Bowling Alley

Do you take your kids to the bowling alley ? Do they like it ? Do you go because you like it ? Who has the idea to go there ? Can the kids through the ball all the way ? Do you use the supporting guiding lanes ? How do they deal with the weight of the balls ? Do you teach them the moves ? Do you know the moves to teach them ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The blue ball was sleeping in the rack. The blue ball was not woken up usually. Some days the blue ball would not even exit once of the ball rack. The grownups never asked the blue ball to play. And the blue ball did not mind. After all, the blue ball only liked little children to play.
But today was a special day. The blue ball saw the Little Girl in a red dress approaching. The Little Girl looked at the blue ball, and picked up the blue ball.

Children never asked the ball to play. They just came and grab the balls and on they went to the bowling lanes. And the balls did not care, after all the play of the kids was always so much fun. The kids were happy if the balls made it all the way to the pins. The kids were happy if just one pin came down.
The blue ball liked the way the kids play. The kids always happy.
The blue ball was picked up by the Little Girl.
The Little Girl cleaned the blue ball with the bottom of the dress.
"Hello blue ball, you are clean now, you are going to fly to the pins, okay blue ball ?", said the Little Girl.
The Little Girl held tightly the blue ball with both hands, This was another thing the blue ball liked kids, they never placed their fingers in the holes. The kids did not know how to use the holes and did not mind with it.
"Go, go it the pins!", said the Little Girl to the blue ball throwing it along the lane.
The blue ball was happy to have the attention of the Little Girl. The blue ball called all the strength it had and rolled to the pins. The blue ball rolled and rolled and rolled. At the end of the lane, the blue ball took down 3 pins. Just before exiting the lane, the blue ball looked back and saw the Little Girl jumping in happiness.
When the blue ball came back to the beginning of the lane, the blue ball could still see the Little Girl jumping around happy.
"I did it, I did it Papi!", said the Little Girl.
"Next time I need to help the Little Girl hit the 10 pins!", thought the blue ball.

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.

Painting

Do you like to see your child paint ? Do you encourage him ? What does he paint ? Does he like to paint ? Do you remember his first painting ? What does he like to paint ? Do you paint with him ? What paints you and your child use ? How does the house look like after your child painting activity ? What is his favorite theme ? Does he paint mummy and daddy ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl was holding the little brush. What color should now she put on the little brush ? Blue ? Yes blue, blue is a good color.
The Little Girl painted the top of the page blue. papi always painted the top of page blue, blue is the color of the sky.

"Look Papi, I have painted the sky."
The Little Girl was proud of her blue sky. Now she needed to put clouds. But she did not know how to paint white.
The Little Girl was sad because she could not paint white clouds.
"Papi, I do not know how to paint white clouds. How do I paint white clouds ?"
"You have to leave space where you want the clouds. But you can paint a happy yellow sun now."
"Yeah, I am going to paint a happy yellow sun."

The Little Girl was looking at the colors and deciding what color next. Red, red is a good color. And the Little Girl painted a red ball in the middle of the page.
Next she got the black, and made a circle above the red ball. The Little Girl was inspired.
"Papi, I think there is a cartoon hiding behind the red ball."
The Little Girl continued drawing with the black paint. And now she just needed the shoes to look like usual.
She painted the shoes yellow.
"Look Papi, Mickey Mouse was hiding in the painting, but I found him.", said the Little Girl giggling.

Qwirkle

Father Christmas visited the Little Girl. He left some presents for the Little Girl under the tree. On the Christmas morning the Little Girl was excited to open all the presents. But the Little Girl had a small problem, she could not read and did not know for whom each different present was. So she started the guessing game.
- Papi, is this for me ?
- Yes Little Girl, that is for you.
- Papi, is this for me ?
- No Little Girl, that is for Mami.
- MAMI! MAMI! Nicholas left a present for you... come Mami.
And so the line of presents went all the way until the last.
- Papi, is this for me ?
- How interesting Little Girl, that is for the family, it is for the Little Girl, for Mami and for Papi.
- Wow, that is cool!
So the Little Girl unwrapped the special family gift.

