Noelle's Animal Guess

NOELLE'S ANIMAL GUESS

Noelle arrived, her dad and siblings were going to softball, so she and I took a walk.  We walked around the wrecked truck that she, her sister, and her Daddy were in when a woman pulled out in front of them.  The walk was so she could talk about it if she wanted, then we walked to the neighbors to see the new flower garden.  Once back at the house she did the cutest thing, she wanted to play animal guess.  She would act out the animal and I would take a guess.

In the middle of the family room she twirled and floated her arms in the air while thinking.

One arm swung deep and wide.  "Elephant!" 

Then she imitated diving and swimming.  "Porpoise!  No?  Dolphin!"  

Yes.

She took awkward steps, but it couldn't be a chicken, so I guessed generically, "Bird?"  

Yes. 

I was happy to be in tune with her.

Then she did a upward dog pose with her open mouth towards the horizon.  THAT had me stumped.  "Wolf?"  

No.  So she added a gesture making a circle around her head. 

"Lots of hair" she said.

"Oh, I know.  A lion!"  

Yes.

And, so help me, I couldn't get the this one at all.  She did odd things with her arms.  She took giant steps.  She made silent motions with her mouth.  Finally, I gave up.

It wasn't a monkey, it wasn't a chimpanzee....my guesses were wrong.

It was an orangutan!   Well.  Humpth.  Let's get specific!

Lastly she said, "This isn't an animal but you can still guess."  And I was NOT able to guess.  She ran to various places and found supplies to make a sign.  Then she reached up to where I kept a pile of pennies for the gumball machine, and dropped them in a plastic orange cereal bowl she'd retrieved from the kitchen cupboards.  Then she sat down with the bowl of coins between her crossed legs.  And held the sign in front of herself.

When her Dad came to get her, I had Noelle re-inact it, he read the "kids writing" sign just fine, right quick.  I was impressed.  I had struggled.  Here's what she'd written:

       Plees helpme

       I amhomelis

       Plees gv mesum

       muny

Translation, in case you can't read "kids writing" any better than I can, it says, "Please, help me.  I am homeless.  Please give me some money."

Where on earth did she get that idea from?!

"Let's go back to the animals," I said, having been out-foxed. I'm ready to go back to guessing animals, LOL.

"And no, Noelle, I don't understand mimicing twitching feet and swinging arms and hands that swim."

"Ariel, GrammyPam, don't you know Ariel?"