Well rounded

Mom : So that was a great talk for kids for College Prep… I know it was a bit early for you.Did you understand any details at all ?

Tolkien : Oh Yes ! I did ! I have to well rounded to give myself the edge

Elvish : I had no clue what it was all about ! What did he even mean by even saying “well rounded “ ?

Tolkien : It means you need to have more than one side to your personality

Elvish :  If kids need to understand ,adults better stop talking in riddles. How can you be well “rounded” with “different sides” and have an “edge” .This is all so geometrically wrong

Round has no sides or edges .

Problem solving

Mom : Are you ready to take on 7th grade?
Tolkien: Yes ! I am ready for another year
Mom : How do you feel about Math in the first period this year instead of the last?
Tolkien : I am actually happy !! It is good to deal with your "problems" first thing in the morning

I guess that makes two of us

Budget Santa

Mom : What do you want for you birthday?It is coming up soon?

Elvish : Have you thought of something ?

Mom : Do you want one big gift or a bunch of smaller ones ?

Elvish : I will take a bunch of smaller ones .

Mom : I thought I could get you that big Robotic kit you have wanted for awhile now. But that is the only thing I can get.

Elvish : Don’t worry ,I am saving that for Christmas. I will be asking for only one thing from Santa this year so he won’t think I am a greedy kid and besides usually he makes his toys and is not on a budget 

Lack of Imagination

Mom :You are growing up so fast 
Elvish : Yes,that worries me
Mom : Why ?? 
Elvish : I am afraid I might suffer from a lack of imagination !! 

It is difficult to fit in when you are often upside down

Life is as complicated as you make it..Be primitive

Black Widow

Conversation about bugs
Elvish : why is the spider called Black widow?
Tolkien : The name gives it away , widow is a woman who is married but does not have a husband 
Elvish : why ?what happened to him ?
Tolkien : You know ... The obvious .They get their names because they eat their mates 
Elvish : They aren't very bright ,
are they?After the first one was eaten the rest should have just stayed unmarried ,don't you think ?

Heading south

Tolkien : Today didn’t go so well for one of my friends 
Mom : I hope you helped her cheer up
Tolkien : Yes she said it felt like everything was going South on her
Mom : Aww poor dear ! Hope she is all cheered up now
Tolkien: I told her keeping walk until the next turn,after all south is a direction too !

Open a new world

One of those uncanny afternoons when Elvish was apparently hooked on a book

Tolkien :What are you doing ?

Elvish : Reading a book

Tolkien : That is wonderful.It feels good, doesn’t it ? What inspired you today ?

Elvish : Mom said reading opens new worlds

Tolkien : So what are you ready?

Elvish: How to be a Superhero ?

Big family , small family

In the middle of one of the hysterics between Mom and kids, dad walked in
Dad : We are going to be having guests for the next several weeks...but I want the conversations like these to keep going .
Elvish : yes there will be more people added to the house
I should probably talk to
Holly .
Mom : why?
Elvish : She has a huge family like 8 or 9 people in the house . ...She may have some pointers for us

Nuclear families make every new person added to the house an adventure for the family

Profound life

After a dose of tween talk and philosophy , calling truce 
Tolkien : Mom life is profound.
Mom : yeah...
Tolkien: Don't attempt to understand it just live with it

Addicted to life

Mom is pooped after an exasperated afternoon of war cries and meltdowns from upstairs . After ample refreeing,lecturing and giving up eventually, the kids got to spend the afternoon uninterfered and unmonitored 
Mom : what do you call someone who just won't stop and wants to keep going on and not giving up 
Elvish : Addicted to life

Creative freedom

Mom : I like your poem ,but can we discuss something about the last two lines
Elvish : Why? they are deep ,aren’t they ?
Mom : Yes perhaps, but just as a reader I wonder if your theme is conveyed there
Elvish : Let me explain..The poem is an imagination of why I wish I were a superhero ,the last two lines say
“Super heroes ,Super heroes 
With them,I’d never be a critic “
Mom : But you should change that !! Critic means a person who picks on details
Elvish : Yes ,that’s the reason I want to be a superhero ,I would be so perfect like them,there would be nothing to pick about me !!

Subtle enough hint for mom to stop explaining and belaboring the change ! Needless to say,he won the argument,creative privilege I taught them Tolkien said later. He submitted his poem already before he showed it to us so definitely a thumbs up for his confidence .This is his second adventure into the imaginary land with words

Logical mind

Working through some addition and subtraction by sets ,looking a picture of a farm with animals
Mom : Now make a addition and subtraction story .Its easy,its just like the example we talked about
Elvish : Ok , there are 7 ducks in the farm.6 of them are in the pond,how many are outside ?This is a subtraction story isn't it ?
Mom : Yes ! Excellent,now try another set for addition
Elvish : There are 6 ducks in the pond. If you found out the answer to the last one,you would know how many are outside the pond.Now tell me how many ducks are in the farm .This is an addition,subtraction and a logic story !
Mom : Logic ?
Elvish : Yes ,the logic would be solve the subtraction problem first . 

