Go Dog Go!

Today was my first experience as a chaperone for a school field trip. Genna's school went to see Seattle Children's Theater's production of Go Dog Go. I'm sure it was just the first of many such chaperone experiences that are to come. Isn't that what stay-at-home moms do?

The kids waiting outside the school to go on the field trip.

Being a chaperone wasn't exactly how I had envisioned it. I thought that maybe I'd get a little bit of that magical teacher-power bestowed upon me for the four hour duration of our trip. I thought that maybe I'd be responsible for one or two children besides my own, and that they would listen to me and call me "Miss Susan" or "Teacher Susan." But, that really wasn't the case at all. I was merely just the person that held Genna's hand when we were walking outside and getting on and off the bus (we took the bus downtown, which, for the children, was equally as fun as the production). One of the teachers was responsible for holding on to four children and the other teacher was responsible for holding on to three children. I was only responsible for Genna. I thought that was a little odd, after all I do have two hands, but I didn't ask the teachers if they'd like me to be responsible for another child. Now that I think about it, I should have asked since it was difficult for one of the teachers to hold on to four children. Perhaps they didn't want to impose on me? Perhaps there are liability issues? But, I was a chaperone after all. I'll volunteer to be responsible for another child on the next field trip and see how that goes.

The kids standing in line to see Go Dog, Go!

Seattle Children's Theater put on a production of Go, Dog, Go! The production was geared towards children aged 4 through 9, and it was quite entertaining and creative. I wasn't sure how they were going to turn such a simple book, with essentially no plot, into a 90 minute production, notably without any actual dogs either. But, they pulled it off remarkably well with singing and dancing comedic dogs (in costume, of course). My favorite was the pink poodle (remember, the one who is always asking the blue dog if he likes her hat?). If you're still having trouble envisioning this, below is an advertisement for the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeYf76VvnrI
When we got home I read the book again, and they did a remarkable job of including every picture from the book into the production. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing it again.

On the bus ride home, Genna was tired and even a little sick; she coughed several times during the show. When Genna is like this, she doesn't listen to me. So, of course she ignored me when I told her to sit down on the bus. I really hate when she doesn't listen to me in public. My weapon of choice lately against a disobedient 4-year old has been the threat of "no tootsie pop after nap today." The problem is I don't really want to announce to everyone on the bus, including the teachers and other chaperones, that I bribe (or is it control?) my child's behavior with 10 grams of sugar everyday. It works, though. It works surprisingly well. Genna did finally sit down after prompting from the teachers. At least she wasn't the worst kid on the bus.

I made soup with the left over duck from Tuesday. Jonah refused to swallow a single bite. Genna ate her whole bowl. She didn't get a tootsie pop after her nap today, but only because she woke up from her nap with a stuffy nose and forgot about it. Woe is the day she no longer wants totsie pops.