Hello Everyone!
Welcome to the Weekly Mashup! We had more kid-submitted stuff than ever before, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Ok, I have to wait at least a few minutes, so I will, but I wish that you were here with me right now so that I could show you this very second!
On Saturday, we asked you “If you had to catch an ostrich, how would you do it?” You all had some very clever ideas!
Alice and Mom:
Mom: If you had to catch an ostrich, how would you do it?
Alice: I would do it like this [jumps/gallops across the floor].
Mom: Would you need a tool to catch the ostrich?
Alice: I would use this tool [picks up cat dancer toy]. You do it like this [puts wand of cat dancer between her legs, gallops across the floor with the fleece “tail” of the cat dancer dragging behind her], and then it plays.
Alice: Kudos for thinking outside the box, so to speak. I mean, using a cat toy on an ostrich?! It’s like putting peanut butter on your jelly. Which is, of course, as delicious as it is improbable. You are an innovator. This is exactly the kind of cross-disciplinary thinking that is going to endear you to college admissions officers some day.
Valerie: I would get 5 kiwis,hang them all on a fishing pole,and then swing it til the ostrich eats it.
Valerie, I had no idea that ostriches liked kiwis, but this makes perfect sense. Thank you. Question: do they prefer them peeled?
Melody: I can open up a Ostrich Wonderland that has all-you-can-eat shrub salad and bug dressing. (that’s what I think ostriches love eating) Ostrich Wonderland also will have a Feather Salon, an Ostrich Runway, and contests for the longest neck. There can also be lots of rides for ostriches! One can be called High Flying Ostrich, where the ostrich gets to fly in a flying simulation. Then, my Wonderland will be so popular to ostriches that they will all come to it! There, I will capture my ostrich! Or maybe 10!
Melody: Ostrich Wonderland is, of course, a brilliant idea. Are you looking for investors? I have no money but lots of ideas. Also: can people join the “longest neck” contest, because I want to enter. It’s unlikely I could beat an ostrich in this regard, but if they gave a price for “trying hardest,” I think I’d have it in the bag.
Sydney: I would catch it with a net and I want it to be my pet. I would name it Plakisus. I will feed him grass.
Syd: Could you please swing by later and help me with the pronunciation of “Plakisus”? And maybe fold some laundry while you’re here?
Bailey: I would catch mine with a net and name it Thomas Goose. I would give it a sweater to wear.
Bailey: Great idea. I’ll provide the sweater. Robbi has this purple one with a big neck that I can’t convince her to stop wearing.
Harry: I would catch an ostrich with a special race car with a robotic arm and a bucket at the end. After I catch it, I will take him home and I will take care of him. I will feed him pasta, and chicken nuggets.
Harry: Pasta and nuggets?! Man, I want to be your ostrich.
Harvey: I would make a robot that offers all kinds of food to attract the ostrich (e.g., vegetables, bugs w/ sauce, and chips). And then a portal will be open. After the ostrich jumps into the portal, he will be locked up in the robot’s tummy and never come out. But don’t worry, there are lots of food in the robot’s tummy that the ostrich will never get hungry.
Harvey: Excellent scheme! But if your robot is not attracted by the vegetables and bugs, might I suggest pasta and nuggets?
On Monday, we asked you for stories about ostriches. Here is what you wrote:
Here is “The Ostrich” from Kato:
He runs really fast. He has two toes. His name is Kato. He likes to run really fast and beat people. He always beats them in the races. He likes to read books. He likes to poop on the potty. He pees in his diapers. He likes to go in the clock and get hit by the time tunnels. And he likes to burp and toot. The story is over.
Kato: Your story started out with a bang. The first big twist was the ostrich’s name. Because YOUR name is Kato, too! I mean, what are the odds? You lost me a bit with the time tunnels, but you brought me back with the burping and tooting. Thanks for daring your readers to stretch a bit while keeping them grounded in the fundamentals.