An original version

Tolkien : What do you want to be when you grow up ?
Elvish : An original !

Party with fractions

Every now and then we try to make learning exciting at home with things that seem to reach the subject faster as examples
Mom : We will talk about fractions
So here is a fun example , you order one pizza and share 8 slices amongst 4 friends . What do you get ?
Elvish : A pizza party !!

Lost "ears"

Mom : You better clean your ears when you shower ,else they might just fall off.I see you aren't cleaning the right ear
Elvish : I will
Mom :You have been saying that,I am not sure you are doing it !
Elvish : Either ways ,it would be ok even it falls out
Mom :Why do you want to lose an ear ?
Elvish : You always say your words pass through one year and leave in other,now they may have nowhere to go !! 

Big words in a small mouth

Mom : How did you feel going back to school after a week ?
Elvish : In one word ,debilitated !

Guilt of being happy

Mom : It is too quiet up there . I hope you are not going to be guilty of something
Elvish : Just being happy mom !



Now you don't argue with a sentiment like that ...ofcourse a tornado of mini figures and legos had happened 

Strong medicine

Mom : Remember your action will have a consequence ..I may have to use strong medicine
Elvish : I understand..I am sorry but I also want to bring something else to your attention ...Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease

Miracles should be a few not many

Mom : You finished your homework without being asked ?That is a miracle !! Are you going to do this tomorrow too ?
Elvish : I wouldn’t push it…besides the charm of a miracle is only when it happens once in awhile when you least expect it

Panoramic life

One of those moments of exchange of gnan with the two of them

Mom : Sometimes our actions and  those of others change our views of life.

Tolkien : I understand what you mean .We are entitled to our perspective .What is your view of life ? (To Elvish)

Elvish : Panoramic ofcourse !

Panoramic in definition means an unbroken view of the entire surrounding ,it was enough to get me thinking how difficult it is to do yet how simple life would be if we saw things in each other perspective . 

Tomorrow brings hope to the Hopeful

In the middle of “can you please get this done ? “ arguments with my Confucius
Mom: What kind of person always says “tomorrow” ?

Elvish :  Hopeful !

I was going for a Procrastinator which I thought was perhaps more obvious to all but him !! 

Contentment conflicts

Tolkien : Elvish has trouble understanding what we mean by Dream Big ?

Elvish : Yes ,I am not sure that’s a good thing

Mom : Why ? If you dream big,you have the drive to achieve something bigger

Elvish : It seems to be conflicting the recent philosophy that you talked to us during Christmas

Mom : Uh? What did I say for you not to dream big ?

Elvish : Contentment  

Life gives you Raspberry lemonade

Elvish: Today my friend was having a rough day and I gave him a pep talk
Mom : That is awfully nice ! What did you say ?
Elvish : what you say me to me a lot ! I said sometimes life gives you lemons then just  make lemonade
Mom :Did it work ?
Elvish : He said what if it gives me Raspberry?
Mom : Oh !! So he missed the point
Elvish : No ,I explained it to him , if it gives you Raspberries make Raspberry lemonade! It tastes better too!

Pizzazz of life

Elvish :How do you explain "Life" ?
Tolkien : Mmmm I would imagine it to be like a pizza pie
Elvish : I LOVE PIZZA!! No wonder I love life !!
Tolkien : So imagine ,life is slices of a pizza .The first 5 years we learn who our parents are,to eat ,drink and move .The next ten years or so we learn to read,write,go to school and discover things so we can decide who we want to be
Elvish : Then we become who we discovered we want to be ?
Tolkien : Well kinda sorta .We think we do...we go to college and get a job etc etc in the next 15 years
Elvish : Then we are all set ?
Tolkien : Well ,then we figure out we discovered it all wrong and try to rediscover ourselves for the next 10 years
Elvish : Then ?
Tolkien : Then you are 40 and then life begins .I think that's what the old saying means

Extra ordinary -- Not

Elvish : I figured out how to go from Ordinary to Extraordinary
Mom : Cool !! That does that mean you figured out how to constantly improve yourself at something
Elvish : Yes ,at being ordinary... you keep trying hard enough to be Ordinary one day you might just be  "Extra" ordinary .Bottom line ,Be yourself and be good at it !!

#elvishgnan

Life begins at Forty

Elvish : You said  “ Life begins at forty “

Mom : Yes that’s how the old saying goes .

Elvish : Then what am I doing now ?

Frictionless life

Mom :You are taking too long to get stuff done today aren't you?
Elvish : I want to convert all my potential energy to kinetic energy , but I just seem to have too much friction !

Life is a fruit salad

Elvish : Sometimes life gives you apples,sometimes oranges ,sometimes just bananas
Mom : I guess, so what do you do then ?
Elvish : mmm I don't know, make a fruit salad or jelly ??