Summer with Shahra and Dad

I (Jeff) have had some time off this month, having finished Spring teaching and coursework and not yet having started the advising I'll do this summer. So Shahra and I have spent some quality time together.

While home from daycare, Shahra has been able to catch up on her daytime "soaps." In the morning, she is sure to watch Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street. For those who don't know, Dora the Explorer is a cartoon for young children that stars a little bilingual Latino girl and her monkey Boots who go on small adventures to help their friends. Every episode, she references her map to figure out there they are going and looks in her backpack for things that will help them on their adventure. The show is interactive, calling on children to participate. If you're at our house, you might see Shahra reaching or jumping into the air or hear her yelling "MAP, MAP!!!" (to help Dora bring out the map) or "PACKPACK, PACKPACK!!!" (to help Dora open her backpack) at ever louder decibels. The show also has a sneaky fox named Swiper who tries to steal things from Dora and Boots. The response kids must call out is "Swiper, no swiping!!" Shahra says this, "Fwiper, no Fwiping," a phrase she'd repeat randomly throughout the day and which confused Tracy and I for months, until I actually sat down to watch the show with her.

The show's not just fun and games, though. Dora manages to teach some basic Spanish words as she helps out friends of hers that speak only Spanish. Shahra has learned about words like "abuela" (Grandma), "circulo" (circle), and "triangulo" (triangle). She's also learned to count to five in Spanish, sort of.... "Uno, Dos, Tres, Cinco, Eleven."

At least once a week, when the sun shines bright (it has rained rather incessantly in Indiana this month), Shahra and I have had "picnics at play park." "Play Park" is one of the locations to which Dora often adventures, so likewise, Shahra and I make a little adventure out of our trip to the playground. We pack sandwiches, veggies, fruit, and lemonade. We talk about the landmarks we have to pass to get to "play park": the post office, the Pizza King, the bridge over the river, the downtown. When we get there, we sit at a picnic table and I cajole Shahra to eat her food as she eyes a particular red swing she loves to ride. We spend a good two hours at the park on these days, playing chase and seesaw until Shahra's pace slows down and she seems confused as to what she wants to do next, wandering and wandering without climbing or sliding. At this point, I can tell she's ready for a nap, so I scoop her up, carry her to the car, and listen to her whine in my ear, "I want playground," even as she buries her head into my shoulder and compliantly hops into her carseat. By the time we get home, she's asleep, and I carry her gingerly to her bed.

Shahra has also developed a giggle-laden joy of watching videos of panda bears on YouTube. She enjoys it so much that she likes to playact with Tracy what the pandas are doing, then giggling profusely. To see her favorite panda video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzRH3iTQPrk.