ice-cream. The Little Girl copycat the kids and asked Papi for ice-cream.

Learning WORDS

Help Me, dear friends, another project on it's way! My daughter is now getting curious with words. She understands that words have meanings. So I decided to make a learning book for her and other kids like her. We live in a multilingual environment, so the book will have an illustrative drawing the same word written in 3 languages. What would be the first words you would like your child to learn ? Are those words that your child likes or that you like ? Imagine the words your child would like to learn first, tell me those words...

Skeletons

Do your kids watch to much TV ? How do you control the amount they see ? Do they have a timetable ? What type of show do they see ? Do they get disturbed by what they see ? Does it generate nice dreams ? Do they tell nice stories from what they watch ? Does it generate nightmares and fears ? How do you manage when they have nightmares ? Do you write down the stories they tell ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The skeletons raise from the ground and frightened the Little Girl. the Little Girl was not expecting skeletons, she was looking for the wild fox and the brave hound. The Little Girl ran away, she was looking for someplace safe from the skeletons.
She hid behind the bush. She was very afraid, the skeletons made a lot of noise. they made a strange toc sound when the bones touched each other. Toc, toc, toc, the Little Girl could hear the skeletons approaching.

Papi had told her not to go down that path, but she was stubborn and wanted to go anyway. The Little Girl was sorry that she did not listen to Papi. Now the skeletons were everywhere making the toc toc toc sound.
The Little Girl managed to get some very faint words out of her mouth "I am sorry Papi!".
When she said the words a bit more of light glowed from where she was. She could listen far away the voice of Papi, "Where are you, I cannot hear you, speak louder Little Girl!"
The Little Girl said once more the faint words "I am sorry Papi!"
"Louder, louder, so that I can hear you...",  the Little Girl could hear Papi approaching.
This time, the Little Girl grabbed all her courage and said loudly "I am sorry Papi!".
A big light came from the Little Girl and knocked down all the skeletons. She was safe again. She could see Papi coming.
"I love you Papi", said the Little Girl.
"I love you Little Girl", said Papi.

The Mammoth

Do you take your children to see kid's shows ? Does he like it ? Do you go with the full family ? Do you stop for the merchandise ? Do you go to shows where your child's heroes appear ? Does he want to be part of the show ? Is it difficult to get him in the show room ? What is it like after the show ? Does your kid talk about the show for hours ? tell me your story, here is mine...

All the heroes were in the show. Papi did not know the names of the heroes. the Little Girl had to explain everything to Papi, she was really upset that Papi did not know all the heroes. The squirrel after the nut was tough for the Little Girl, she also did not know the name of the squirrel.
But the squirrel was funny, he always made silly stuff trying to get the nut. He was a bit like the Little Girl, said Papi. Papi was always saying that the Little Girl did a lot of silly stuff and always something strange happened when the Little Girl was active.
Not today, today the Little Girl was sitting quietly watching the squirrel do silly stuff. Then came the mammoth family. they were always happy. The little mammoth went to play and ended up away from the parents. The bad birds came and took the baby mammoth.

The Little Girl saw all of it happen, she did not understand why the other friends of the baby did not see it.
The Little Girl shouted "Watch out, the bad birds are coming!". But it seemed that it did not good, nobody was paying attention to the Little Girl. She decided to intervene.
The Little pointed the flashlight at the bad birds as they were flying away. And the Little Girl started chasing them, she fetched the saber-tooth lion to come with her. She told the saber-tooth lion the way to go. "They are hiding there, come, let's go fetch the baby mammoth", shouted the Little Girl.
The sloth got lost while chasing the saber-tooth lion. The Little Girl shouted at the sloth "Up here, come lazy sloth!".
It was really very fortunate that all the animals had the Little Girl watching everything. She helped them to find the baby mammoth and restore happiness to the big, really big, family! Two really big mammoths and a baby mammoth bigger than 10 Little Girls.

Speed

Do your kids like speed ? Do they like wheel sports ? Do you feel it as transportation or fun ? Are you a bicyclist ? Do you make trips with your children ? Do they convince you to do skateboarding ? What about rollers, do you or your kids have one ? Do they push the bicycles, skateboards, rollers to the limit of their speed ? Do you make them use protective gear ? Is the helmet always present ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl put her right leg on the pavement, pushing with strength the roller. The Little Girl gained speed and held tight to the handlebar. Foot once more on the pavement and another strong push.
The Little Girl enjoyed the speed on her face, she could feel the wind of a not windy day. All the wind the Little Girl could feel was wind made by herself. And the Little Girl wanted to feel more wind, so another string push with the right leg.

