The Making of a Turkey, or Why a Five-Year-Old Should Not Use Superglue

Probably because I'm a teacher, I get a kick out of the monthly family homework assignments Nick's preschool teacher sends home. This month, Nick had to cut out a turkey, decorate it, and add feathers. A parent was to write things that the child is thankful for, and then have the child glue on the feathers.

The hardest part, at least at first, was figuring out where Greg put the child-sized scissors. We found them after a long search, next to the vacuum-cleaner attachments.




Phase one worked out great. Nick is a superstar with the scissors, and he cut out his turkey (and feathers) without any help. I had to assist when he traced the pattern for the feathers, but other than that, he did all the work independently. Check out the beak on that bird!

The tricky part came when I went looking for the glue stick I just bought on Saturday. I have glue sticks at home (I'm a teacher, of course I do.) but I could not figure out where my husband had put them, so I bought another one. Just since Saturday, though, I couldn't find the missing glue stick anywhere. I am blessed with a husband who likes to clean, but challenged by the way that he cleans. Things end up in odd places. All I could find (in two separate places) was a bottle of green glitter glue that had dried up, and a tube of Superglue. You know, the kind you should never let children use?

Yup, that's what we used. Oh, and yes, Nick did briefly glue two of his fingers together, as did I. It freaked him out more than it hurt, I think. That, my friends, is why a five-year-old should not use superglue.

Grandma Toni and I were so proud of his final project.

Not too shabby, considering he did all the work himself (except the writing).