Learning about wild animals

A student was working with the basket of plastic wild animals, reviewing their names and matching the words to the objects.  She was stuck in a rut of thin and crispy crust Pizza Hut or possibly the cosmic One Mind.

She brought me the plastic cheetah.

"What's that animal?," I asked.


 Pancheesy  she said. 

"You are almost right.  It's a cheetah," I said.

 cheetah


She brought me the plastic rhinoceros.  Her tentative ID:

 Pan-theisee 

"Hmmmmm," I said.  "What sound does it start with?"

 r-r-r-r-r, pancheesy

Having just done a lesson on shapes with the youngest kids, triangles = pizza slices were already warming up and waiting in my mental wings.

The student brought the plastic fox, and was consistent in her suggested species:

Pancheezit 

My blood pressure can't take it!  Too much salt.  More fresh foods!  I've never wanted to be "didactic".  It always sounded like some tiny furred mammal being crushed by a falling pterodactyl egg.


 Panjesus

The student names a primate.  Not the plastic spider monkey.  Not a rhesus.  I should have known!  The plastic chimpanzee!


The circle of life is uncoiling.  And what would that be called?

© 2011 Nancy L. Ruder