It was a game with a lot of colors!
- What is this game Papi ? I want to play!
- This game is called Qwirkle.
- Qwirkle? I want to play, I want to play.
So Papi started reading the rules as the Little Girl Started unpacking all the little pieces.
The Little Girl was excited. Papi was finding the rules to complicated, he looked at the box and checked the age: from 6 years old. Hum, Papi had a problem, the Little Girl was only 4 years old.
But Papi had an idea, and told the Little Girl to go hide every little piece somewhere in the house. So the Family started the game, hiding the little black squares with the symbols on them.
When all the pieces were hidden, the family met around the small table at the Little Girl's room.
Papi then explained step number 2.
Papi was going to put some small song playing. When the song finishes, each player sits in the chair closer to him or her. Luckily, the Little Girl had 4 small chairs in her room. She had a chair of each color. She had a red, blue, yellow and green chair.
So Papi put the music playing. Then suddenly the music stopped and everybody sat on a chair.
The Little Girl was on a blue chair, Papi found a yellow chair, and Mami sat on the green chair.
Now Papi explained step 3. Each player need to find a piece that was hidden of the same color as the chair. Everybody ran to find a piece of that color.
Each time the family got back together near the table, the music would start again and stop.
In the end of the day, who had the more pieces won the game.
The family lost some pieces of the game that would be found for many years to come in the house. But everybody had a lot of fun playing the new version of the game.

Balloons

Ever been in the supermarket and your kids seem to want everything they see ? Do they want expensive stuff ? Do they simply want because you always give them something in the past ? Do they have a favorite thing they always want to bring from the supermarket ? Like cookies, chocolates or balloons ? How do you act with them ? How do you know them to get them the stuff they want or not too ? How do you tell them to not bring those useless extras? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl loved balloons. She loved balloons in all colors and shapes. As Papi pushed the shopping cart at the supermarket, the Little Girl placed little packs of balloons in the shopping cart.
Papi got the milk, the Little Girl got a small pack of white balloons and hid them behind the milk.
Papi got strawberries, the Little Girl got a small pack of red balloons and hid them behind the strawberries.
Papi got bananas, the Little Girl got a small pack of yellow balloons and hid them behind the bananas.
Papi got the lettuce, the Little Girl got a small pack of green balloons and hid them behind the lettuce.
The Little Girl also wanted blue balloons, but Papi was not putting anything blue in the shopping cart.
"Papi!" called the Little Girl pointing out, "You want the blue shovel", "No Little Girl, Papi does not need that."
"Papi!" called the Little Girl pointing out, "You want the blue jug", "No Little Girl, Papi does not need that."
"Papi!" called the Little Girl pointing out, "You want the blue basket", "No Little Girl, Papi does not need that."
The Little Girl was getting more and more excited, Papi was not buying anything blue, and she really wanted the blue balloons.
"Papi, Papi, I want the blue shampoo, I want to be pretty for Papi!", and Papi took the shampoo out of the shelf and to the shopping cart. The Little girl got a small pack of blue balloons and hid behind the shampoo.

The Little Girl and Papi went to pay for the groceries, and Papi was surprised with all the balloons. Papi looked at the Little Girl, and the Little Girl smiled back at Papi tilting her head with her hands and one foot behind her. Papi could not help but give a big laugh.
The lady at the cash register liked the Little Girl and asked her "Are you having a party today Little Girl ? So many beautiful balloons, here take this gift, it is a balloon pump."
Papi and the Little Girl went to the car, the Little Girl started pumping her balloons in the car. She was happy, now the car would fly home much faster. The Little Girl did not understand why Papi was complaining about the mirror. She did not want to look pretty now, she just wanted to fly home.

Cow in Boots

How do you teach the colors to your kids ? And to count ? Do they enjoy showing they know the colors ? And counting ? You teach them to count ? And the animals of the farm ? Have you taken them to see a farm `Do they know what a cow, pig or goat looks like ? Do they enjoy seeing the farm animals ? Do they like to feed them ? Are they afraid of the animals ? Tell me your story, here is mine...