The roller was passing by all the trees, each time faster and faster, the trees passed quicker and quicker. Nobody could catch the Little Girl, she was as fast as an airplane, if only she could fly.
The Little Girl held tight to the handlebar and was imagining to visit the clouds. The sound of the wheels on the pavement suddenly stopped, the Little Girl jumped with the roller and for that brief moment she was flying. The sound of the wheels resumed as the Little Girl went to small mound.
Up from the mound the Little Girl could see all of the park. She pushed the roller down the mound with all the speed she could, she pushed, she pushed, her foot on the pavement getting more and more speed. Soon the Little Girl placed both her feet on the roller and enjoyed the speed going downhill.
As the speed increased, the Little Girl stopped listening to the sound of the wheels on the pavement to be replaced by the whoosh of the sound of the air passing her ears. The Little Girl was flying in a magical moment, she could see the trees, and after the Little Girl saw the trees from above flying over them. She flew over the pond and made a low flyby to see the wind generate small waves over the pond as she flew over it.
The birds joined her in the flight. The Little Girl was heading the V shaped flock of birds. The flock headed by the Little Girl looked like an arrow pointing and calling everybody's attention that the park was the place to be for having fun.

Row Row Row Your Boat

Do you like boats ? Do you like traveling on boats ? Do your kids like boats ? Do they get seasick when traveling ? Do they like rowing ? Do they want to row alone ? Do you go on boat trips with your kids ? Where do you ride boats with them ? At the theme parks ? At lakes ? Going to work ? Are they nervous on the boats ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl got down from the pirate's galleon. She went down to the small boat tied to the galleon that the captain used to go ashore when needed. But she was escaping the pirate captain. The Little Girl saw the captain sleeping on his leather chair and decided it was the right moment to try and escape.
All of the pirate crew was sound asleep. It was the perfect moment for the Little Girl to make it to the small boat. As she climbed down the rope ladder the captain's parrot noticed the Little Girl.
"Ahoy, prisoner escaping!", shouted the captain's parrot.
The Little Girl could hear the parrot loud and clear, but she was already half-way down the rope ladder. The Little Girl made the last steps to the row boat while she could hear all the pirates waking up trying to understand what was going on.

The Little Girl started to row the boat with all her strength. She managed to get two meters distance from the galleon when the first pirate heads could be seen looking down in her direction.
"There she goes, there she goes", shouted the ugly one handed pirate.
"The prisoner is moving away in the captain's row boat", shouted the ugly one eyed pirate.
"Shoot the boat", shouted the ugly one legged pirate.
Soon all the pirates were making loud noises that woke up the pirate captain. the pirate captain came outside of his cabin to see all the pirates not knowing what to do.
"Jump you idiots, jump and swim to the boat, she's only a Little Girl, what are you afraid of ?", shouted the pirate captain.
The pirates jumped into the water and started swimming in the direction of the Little Girl's boat. In the meantime the Little Girl had already made a distance of 10 meters from the boat. When the pirates started swimming they all got afraid.
"Oh No!", shouted the ugly one handed pirate.
"Oh Yes!", shouted the ugly one eyed pirate.
"Swim back!", shouted the ugly one legged pirate.
They saw the huge big crocodile. The crocodile was swimming in the pirate's direction as if it saw a nice big creamy chocolate cake. The crocodile had a a big smile with a big mouth. The crocodile was ready to eat the pirates. But the pirates were so afraid that they could run on water back to the galleon and climb up the rope ladder in less than a minute.
Today the crocodile was going to be be hungry.
The Little Girl was already at the beach getting out of the small row boat. She waved and said bye bye to the crocodile.

Let's Play ?

Does your family live in a multilingual environment ? Do you teach other languages to your kids ? Does your kid understand what a language is ? Can your kid differentiate between languages ? Do you watch movies in other languages ? What is the exposure of your kid to other languages and cultures ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl did not like to fly in the plane. The Little Girl had to sit down for a very long time. And when the Little Girl wanted to play, Papi and Mami told her to be quiet.
"I don't want to fly anymore... it's boring!", said the Little Girl when they got out of the plane.
Soon the Little Girl saw another Little Girl and went to play.
"Let's play, let's play copycat", suggested the Little Girl.
The other girl did not understand the Little Girl, she just shrugged her shoulders, universal sign of not understand... or not caring...
The Little Girl insisted making funny monkey faces, "Let's play copycat."

The other girl approached her mummy, "That Girl is saying strange things", told the other girl to her mother in the same language the Little Girl usually talked with her own mother.
The Little Girl approached the other girl once more, and insisted "Let's play copycat!", and the other girl to her mummy, "See, she speaks funny.!"
The Little Girl could not understand the confusion in the other girl, and why she said to her mother that she talked funny.
The Little Girl went back to Papi.
"Papi, that girl does not talk the language of the kids, she only talks grownup language...", complained the Little Girl to Papi.
"Little Girl, in this place, the language of the kids is the same language you and Papi speak.", explained Papi.
"Ah! This place is silly, the cartoons on TV are in kids language or in grownup language ?"

