Ethan-isms

Like many kids his age, Ethan can say the funniest things. Usually they have to do with Grandpa’s age. For instance a month ago when we were studying the American flag. We’ve talked about the flag a lot, what each color and the number of stars and stripes represent. When explaining to the kids that each star represents, I told them that when Grandpa and Grandma were young, there weren’t as many stars because they’re weren’t as many states. Ethan points to the picture in the history book of Betsy Ross stitching the first American flag and says: 

 

“Yeah. That was the flag when Grandpa was little.”

 

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One cold morning when schoolwork was finished, he and Emry decided to make a parachute in his room out of his car mat. This required string and a fan (although I warned him that the fan probably wasn’t going to conjure up enough air in his little room). When he came to ask for the string, I wasn’t exactly sure what they were up to yet. So, I asked him how much string he needed.

 

“Just one,” he responded.

 

“Okay,” I nodded. “How long?”

 

He paused for a moment and then said, “About ten minutes.”

 

I started to laugh, although I suppose it’s my own fault he thinks of “long” as only a measurement of time and not size. But we also haven’t gotten to measuring in his math yet, although we had a quick lesson there and then. (And once I knew what they were doing, I just gave them the whole skein of yarn anyway to cut their own lengths.)

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Yesterday we continued our study of pioneers in Emry’s history book. We talked about Daniel Boone, the Wilderness Trail, and wagon trains. Part of the discussion was about what these pioneers would put in their wagons to go west and how they could only take the basic necessities and maybe a small personal item. Ever the practical one, Emry’s first question upon learning they had no stores where they could stop and purchase needed items was if they built stores along the way. And when asked what she would take in a wagon if she were headed west, she said simply, “More food.”

 

I then asked Ethan what he would take if he were headed west. Without missing a beat, he responded:

 

“A bigger wagon.”