The Little Girl went to the farm. The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.
The Little Girl had a present for the cow, the Little Girl had a big orange carrot to give to the cow.
Did the cow like carrots ?
Where was the big cow ?
The Little Girl went to the farm. The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.
- Hello brown dog, did you see the cow ?
- Woof woof, said the brow dog.
The Little Girl went to the farm. The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.
- Hello pink pig, did you see the cow ?
- Oink oink, said the pink pig.
The Little Girl went to the farm. The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.
- Hello white sheep, did you see the cow ?
- Meeeh meeeh, said the white sheep.
The Little Girl went to the farm. The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.
Is the cow at the lake ?
No at the lake only ducks.
The Little Girl went to the farm. The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.
Is the cow at the pen ?
No at the pen only chickens.
The Little Girl went went to the farm . The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.
Is the cow at the stable ?
Yes, the cow is at the stable.

The Little Girl went went to the farm . The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.

The Little Girl found the cow.

The cow was wearing boots.

The Little Girl went went to the farm . The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.

The boots had different colors.

One boot was Yellow, the cow was wearing a yellow boot.

One boot was Red, the cow was wearing a red boot.

One boot was Green, the cow was wearing a green boot.

One boot was Blue, the cow was wearing a blue boot.

The Little Girl went went to the farm . The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.

And the Little Girl learned the colors.

Yellow, Red, Green and Blue.

The Little Girl went went to the farm . The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.

How many boots was the cow wearing ?

The cow was wearing 4 boots, one boot for each leg.

1 - One, 2 - Two, 3 - Three, 4 - Four.

The Little Girl went went to the farm . The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.

And the Little Girl learned the numbers.

1 - One, 2 - Two, 3 - Three, 4 - Four.

The Little Girl went went to the farm . The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.

The Little Girl found the cow.
The Little girl gave a orange carrot to the cow.
The Little Girl went went to the farm . The Little Girl wanted to see the cow.

She saw the cow and now was sleeping the way home.

The Yellow Balloon

- Papi!

Happiness. I always get a rush of pure happiness when this simple word is followed by this little being with the big bright eyes.

- Mommy?

- Mommy could not come today.

- Why?

- Mommy had to go to the doctor.

- Why?

- Mommy is ill.

- Why?

- Come, let's change your shoes, we are going home now.

I always wonder when should I stop the why train. The Little Girl always manages to get to places I don't know how to answer.

- Papi?

- Yes?

- Can I go in the yellow balloon?

- Of course!

- Yeah! I am going in the yellow balloon. I am going in the yellow balloon.

Another rush. I have truly been blessed everyday for the last 4 years. I let myself watch the Little Girl as she jumped around, and has she jumped around she wanted to make sure every kid knew that she was going home in the yellow balloon.

We pulled the yellow balloon from the locker, it was still full of air, floating against the locker's ceiling. It was there as if by magic knowing of this one more mission, to take the Little Girl home safely.

I dressed her up with the pink water suit and the green gummy boots. It's raining outside and we will not be able to go to the playground. I didn't have a backup plan, would have to rely on my improvisation for the long hours Mommy would be undergoing the  exams.

On the way out, the Little Girl passed by her friend Bella. They talked very happily in their very unique magical language to which grownups are not invited. I did get the words yellow and balloon, I saw the Little Girl's excitement, and I got a feeling for Bella wanting to come with the Little Girl.

Rain. Still hasn't stopped raining for the last 2 weeks, sunshine would surely be welcomed by us. As we got out I could hear the sound of a little trampoline, almost as high as a musical high pitched drum. It was the sound of raindrops on the yellow balloon. The yellow balloon was the Little Girl’s umbrella.

The yellow balloon looked like a small private sun very bright, making an high contrast with the pink water suit. The yellow balloon was glowing privately for the Little Girl as if responding to her smile. The Little Girl’s smile became wider and the balloon intensified it’s glow.

The yellow balloon seemed to be growing, getting bigger and bigger, the raindrops getting louder and louder drumming on the yellow balloon. Suddenly the yellow balloon was covering the sky above me, and the Little GIrl was holding to the yellow balloon.

