On Tuesday, RoboHen was full of excuses. He couldn't do his chores because his granola bar snack was too chewy and took him an hour to eat. He couldn't clean his room because he had a toothache. He couldn't shampoo his feathers because the shampoo might pollute the lair's garden.
So poor RoboHen's mom gave up. She had to reduce the number of things she could accomplish because RoboHen decided to do fewer of them. Instead of making the orange sorbet cake with orange sorbet on top that she had planned as a treat for RoboHen, she cooked him ramen noodles for lunch. Instead of polishing RoboHen's scooter, she had to clean the kitchen, leaving RoboHen to amuse himself.
Back in his room, relieved of doing his chores, RoboHen was bored, so he doodled. He doodled a cartoon rooster holding a green balloon. Then he included a raccoon washing a shiny jewel in a river. Then he sketched a cougar in a giant orange cocoon. His doodle was a thing of beauty. He was so happy with it that he confused his mom by wandering out into the kitchen and asking her what he could do to help. For the rest of the afternoon, he was so useful that she made that orange sorbet cake after all.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
The RoboCoaster
One day, RoboHen awoke with a brilliant idea for the lower part of his lair. He would build a roller coaster! Of course, when he tried to approach his mom, she said, "Absolutely not," but since when has that ever stopped RoboHen? He knew he couldn't ask her for help, so he slapped a bunch of postage on an envelope and mailed it to Europe. He ordered the fanciest parts for a super-scary roller coaster that would explode the riders into the air at the end. "I suppose," said RoboHen to himself, "that it won't really explode, but it will be the best basement coaster ever."
The package came on the day his mom was being hostess to a tea party upstairs. She had no idea what was going on below ground in the remote recesses of the basement. RoboHen was alone, but he was certainly not lonely. He was surrounded by what looked like a bunch of toaster parts and bowling alley pieces. He had a wonderful time trying to decode the instructions. He felt like a soldier trying to understand a secret mission. Then he discovered just what he needed - the owner of the company had sent him a special poster. It told him just how to compose the roller coaster. He put on his loafers, dried his soapy hands, and got to work on this lonesome task. Even though it took 125 hours, his confidence was not eroded.
And if the whipped cream doesn't fall into the chocolate pudding, next time we will hear about the mischief RoboHen got up to with the roller coaster.
The package came on the day his mom was being hostess to a tea party upstairs. She had no idea what was going on below ground in the remote recesses of the basement. RoboHen was alone, but he was certainly not lonely. He was surrounded by what looked like a bunch of toaster parts and bowling alley pieces. He had a wonderful time trying to decode the instructions. He felt like a soldier trying to understand a secret mission. Then he discovered just what he needed - the owner of the company had sent him a special poster. It told him just how to compose the roller coaster. He put on his loafers, dried his soapy hands, and got to work on this lonesome task. Even though it took 125 hours, his confidence was not eroded.
And if the whipped cream doesn't fall into the chocolate pudding, next time we will hear about the mischief RoboHen got up to with the roller coaster.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
RoboHen Frightens the Animal Children
The day that Stanley Elephant turned eight, his family threw him a wonderful surprise party. They invited all of his friends and relations. That day, the sun shone brightly. As the guests began to arrive, Mama Elephant rushed out to show them where to hide, among the bushes that lined the driveway. There were so many that they had to find spaces on the sidewalk where Stanley would not see them.
Finally, when all the guests had arrived, Mama brought Stanley outside. She walked beside him, covering his eyes with her hooves. When she let Stanley peek, he was so excited that he squealed with delight! All of his favorite people were smiling at him and yelling, "Surprise! Happy Birthday, Stanley!" A giant chocolate cake was waiting for him to cut it. There were balloons floating slightly above the bushes.
"Stanley, please forgive me, but you will have to wait another moment for your big surprise," said his mama. "I arranged for a special performer to come entertain us with his 101 Things Machine!" (Little did she know that RoboHen had decided to advertise as an entertainer for children's parties just so he could test out the exciting new features on his machine.) Stanley's friends Myra Rabbit and Esme Kangaroo leaped higher than you can imagine when they first caught a glimpse of this amazing machine. But when RoboHen suddenly started punching buttons, they leaped as far away from it as they could, for lightning was coming out of the machine and striking the tall trees above them. All the animal children scattered, running at ninety miles an hour away from the sparks. It is difficult to describe what chaos ensued.
