T is for Tanzanian Tangawizi

Cadet just started a neighborhood co-op preschool this month. It has been great fun - for him and for me. I was ecstatic when two other women in my neighborhood invited me to join in. It not only gives Cadet some friends - it has given me something to do. I'm still hopelessly bored here. This week was my week and I had quite a bit of fun with it. The letter was T....so...on day one we went on a treasure hunt to Tanzania (which was under the Table) and we found Turtles. Just in case you were wondering, there really are turtles in Tanzania. In fact there are 6 different species of sea turtles that are endangered there. We found Tanzania on a globe and colored it in on a map of Africa. Then we made turtle shells out of brown grocery bags, read the story of the tortoise and the hare, and then had races in our turtle shells. The highlight of the whole day was snack time for me. I made Tanzanian Tangawizi - a banana smothered in ginger, brown sugar, orange juice, lemon juice and cocunut. Although no one wanted to touch the banana Tanzanian Tangawizi until I smothered it in whipped cream - I got a kick out of just listening to them try and try to pronounce the name of the concoction they were eyeing with such hesitation. It really is pretty entertaining listening to four three year olds try to say "Tanzanian Tangawizi."

Day 2 was a little less exciting. We just took a train trip to see Henry David Thoreau's home (drawn with sidewalk chalk in my backyard.) Then, we took a nature walk like Thoreau used to and read some pretty lame books about Thoreau. They are Henry hikes to Fitchburg, Henry builds a Cabin, and another one I can't remember all by D.B. Johnson. They are meant for toddlers, to introduce them to Thoreau. I was not impressed by them. They are about a bear named Henry who says things to the tax collector like, "Pay a state that let's farmers own slaves? Never!" The kids just kept getting confused and asking me, "Was Thoreau a bear?" We rounded out the day by turning on some Tchaikovsky and dancing to The Nutcracker. That was another fun name to listen to the kids slaughter. Tchaikovsky.

Preschool is turning out to be a fun adventure after all. Next up is the letter E. I'm thinking Egypt and Edgar Allan Poe, although, hubby is worried I'll scare the tikes with that one. One of the little girls was already freaking out over all the dead fish in our aquarium that we just haven't removed yet. Her brother thought it was so cool that they were nibbling on the dead fish. The little girl had a justifiable small spaz attack. I just laughed. So cruel. I know.