See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

The three wise monkeys together embody goodness of mind, speech, and action.

Daughter Ella, aged four, embodies cheekiness of mind, speech, and action.

My son just conducted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra!

This morning our family went to a Classic Kids concert given by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Lots of fun music and dancing and learning about the instruments and sections of the orchestra. The different sections were dressed in different colored tops to aid identification, a la the Wiggles, and the conductor had a multi-colored top on.

The MSO, in more formal attire

A boy and girl were selected to conduct The Liberty Bell, and my kids, who were seated at the front were predictably disappointed not to be picked. But wait ...

After kicking off the finale, The William Tell Overture ("Hi ho Silver - away!"), one of the most thrilling showpieces in the orchestral repertoire, the conductor, Ben -- Benjamin Northey, bless him, may he have a long life and outstanding career -- dashed into the audience, asked Jake's Mum if he'd like to conduct (swift affirmative response), and led Jake to the podium where he handed Jake the baton. Jake proceeded to perform with verve, enthusiasm and undisguised joy for about 3 minutes, all the way to the end of the finale, followed by wild applause from the audience.

Benjamin Northey, my favorite conductor

It was awesome. I was in tears, Andi (Jake's mum was in tears), and Ella no doubt expects to get to conduct the orchestra next time round. It was awesome and inspiring. A child came up to Jake afterwards and said that he was better than the real conductor; that kid will not grow up to be a music critic, but bless him too!

On questioning Jake said that the fast bits were more challenging to conduct than the slow bits, and that even though conducting was fun, he would prefer to be an inventor of new musical instruments when he grows up than an orchestra conductor.

Jake played Moses at kindergarten (with stick), and conducted the MSO at age 5 in the William Tell Overture with baton. What a little legend!

Andi's post on the same incident.

Update: Andi wrote to Benjamin Northey to thank him. Here's his reply:

From: Benjamin Northey
Sent: Sunday, 22 November 2009 11:32 AM
To: Andi Herman
Subject: Re: Thank you

Hi Andi,

So kind of you to share this with me. Jake was pretty much the highlight of the week for us! The orchestra loved him and as you say, to see such pure joy was very special indeed - very moving. Loved reading the blogs also.

I hope that this is something Jake will remember for a long time. Please say hi to BOTH of your children from me!

all best, Ben

We hope so too. Thanks again, Ben.

Opposite rhymes

My daughter Ella, who is not yet four, has invented a new word game called "opposite rhymes".

You know how the word game "opposite pairs" works: Name pairs of words that are opposites. For example:

• Big - little
• Black - white
• Hot - cold

And "rhyming pairs":

• Fiddle - middle
• Hot - cot
• Head - said

But in opposite rhymes (also known as rhyming opposites) you have to do both at once, making it considerably harder:

1. Ella: Tall - small
2. Andi: Happy - crappy
3. Andi: Sad - glad
4. Dan: Familiar - unfamiliar (deemed unacceptable)

So I'm pretty impressed with my little girl for inventing this new form of wordplay and finding the first one.

Can you find of any others? It ain't easy.

From Moses to Moses ...

"From Moses to Moses there was none like Moses". The two Moses's of the quote are Moses the lawgiver -- he 0f the 10 commandments etc. -- and Moses Maimonedes the greatest Jewish sage of the middle ages.

Loyal readers of this blog will remember that last year my son Jake portrayed the earlier Moses in the kindergarten Pesach (Passover) play:

Jake as Moses

Witnesses said that his manner and physical resemblance to the biblical Moses was uncanny, and it seemed it would be a long time before anyone would else would pull off such a convincing portrayal ...

That was until Jake's little sister Ella put on the beard!

Ella as Moses

Apparently Ella was a little more tentative in her portrayal than Jake had been, but she is a year younger than he was when he took on the role.

Nevertheless, I am again very proud indeed. (And amused.)

Hooray for Captain Balding! And Captain Underpants!

Having recently started school, my son Jake reports that he spends many a happy recess playing super-heroes with his friend, Max:

Which super-heroes do you play?

"I am always Captain Balding and Max is always Captain Underpants.", says Jake.

Intriguing.  What is Captain Balding's super-power?

"We have different powers every time, but one power we always have is super-phones."

It all sounds marvelously imaginative, and they are fixated on these characters.  But where do they come from?  My best guess is that the Captain Balding character originated as a kind of a cross between me -- bald and apt to make my children address me as "Captain Daddy" -- and Groucho Marx's Captain Spaulding in Animal Crackers:

Song: Hooray for Captain Spaulding (not Balding)

Now, as for Captain Balding's great partner in crime-fighting, Captain Underpants, a little research reveals that he is a legit. super-hero after all:

Captain Underpants rap

With these two heroes to protect us, we simple townsfolk can again sleep safe at night ... 

... I think.

Three things that my children have learned

Just for fun I asked my son, who has just started school, what three things he has learned at school.  Jake's (very definite) response:

1. Respect,
2. Sport, "and finally:"
3. Italian.

I then asked a similar question of my daughter, who has recently commenced kindergarten.  Ella's reply:

1. How to draw,
2. That [another child] is not my friend, and
3. That I do not know how to draw.

My son the vigilante

In the round-up to Jake's first week at school, when asked about his day, Jake said in passing:

"I had to wrestle one boy, to stop him from being mean to another child."

Further questioning failed to yield meaningful elaboration. In the absence of calls from the school I guess we'll just have to assume (hope?) that Jake was on the side of the angels.

Shall we learn, or wrassle?

