Last Friday, Robbi asked kids to draw pictures based on words they like, even if they don’t know the definition. Robbi drew a picture of what the word “mandible” looked like in her head.
In Robbi’s head, the word “mandible” looks like this:
Those of you who know Robbi’s head is a pretty wonderful place. I wish that I could find a way to get in there and wander around for a while. Alas, I’m stuck in my own head.
I love the word “pumpernickel,” and even though the word “pumpernickel” actually refers to a dark, dense German bread made from coarsely ground whole-grain rye, in my head, it’s the instrument played by a jazz man named Alvin. Alvin plays the pumpernickel with his lips, hand, and feet.
I asked Alden and Kato to draw pictures based on words they loved, but, in full disclosure, neither of them revealed the word in question until after the drawing was complete.
Here is Alden’s picture of “sausage rocket.”
Ah, that beloved word, “sausage rocket,” the one you can never remember how to spell, but love saying whenever you can, just because of how it sounds.
When I asked Kato to name the word associated with his drawing, he said “nothing.” His tone implied a petulant refusal to cooperate with my scheme, but perhaps he was merely being petulant in his delivery of the answer to the question I was asking. I may never know, and I’m not sure it matters.
In either case, here is Kato’s drawing of “nothing.”
Either my boy has a touch of attitude or we have a budding nihilist on our hands. Either way, I’m a little creeped out by his drawing.
In the best possible way.
Spencer considered doing a drawing of “mandible,” but then changed his mind. Here’s how he explains it:
A mandibowl could be a bowl that a Mandy is in, but I’m going to draw a picture of an “electribowl” instead. It’s a bowl that’s electric It’s a pretty bowl that costs $1. The story is about a bad guy. At nighttime he goes into the museum to take it. But when he touches it, he gets electrocuted and it makes him bleed.
First off, $1 is a very reasonable price for an electrified bowl. Second, as much as I love this drawing, I’d love to see Spencer’s drawing of a bowl with a Mandy in it.
As for Tyler:
My drawing is of “Kirby Butt.” It’s my stuffed animal that my Taiwan Nai Nai [grandma] made for me. He’s made out of socks and has “Kirby” on the butt.
Tyler goes on to clarify that: “Kirby Butt isn’t the name of my dog. It’s just the name of his butt.”
Indeed.