Anna wrote a story with a picture:
My ostrich’s name is Mary. She walked along the path and ate flowers. Then she drank some water and then sat in the sun because it was SO CHILLY!
(Note: Inspired by Matthew Draws, I (Anna’s dad) sat down to do some drawing with Anna. Here is our joint picture that accompanies Anna’s story. Or vice versa.)
Anna and Anna’s dad: We LOVE the idea of a father/daughter collaboration. Thanks for sharing your story and drawing. Now, Anna’s dad, in the spirit of Matthew Draws, I suppose it’s my job to guess which celebrity ostrich named Mary this is? I must say, you’ve given us little to work with. But I’ll go out on a limb and say that it’s celebrity ostrich Mary Davenport. Am I right? When will you post the answers?
Here is a story from Valerie called “Billy and the Animals”:
Billy was an ostrich that always wanted to fly. One day, Billy saw some birds flying in the air. He tried to catch one with his mouth and swallowed one. 10 minutes later, Billy the ostrich noticed that he had tiny wings! He tried to fly but couldn’t because he had tiny wings. Later he saw a group of butterflies and ate 6 of them. Billy kept on finding flying animals and digesting them until he could fly. As Billy went flying into the blue sky, he saw 3 flying ostriches, 5 flying toads, and 2 flying giraffes. As they all played together, lots of animals kept on joining them. Billy flew down and tried to make a potion that made you fly instead of eating animals. He finally perfected the potion. Soon, all the animals were flying up in the sky. Soon humans wanted to fly so Billy invented another potion for humans, and it worked. So everybody lived happily ever after in the cloudy and blue sky!
Valerie: I love your story. It’s fun and imaginative, and contains an important lesson: Even though eating things that fly can make you fly, eventually, this course of action had better be replaced by a more sustainable approach to flight acquisition. I think the Roman empire could have benefitted from your wisdom. Also: could you invent a potion that rubs my feet?
On Tuesday, we asked for pictures of Ostriches. Here’s what you sent us!
Here is a picture of an ostrich by Alden:
Alden: What an ostrich! What long, proud legs! What a fluffy body? What a tiny, tiny brain! What a terrifying, spider-like sun! I am guessing that your mother is an illustrator and your father is an underachieving children’s art critic.
Here is a story and picture from Harvey called “The Ostrich Triplet”
Harvey: Another week, another fantastic illustrated story. I hope that you are collecting all your work for an anthology. Some thoughts on the ostrich triplets: I think it’s great that they had fun in spite of all the mishap. I also admire them for not bowing at the end. Humility is an all-too-rare attribute in the world of ostriches, so many of which are so braggy. Also: Oblivea might be the best name that has ever been invented.
Here is a picture by Anna:
Anna: Thanks for sharing! You should give your dad some drawing tips. I’m assuming that this one was also inspired by Matthew Draws. Is it Haley Joel Ostrich?
Sydney and Bailey made ostriches from coffee filters and pipe cleaners (with googly eyes!)
Here they showing what they made…
Here is what one looks like up close…
Sydney and Baily: WHOA! I had no idea that ostriches could be MADE. This should do wonders to help avert the ostrich shortage. We need more ostriches in Chestertown. I think it would be great if they could wander around the streets and tell jokes and help scoop the snow off the sidewalks, and keep things lively with their googly eyes. Also: Did you leave enough coffee filters for your mom and dad, because, wow, you’re playing with fire if you didn’t. Thanks for sharing, you guys!
And now for the single hardest moment of my week, considering all of the amazing stories and drawings googly-eyed coffee filter ostriches kids send us and having to pick JUST ONE as the expert of the week. This week’s submissions were so wonderful that it’s impossible for me to do it. And so I’ll pick TWO.
Yes, that’s right…
…this week’s winners and Ostrich Experts are SYDNEY and BAILEY…
…for their fun craft project. [Though you can rest assured, I have just hidden the coffee filters from my children.]
Thanks to everyone for sharing your great work with us. We can’t tell you how happy it makes us to see what comes out of your amazing minds.