Sing a song of this old man comin' round the mountain through the woods tomorrow

As has been said before on Islandtime, Mark and Erin are not so great at routine. However, the kid has resulted in us adopting a variety of routines. One of which is bedtime. Because he is “not sleepy” and “no take a nap” we rely on diversionary tactics to get him into his bedroom. We’re pretty sure he knows what’s going on, but so far he’s willing to play along.

Once in his room, we read books which he selects. He knows every one of the 50 or so books in his room just by the cover. He discards the unchosen ones by flinging them over his shoulder. Papa get me the moon, fling, Poky little puppy, fling, Hop on Pop, fling, etc. until he has just the right books selected.

At some point during the reading process, we move from the floor to “your big bed.” (He still has trouble with personal pronouns so when he refers to himself it’s you or your and when he refers to his parents it’s my or me – it’s a little confusing). After we “cover up your tootsies” and turn off the light, we sing some songs. Which is a little like playing 20 questions:

I’ve been working on….NEW ONE

The itsy bitsy spi…NEW ONE

Supercali….NEW ONE

Puff the ma….NEW ONE

Rubber duck…NEW ONE

And so it goes, trying to put Chance to bed. Then we try some new songs:

Oh, my darling…NO

You are my sunsh…NO

Take me out to the…NO

It’s a small worl…NO

This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York island…DO AGAIN, AGAINm AGAINm AGAIN. “Chance see California” well, California is far away but someday we will take an airplane and see California “We go to her house and we eat some snacks and take a nap” yeah, ok, we’ll go to California’s house and eat some snacks. Good plan. Good night.

The current top 10 on the Chance Hit Parade:

Skip to my Lou
Frere Jacques
Inch by Inch
This land is your land
B-I-N-G-O
Paw Paw Patch
Zip a dee doo dah
Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny
Oompa Loompa

Not to mention a variety of homemade songs and verses created in desperation. New song suggestions always gladly appreciated. Or better yet, come on over and sing a few!

Comments

[g'mom]

How about "Over the river and thru the woods......"? And yes, I will come sing it...loud and proud....and off key.