Tag: pets

SoCS 2-4-23 Just Right

On By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion...13 Comments

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “perfection.’” Use it any way you like. Enjoy!



I’m a ‘word’ person. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that y’all are too.
Words have meaning. Some are cultural, and some are regional, but we all hope that the meanings are close to universal in our own situational contexts. Don’t get me started on the current Pop Culture effort to redefine and/ or at least ‘water down’ the cohesiveness of our common understandings! {deep breath}

The word “perfection” has been one that I refused to use according to my own philosophy on early childhood education. I made a decision ‘many moons’ plus years ago to avoid using the term “perfect” in my interaction with children.
I’ll use the term “just right” but never “perfect”.

Here’s why:
“Perfect” suggests (to me) that there’s an objective measurement of something tangible that IS perfect. What a daunting pursuit for anyone to attempt to find “perfection” in an imperfect world among flawed, imperfect, people. I didn’t want any child to believe such a thing. I just know that they would fall short and be discouraged by their repetitive “imperfectness”. It’s already a hard enough task to grow and learn.
I also have noticed many adult people who actually get up in the morning with an expectation to find that ‘unicorn’ known as “perfect”. It’s painful to watch. Many people are just ‘born’ to impose such an impossible standard on themselves, but I made up my mind that during my childcare years, I wasn’t going to inspire it in kids by an inartful use of language.

So, what did I substitute for “perfect”? I adopted the use of “just right” with the kids. If something you’ve planned comes out the way you expect it to, it’s the subjective place of “just right”.
Goldilocks wanted porridge that was “just right” according to her expectations and tastes. Is there, or has there ever been, a “perfect” bowl of porridge? I’d like to know where THAT recipe book is.

Our mannerisms have lasting effects on children. They study what all adults do. (Not unlike the way our pets study us.) But our language also should be carefully regarded. When they aren’t watching us, they’re listening, and words still do have meaning.

Just so ya know, having the opportunity to watch kids grow and learn has offered me a small glimpse of God’s ‘perfect plan’ when He created them.

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope your weekend turns out “just right”. ❤

Oh, after writing this I recalled a heartwarming memory from my childcare years that fits this theme ‘just right’.
A former child in my care had a 1st grade assignment to draw a picture of something “Just Right” for him. When he showed me his drawing and caption, I cried. The drawing was of my house and play yard and the caption was ” My Day Care is just right for me.”

https://lindaghill.com/2023/02/03/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-4-2023/

Happily Ever After

On By Susan St.PierreIn Sideshows11 Comments

February xxx 019My husband grew up in a pet-free environment, so when he married me, we had many battles over living with pets.

We will be celebrating our 35th anniversary in July but the pet angle was a great big “bone” of contention for the better part of those years.

To the non-pet people, they are messy, costly and really get in the way of vacationing .

To a pet person, they are comforting, fun, and who needs a vacation, when the pet has to be left behind?

It took many years (about 26) for my husband to finally “see the light”. I can thank Ollie, my Jack Russel, for this transformation. Getting Ed to accept a new puppy took cunning and some deceit (I came clean eventually.), as well as, a sister who was willing to be an accomplice. My need to have a puppy took top priority. My heart was saddened by my husband’s inability to recognize how desperate was my desire for a dog. I could not imagine why anyone, who loves me, would deny me something so critical to my happiness.

Well, there was a power issue. “Who’s the boss?” plagues many marriages. BUT, it was mostly due to the fact that he had never felt the bond of a dog. He couldn’t place any importance on an “imaginary” need.

Then came Ollie. The little guy and Ed became fast friends. Ollie would lean against Ed and beg to sit with him. I would refer to Ed as “Daddy” and pointed out how much Daddy was missed by Ollie.

All things considered it was a very successful effort. Yes, I’ve gotten my way but the best part is having given Ed the love of a dog.

Now I catch Ed talking to Ollie on a regular basis, “What do you think of THAT, dog?” is a heart-warming phrase repeated daily. Ed invites Ollie under the bedding at night too. “Come on dog, want your blanket?” (For you wise guys-NO, he’s not talking to me.)

Above, they are pictured in a familiar camp posture. A man, a beer and his dog…Happily ever after. 😉

NATURE KNOWLEDGE—Frog Gender ID

On By Susan St.PierreIn Nature Knowledge, Sideshows15 Comments

There are people who just never pay attention to the gender of animals.  You know some of them, I’m sure.

The folks who insist that all cats are female and all dogs are male. (What do you suppose they think about Lady Bird Bugs?)

Well, I figured that they just haven’t had “easy access” to information that they really could care less about.

Since, parents,grandparents and caregivers are the earliest teachers for our kids and, kids knowing about nature ,is a passion of mine, I decided to offer quick posts of scientific facts for Kids of All Ages. Your kids will ask questions and wouldn’t it be great to have some answers “at the ready”?

I’m starting with frogs today.

How can we tell a girl frog from a boy frog?

Green frogs are easy once you know what to look for.

Frogs have circles behind their eyes. These are called tympanum. (a hearing organ/gland in frogs and toads)

Tympanum is also another term for drum. So a tympanum is a frog’s eardrum.

——————

In females, the tympanum is about the same size as her eye.

In males, the tympanum is larger than his eye.

In Green Frogs, mature males have bright yellow throats. They puff these up to show off and to let everyone know who’s the boss in the area.

Green Frogs are not always green…they range from many shades of green to shades of brown.

These posts will be compiled under Nature Knowledge in my categories. Hope they are helpful and interesting. 🙂

* Unless otherwise noted, all photos are my own.