The yellow balloon was moving upwards, and the Little Girl as well. I held on to the Little Girl's legs as the yellow balloon pulled the Little Girl into the sky. I got nervous, afraid of the yellow balloon taking my Little Girl. But the Little Girl felt my fear and smiled back at me.

- Papi! We are flying, we are flying.

Somehow, knowing this bigger than life experience seemed usual to the Little GIrl, I relaxed a bit. The Little Girl was feeling my restlessness.

- Papi! We are going home in the yellow balloon.

- We sure are Little Girl. Put your legs tightly around my shoulders.

The Little GIrl was holding tight, I surely felt the Little Girl happy to be going home in the yellow balloon with her father.

- Papi, I don’t want to go to Neverland and the pirates. I want to go with Peter Pan when I am like this.

She showed me her stretched hands with the ten fingers up. Who is holding the balloon ? The Fox in purple superhero costume was holding the balloon in one hand and the Little Girl on the other. Good thing we discovered the Fox, it used to protect the Little Girl from bad dreams and from the darkness. Always good to have it around.

We passed the green gardens on the way home. Our neighbors looking at us and waving, they always exchanged accomplice smiles with the Little GIrl. She knew all of them.

- Hello Little Girl! What a beautiful yellow balloon you have there.

The Little Girl would just smile, giggle and look back.

- Hello Little GIrl! Papa came to pick you up today.

And the Little Girl would smile, laugh and wave back. She stretched her arms, mimicking a pink plane. Looked like the Fox was riding the plane and holding the yellow balloon. The Fox smiled back at me, I could read in it's eyes that it would always be there to protect the Little GIrl.

We saw the cars passing on the street, the other kids with their parents looking from the windows at the Little GIrl. I believe they all wanted to be in the Little GIrl’s place. The Little GIrl was flying home in the yellow balloon.

Bella waved her little arm from the window of the small blue car.

- Little Girl! You are flying in the yellow balloon!

The Little Girl stretched her arms in the direction of Bella, and showed the full ten finger from both hands.

- Yes, I am flying, and when I am like this, I am going to fly with Peter Pan to Neverland and the Pirates.

- Bye bye Little Girl!

We saw Bella move away waving her little arm from the window of the small blue car. The small blue car became smaller as it moved away from us.

We could see the clouds above us, the clouds looked familiar. I could see Rapid the rabbit. I could see Hearty the lion. I could see Uli the owl. I could see Mickey Mouse. And the Little Girl knew all the clouds. She waved at the clouds telling me excited the names of all of them as we flew by.

We passed by the retirement home. The woman with fluffy white hair and round cheeks looked and smiled at the Little Girl. The woman with the silver hair and long nose looked at the Little Girl in disapproval. The lady in blue with the big round glasses clapped her hands as we passed by.

- Papi! Fast, Papi, fast Papi!

The Little Girl didn't want to be too long there. She saw the old bald man in black holding the big stick. He’s nose was reminded us of an eagle. His eyes were red and we could see the lasers coming out. If the lasers pierced the balloon we would be in danger. I moved frantically my legs as if I was swimming away from of the crocodile, and we moved as fast as we could increasing our distance from the old bald man in black.

We could see the stone fountain in front of the house. We were getting closer to safety. But the Little Girl didn't want to go into the house yet. She wanted to talk with all the stones in the fountain. So she approached the stones. It had stopped raining. The sky was clear now, the clouds had changed color from grey to white.

I looked at her, as she gently placed her green gummy books on top of the first stone. She was holding the yellow balloon tight in her hand. She touched the stone with the other hand, and the black stone turned white. She jumped from one stone to the next circling the fountain of the big stones. With each step of the green gummy boots the stones turned to white.

As she jumped around the big stones fountain, the stones made all the fountain look like a circular piano, with the stones in place of the keys in the huge piano keyboard. In my mind I could listen to the tune. She was playing happy birthday as she jumped from stone to stone, as she pressed each big key.