5 Little Monkeys and Chinese food

Henry woke this morning in a tizzy because he couldn't remember Aunt Leslie coming into his room to say goodbye to him before she left for work. So we solved that problem by giving her a quick call while she was still in the car. After that, he was a happy, little boy.

So much so, that when he was in the bathroom brushing his hair and teeth, I was serenaded (whoops, I almost used the word marinated instead...hmmm) with the following tune:

Five little monkeys swinging in a tree, teasing Mr. Alligator "You can't catch me". Along came Mr. Alligator very quietly and SNAPPED that monkey right out of the tree.

This goes on for 5 verses, until there is only 1 little monkey that gets snapped at. It is concluded with that final monkey chanting "missed me, missed me, now you have to kiss me". I was so tickled listening to him sing this cute little ditty.

Today, we also had a mini-field trip that I was able to participate in. All of the kindergartens (about 12 in all) got taken to the local Chinese restaurant for lunch. When the school officials first approached the restaurant with the idea, management was less than eager to accommodate them. They felt that kindergartners were too "little" to come and sit nicely. They were also concerned because they do a robust lunch business without a group of 22 (including adults) descending upon them at once. After much reassurance, they finally relented and agreed under certain terms. We were allowed to come if they served a set menu to all, and if we arrived at 11 a.m., before their actual open time.

Well, I must say, this group of young men and women sure knew how to handle themselves. This field trip was the culmination of the grace and etiquette lessons they had received. Ms. Connie had a nice chat with them before we headed over about expected behavior and ran through what all would happen. The children were the picture of "good behavior". There were no complaints about the food presented to the participants (wonton soup, egg roll, chicken and vegetables, fried rice, and a cookie). There was no spillage. There were no children jumping out of their seats and wandering or running around. There was no screaming or even loud talking.

I think the restaurant owner was so surprised and so impressed by the group, at the end, he distributed special wafer cookies to the children. I do not think there will be any reservations about repeating this field trip with future kindergarten classes.