Stanley's mother didn't even try to be polite to RoboHen. She showed him the highway right away. After he left, the delicious cake and the lovely company combined to save the day. Thank goodness! Poor Stanley's mom was only trying to provide a special occasion for her son. Thankfully, they all survived and ate cake and were merry. That was the end of RoboHen's career as a birthday party entertainer.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
That Rotten RoboHen
A RoboMom spelling word story.
Bad RoboHen just did not want to obey his mom. She asked him to pick up all of his toys from the doorway, and he sassily said, "Maybe I will, and maybe I won't." Then he kicked them down the stairs into his basement lair. And then, as if that weren't enough, he stomped on his red crayon and ground it into the fluffy white carpet. Before she could punish him or even complain, he escaped out the window.
RoboHen's mom wondered what she could do to contain her son's behavior. She was not even completely awake yet, and already he had sassed, disobeyed, made a mess, and flown away. "Here we go again," she thought. Instead of fussing at him or punishing him, this time she decided that would be a mistake. "Today," she resolved, "I will make a RoboHen TRAP!" First she called the painter and asked him to paint the outside wall of RoboHen's room a sparkly silver color, knowing that RoboHen would see it and want to come closer. Then she put a giant plate with a supersweet treat right on the windowsill. It was a triple chocolate raisin marshmallow peanut butter pie. After that, she tied a string to a sparkly rainbow bracelet and laid it next to the treat. Finally, because she knew RoboHen might just take the bracelet and the treat with his grappling hook, she called the Mayor to arrange a surprise.
So when RoboHen sneaked back toward the lair to see what awaited him, he was amazed to glimpse the delicious dessert and the shiny bauble. He thrust his grappling hook out to grab the chocolate confection, but he was startled when an instant parade came marching by. They stamped across the pavement and grabbed pieces of pie as they went. All that remained when they were through was a tiny piece of decaying raisin. RoboHen was so mad that he stormed up to his Mom and demanded that she explain herself.
"Well," she said happily, I knew you would see through my trap, but I thought you would not be able to resist the sparkle. I guess that is payment for your rotten behavior."
He had to agree, and he spent the rest of the day cleaning up the crayon, picking up his toys, and hoping that his mom would relent and make him another treat. She did not.
[Note: Jackson thinks that RoboHen would have built a toy-picking-up machine and a crayon-picking-up machine so that he would not have to do any work as punishment. He also thinks the RoboHen stories have gotten less exciting. I agree... perhaps Jackson will write another one soon.]
Bad RoboHen just did not want to obey his mom. She asked him to pick up all of his toys from the doorway, and he sassily said, "Maybe I will, and maybe I won't." Then he kicked them down the stairs into his basement lair. And then, as if that weren't enough, he stomped on his red crayon and ground it into the fluffy white carpet. Before she could punish him or even complain, he escaped out the window.
RoboHen's mom wondered what she could do to contain her son's behavior. She was not even completely awake yet, and already he had sassed, disobeyed, made a mess, and flown away. "Here we go again," she thought. Instead of fussing at him or punishing him, this time she decided that would be a mistake. "Today," she resolved, "I will make a RoboHen TRAP!" First she called the painter and asked him to paint the outside wall of RoboHen's room a sparkly silver color, knowing that RoboHen would see it and want to come closer. Then she put a giant plate with a supersweet treat right on the windowsill. It was a triple chocolate raisin marshmallow peanut butter pie. After that, she tied a string to a sparkly rainbow bracelet and laid it next to the treat. Finally, because she knew RoboHen might just take the bracelet and the treat with his grappling hook, she called the Mayor to arrange a surprise.
So when RoboHen sneaked back toward the lair to see what awaited him, he was amazed to glimpse the delicious dessert and the shiny bauble. He thrust his grappling hook out to grab the chocolate confection, but he was startled when an instant parade came marching by. They stamped across the pavement and grabbed pieces of pie as they went. All that remained when they were through was a tiny piece of decaying raisin. RoboHen was so mad that he stormed up to his Mom and demanded that she explain herself.
"Well," she said happily, I knew you would see through my trap, but I thought you would not be able to resist the sparkle. I guess that is payment for your rotten behavior."
He had to agree, and he spent the rest of the day cleaning up the crayon, picking up his toys, and hoping that his mom would relent and make him another treat. She did not.
[Note: Jackson thinks that RoboHen would have built a toy-picking-up machine and a crayon-picking-up machine so that he would not have to do any work as punishment. He also thinks the RoboHen stories have gotten less exciting. I agree... perhaps Jackson will write another one soon.]
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Saving Mom
Another spelling word story from RoboMom.