The Princesses and the Captain

Does your child have an hero ? Or heroes ? Do you talk about the traits of the heroes ? What in those heroes makes your child like them ? What are the traits you like and imagine could be good for your child ? Do the heroes transport your child to a world of fantasy ? Or do they enhance reality ? How often you immerse with your child in the world of his heroes ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl was deciding what clothes to wear to the party. Everybody else was going to be at the party and all kids would wear the clothes of their hero.
The Little girl had the beautiful blue princess dress to wear, Papi got her dress for her birthday, it had many layers of blue. She could go to any princess palace and be the most beautiful princess there.
The Little Girl had her tight blue and red suit to wear. Papi got the suit after she came one day from kindergarten saying she wanted to be Spiderman. The suit enhanced her muscles and they got bigger, she was the strongest kid with this suit on.
The Little Girl had her football team suit to wear. Papi got the suit for kindergarten football day. She wanted the colors or her favorite team. With that suit she became the best football player, she could run the full field and score goals.
The Little Girl had her astronaut suit. Papi got the suit for when they went to the theme park house of buzz. But she was disappointed with the suit, she could not fly. But she told Papi that, Buzz also could not fly.
The Little Girl had her cowboy suit to wear. Papi got the suit for the costume party at kindergarten. With the cowboy suit she became the sheriff and told everybody what to do. The suit had blue jeans, yellow square shirt, a red neck bandanna, the cowboy hat, brown boots and belt, and a beautiful sheriff star. Nobody doubted her authority when she was Sheriff Woody.
The Little Girl decided she wanted the authority, so she chose the cowboy suit.
At the street crossing she saw a big and funny man. "Who are you ?" Asked the Little Girl.
"I am the ship captain.", answered the funny man.
"I do not believe, show me, let me see the ship captain suit."
"But it is cold here, I will take my coat out inside the building.", answered the big funny man.
"If you don't prove it I will shout and call that police there.", threatened The Little Girl.
The big and funny man opened is coat to reveal the ship captain's suit.
"See? We are all going to the same party..."
"Why are you the only grownup with a costume?", asked the suspicious Little Girl.
"Because I am the organizer of the party", smiled the big funny man.
Sheriff Woody and the ship captain arrived together at the party. Everybody was there at the party. They where greeted by a big bunch of princesses. There was the blue princess, the red princess, the Indian princess, the mermaid princess, the pink princess, the sleepy princess, the happy princess, the clown princess.
"Who are you?", asked the princesses.
"I am the Sheriff Princess.", answered the Little Girl.

The white cat

What is the relationship of your kids with animals ? Do you like your kids play with animals ? Do you have animals ? Do your kids like to play ? Do they seek opportunities to play with animals ? Do you like more indoor our outdoor animals ? Has your kid been with farm animals ? Does your child prefer dogs or cats ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The white cat was sitting lazily on the chair. The Little Girl approached the cat. The Little Girl was attentively looking at the cat. The white cat turned it's head so that he could stare the Little Girl right in the eyes.
With a small hint of fear, the Little Girl approach with the hand to fondle the cat.

The white cat started purring. The Little Girl, started to fondle a bit faster, but the cat did not like and moved away. The Little Girl approached once more and the cat decided to climb up the bookcase.
The Little Girl went to fetch some of the cat's food and started showing the food to the cat.
"Here kitty, here...", called the Little Girl.
But the cat did not come, he couldn't be bothered with such trivial things. The cat wanted to simply relax.
The Little Girl went to fetch some of the cat's toys and started showing the toys to the cat.
"Here kitty, here...", called the Little Girl.
But the cat did not come, he couldn't be bothered with such trivial things. The cat wanted to simply relax.

The Little Girl went to fetch a ball of string and threw the ball of string to the cat.

But the cat did not come, he couldn't be bothered with such trivial things.

The Little Girl was very sad and cried "Papi, the cat does not come, I want to play with the cat."

"Cat's only play when they want, and they are more stubborn than you Little Girl", said Papi.

"What is stubborn ?", asked the Little Girl.

"Stubborn are people that do what they think without wanting any feedback from other experienced people."

"What is experienced ?", asked the Little Girl.

"Experience is what people that have tried something before learn by doing things.", explained Papi.

"Cat's don't do what other cats have tried before?", asked the Little Girl.

"You will stop calling the cat before the cat responds to your request, it only does what it wants to.", explained Papi.

"But I don't want to stop...", said the Little Girl.

"Sit on the sofa Little Girl, I will show you something."

And the Little Girl sat excitedly on the sofa.

"Be calm Little Girl.", requested Papi.

Papi went to fetch a poster and unfold it by the opposing bookcase to where the cat was.

The cat came and sat on the Little Girl's lap on the sofa.

"Now be very smooth with the cat Little Girl, fondle but very slowly".

The white cat purred while it looked at the picture of a fireplace in Papi's poster.