We get a lot of weird things through our library recycling program, but these little babies take the cake. They’re stiff felt pieces – I assume from a vintage felt board set?
Yes, they’re funny because they’re so obviously retro. But what’s also funny is that only these pieces of the set remain. When you group them outside the context of the larger set, the effect is rather…weird. Honestly, I think it’s the basket of fish that puts it over the edge.
Never one to pass on an opportunity to share the weirdness, I decided to turn these pieces into a writing prompt for Cotsen Critix, our literary society for kids ages 9-12. I told the kids they had to take these objects and create a story or describe a situation. But to make the prompt extra challenging, I told them they could only do it…in haiku. Here are a few of the resulting poems:
Three naughty children
Trying to catch a big bird
Oh no, that is bad
The bird eats the fish.
Can the bird eat the weird fish?
Suddenly it dies.
Yellow, pink, red, green
Let the fish swim in the stream
In a crate they scream
The bird flurries by,
A calm wind trails behind her,
Whee! This is so fun.
Flowers so dandy
Too bad birds eat the flowers
Sad so really sad
The boy ate dyed fish
Have fun in the stomach fish
Good bye Good bye fish!
The bird sips nectar
It’s so sweet, so delicious
Yummy yummy, yum!
Why so surprised fish?
Knee socks are really hip now
Too bad you’re knee-less
It’s gonna die soon!
It’s going on a flower!
It doesn’t matter.
The exercise, of course, was primarily meant for a bit of fun. And as you can see, there were silly poems, crazy poems, and goofy poems (did you spot mine?). But then, this little piece of perfection floated off a pen…
My nose is tired
Of the many smells of spring
When will winter come?
One, two, three, jump! Are you ready to meet our most popular toddler activity of all time? Ladies and gentleman, may I present…the Crevasse Challenge.
We needed something else. Something less vertical. Additionally, the climbing wall had age and height restrictions, so we wanted an activity everyone could try. So it needed to be adventurous, on the ground, with no age restrictions, and still rock related.
It’s important to mark where the different pieces of the crevasse fit together. That way, on the day of the event, you simply match the pieces, peel the backing off the contact paper, and stick everything in place. We used the matching lettering system below to pair the side cracks with the main crack (the letters were written on the backs of the pieces in permanent marker):
The crevasse is done. Are you ready to rock? I bought these “riverstones” from Discount School Supply. Not only are they colorful and sturdy, they have anti-slip bottoms. At $70 a set, they are a bit of a splurge (especially since we bought 2 sets). But I considered it an investment in quality and safety. After the event, we donated both sets to our local YMCA for further fun.
The rules for the Crevasse Challenge were simple. Start on the first yellow rock and navigate the length of the crevasse until you land on the second yellow rock. If you fell off a rock, you had to start all over again (unless you were very young, and then you just climbed back up on the rock and tried again). If older kids wanted to increase the challenge, they had to complete the course only using the large rocks.
On event day, the Crevasse Challenge was hopping for five hours straight. Kids went nuts for it! The crevasse! The rocks! The jumping! The carabiners! The only challenge was keeping the course clear of kid collisions. But the YMCA folks were total pros, and we had no accidents.
Big kids tried it, little kids tried it, grown-ups tried it, but the toddlers were they main players. They couldn’t get enough of it! My daughter, who was 2 at the time, spent 45 minutes hopping, jumping, running, and trying different rocks. And just look at this cute little guy!