So to any bullies reading this, remember: "Don't mess with red".

Kids Rule

Over the holidays we gave Ella her own room (formerly the "play room"), and redecorated both her and Jake's rooms in the process.  They didn't really want to be separated, but were appeased when it was pointed out that they could visit each other for sleep-overs.

I felt that they should be able to set the rules in their respective rooms:

Jake's Rules for his Room

1. Don't take away a train when someone's playing with it.
2. Don't rip the Thomas and Mr Men and Little Miss books.
3. Don't break up the track.
4. Don't interrupt a story.
5. Be gentle with the lego.
6. Don't rust the trains, and don't scratch people.
7. Don't jump on the bed.
8. Be careful when you wind up the sling bridge; it might break.
9. Don't come in when I have privacy.
10. I like tickling, and stop when I want you to stop.

Ella's Rules for her Room

1. Don't jump on the bed, pillow and doona.
2. Don't interrupt my books and don't break my boxes.
3. I like tickling, but stop when I have had enough.

Andi and I are still working on our rules for the rest of the house, but here's a preliminary list:

1. Mummy and Daddy are the bosses of the house.
2. No biting, slapping, or hitting.
3. When you finish your food, bring your plate to the kitchen bench.
4. Use an inside voice.
5. No TV on school mornings.
6. Children must brush teeth and get into pyjamas before getting "bedtime choices".
7. All family members must support the Collingwood Football club, or leave home.
8. You get what you get, and you don't get upset.
9. Remember to put out the bins on Thursday nights.
10. Full participation is expected during Shabbat blessings, and this includes guests.
11. Don't waste water; the farmers need it.
12. A quick game's a good game.
13. The house must be tidy before the cleaner comes to clean.
14. Obsessions, such as martial arts, patchwork quilting, trains and fairies are to be tolerated, nay, respected.
15. Tickle the mickle is the preferred format for tickling.

Happy New Year / Kids and Maths

Happy New Year!

This morning -- January 1 2009 -- Jake and I went for a walk around the park and greeted various joggers and bike-riders and walkers with hellos, often resulting in replies of "Happy New Year!".

On the way back Jake -- who is almost five -- said to me, "Daddy, do you want to hear something that I know that you don't know?"

"Sure", I said.

"There are two fours in eight, and four twos in eight!"

Actually I did know that, but didn't say it, and instead felt very proud, and asked Jake how many twos there are in six, and how many threes.  I also asked him how he got to his first result: He "figured it out".  So I told him that he was noticing patterns in numbers, and that that is a good thing to do.

Just for the record, without much prompting from me, basically just encouraging him to count forwards and backwards, counting on fingers, tallying, and recognizing written numbers, my boy spontaneously noticed a pattern illustrating not only a feel for division, but also for symmetry, or more specifically the commutativity of multiplication (a*b = b*a always) albeit in this one case.  And this before noticing commutativity of addition (a+b = b+a always), and even the trick of "counting on".

I'll take this as evidence that (at least for Jake) encouraging an awareness of numbers and patterns is not a bad way to go. This contrasts with my experience of doing pages of simple sums and subtractions (4+3= ...) at age four, which apparently I enjoyed!  

Not a bad new year's present for a dad!

Waffles are go!

My quest for waffles is over. Last Saturday I saw a modern waffle-maker at K-Mart with my beloved and gingies, and -- despite being there to purchase gifts to place under the Wishing Tree, and not stuff for ourselves -- I had to have it. Now it is mine:


The recipe was complicated, including sifting, separating eggs and beating the whites until they stiffened, folding, and -- most challengingly -- leaving the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.

Then you cook each waffle for exactly 3 minutes:


cool them on a rack:


Now cut them up and sprinkle with sugar, Belgian style:


And admire the complexity of the waffle-creation process:


Now enjoy!


Hmmm: They tasted like ... waffles! I.e. Good. The general consensus was that they are even better with ice-cream and Maple syrup. There was so much mixture that we were able to freeze some for later. I think that they should reheat quite nicely in the toaster.

My quest for waffles

As a child we had an old-fashioned waffle-iron. It was a two-handled affair that you would pour the batter into, close, and then cook over the stove. I favored my waffles with maple syrup and ice-cream.

Now that my children are eating solid food and enjoying occasional Sunday pancake (really crepe) breakfasts, I find myself pining for waffles, and wanting to share the experience with them.

So I am on a quest for a waffle iron, and I am torn: Do I go for authenticity and purchase a waffle iron of metal -- perhaps even an expensive Italian one that brands the maker's-mark into the waffle -- or a modern jaffle-like contraption that promises more consistent results, and easier cleaning?

Yesterday I bought a waffle at the local food-hall, and while adequate and not cheap, it was re-heated and not ideal.

Stay tuned. Meanwhile here is an article about the ancient and noble history of waffles.

What Ella wants for her 3rd birthday party

1. Cupcakes: No icing
2. Pink icy-poles
3. Mozzarella
4. Cheese sticks
5. Apricots
6. Snakes
7. Chocolate frogs
8. Lollipops
9. Birthday cake

Tickle the Mickle

The kids and I invented a new game today, called "Tickle the Mickle".

1. A player announces, "I am the Mickle!", and lies supine (tummy up) on the couch or floor.
2. Everyone else says, "Tickle the Mickle!", and starts tickling the Mickle.
3. This continues until the Mickle says "Stop!".
4. Someone else takes a turn to be the Mickle.

In a competitive game the winner is the Mickle who can endure the most tickling.

My Virtual Museum of Modern Art

You can create your own modern art at museumr.