Never knew "collision" could be so much fun

Deanna started Third Grade on Tuesday. This is such a transitional year, with homework every night and lots of studying. As if to prove that point, she had to learn three pages of vocabulary words Tuesday night. She didn't have to know how to spell every word, just how to pronounce it when seeing it and understand what it meant.

One of the words was "collision". She had no idea what collision meant. I told her that a collision is when two things run into each other, like her and Dane. I told her that some garages are called Collision Centers because they repair cars that were in collisions. Then I remembered a special I had seen on TV during our vacation. It was about the Douglas family and had interviewed Michael Douglas and his brother, Kirk Douglas, and Katherine Zeta-Jones. They covered lots of various topics, including how Kirk felt about Michael's Hollywood rise, Kirk and Anne's 50th Wedding Anniversary (including a video of the event), and Michael and Katherine's courtship.

One of the topics they covered in the special was a serious accident involving Kirk. He had been taking off from the airport in a helicopter when it "collided" with a light plane, crashing back to the tarmac. Both the passengers in the plane were killed, the helicopter pilot was killed, and Kirk was believed to be dead. They showed pictures of the wreckage - it was hard to believe anyone could survive. Anne, Kirk's wife, had called her son and told him his daddy was dead. Then they discovered he still had a pulse and rushed him to the hospital on life-support. Michael commented that any other man would not have made it. It was only because his beloved father is so strong that Kirk survived and has fought to recover.

I seem to be unable to answer a question without giving a story to help explain. Once again, I fell into my story mold. It occurred to me that this would be a great one to tell Deanna. It was very vivid and, everytime she saw the word collision, she could remember this story. We also had recently seen the movie "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", starring Kirk Douglas, and I often sing to her a catchy little tune he sang in the movie, "A Whale of a Tale". She knows who Kirk Douglas is, making the helicopter crash story all the more interesting.

I told her about it at the table. All the children sat listening, wide-eyed and quiet. Deanna didn't have anymore difficulty with the word "collision".

Last year, in Kindergarten, the children were graded on knowing their name and the names of their parents, their address, and phone number. I decided that, even though Daelyn still has 2 years before Kindergarten, all of that is very useful information and he ought to be learning it now. So, everyday at nap time, I quizz him.

Me: "What's your name, little boy?"
Daelyn: "Daelyn Doughty."
Me: "What's your Daddy's name?"
Daelyn: "Don Doughty."
Me: "What's your Mother's name?"
Daelyn: "Mommy Doughty."
Me: "Where do you live?"
Daelyn: "Wuby Dwive" (code for Ruby Drive).

Then I ask him his phone number, which he's very close to learning. Wednesday, at naptime, I decided to add another questions.

Me: "Daelyn, do you have any brothers or sister?"
Daelyn, after a very long, thoughtful silence: "Yes, I have one. His name is Kirk Douglas."

Peels of laughter. I bet he's one of the few 3-yr. olds who knows what "collision" means.