One day, that bad RoboHen skipped school. He was racing around his lair and joking with his assistants when he heard a noise. Someone was shouting from far away. He needed to find out where that noise was coming from, so he ran all around, listening hard, until he was panting and out of breath. RoboHen found nothing at first. He was hopping mad. There was no telling who was making the noise, but it sounded upset.
Suddenly, he heard a thump right under his chicken feet. He pulled up the trap door handle of the 101 Things Machine, hoping that would reveal a clue. Instead, there sat his poor mom, wrapped in a pink blanket, with a baby elephant on top of her! The elephant greeted him with a huge trumpet - BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRM! - and RoboHen's mom, who could not talk because the elephant's foot was on her beak, nodded to him frantically. RoboHen started plotting right away.
The room had recently been cleaned and painted bright purple, so there were lots of supplies scattered around. RoboHen quickly strapped on his skates and grabbed a faded sheet, which was acting as a dropcloth. He quoted Mighty Mouse as he skated toward the elephant with the dropcloth in one claw: "Here I come to save the day!" Using all of his weight, he bumped into the elephant with a great thump, letting go of the sheet at the same time. It floated onto his enemy's face, and RoboHen began tickling the elephant-shaped lump under the sheet with all his might. For a couple of minutes, he had no idea who was winning.
Then RoboHen had a bright idea. Remembering where he was most ticklish, he hunted for the elephant's belly button. Eureka! The elephant started shaking and whuffling and eventually leaped off poor RoboHen's mom to escape from his tickling tormentor. RoboHen grabbed his mom and swung onto the ladder of the 101 Things Machine, flying up to safety and closing the trap door behind him. His mom was thankfully unharmed - it was a much lighter elephant than it looked. She was so thankful that she made RoboHen his favorite treat, a giant bowl of mango sorbet.
One day, that bad RoboHen skipped school. He was racing around his lair and joking with his assistants when he heard a noise. Someone was shouting from far away. He needed to find out where that noise was coming from, so he ran all around, listening hard, until he was panting and out of breath. RoboHen found nothing at first. He was hopping mad. There was no telling who was making the noise, but it sounded upset.
Suddenly, he heard a thump right under his chicken feet. He pulled up the trap door handle of the 101 Things Machine, hoping that would reveal a clue. Instead, there sat his poor mom, wrapped in a pink blanket, with a baby elephant on top of her! The elephant greeted him with a huge trumpet - BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRM! - and RoboHen's mom, who could not talk because the elephant's foot was on her beak, nodded to him frantically. RoboHen started plotting right away.
The room had recently been cleaned and painted bright purple, so there were lots of supplies scattered around. RoboHen quickly strapped on his skates and grabbed a faded sheet, which was acting as a dropcloth. He quoted Mighty Mouse as he skated toward the elephant with the dropcloth in one claw: "Here I come to save the day!" Using all of his weight, he bumped into the elephant with a great thump, letting go of the sheet at the same time. It floated onto his enemy's face, and RoboHen began tickling the elephant-shaped lump under the sheet with all his might. For a couple of minutes, he had no idea who was winning.
Then RoboHen had a bright idea. Remembering where he was most ticklish, he hunted for the elephant's belly button. Eureka! The elephant started shaking and whuffling and eventually leaped off poor RoboHen's mom to escape from his tickling tormentor. RoboHen grabbed his mom and swung onto the ladder of the 101 Things Machine, flying up to safety and closing the trap door behind him. His mom was thankfully unharmed - it was a much lighter elephant than it looked. She was so thankful that she made RoboHen his favorite treat, a giant bowl of mango sorbet.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
RoboHen is a Terrible Patient
This is another RoboHen word study story authored by the mom, not the boy.
It was winter, and RoboHen had a fever. His mom had a big problem taking care of him. She covered him with a blanket, but he kept throwing it off. She wanted him to be silent because his throat hurt, but he kept yelling. She closed his window so he wouldn't catch a chill, but he kept opening it. He was a terrible patient who refused to follow directions.
The other female in the house, RoboHen's sister, had no luck either. He threw his pillow at her and bit her finger. She tried to bring him some water to help him feel better. Instead of drinking it, he only dumped it on the floor. After that, RoboHen's mom took charge again.
She brought him his fuzzy yellow blanket and his favorite book, RoboHen in Oz. She started with chapter number one. In a few moments, RoboHen stopped acting crazy and started to calm down. He thought it was funny when the twister carried him to Oz, and he smiled sleepily. He really liked it when he became a member of Dorothy's travelling party to go see the Wizard. He tiredly traced the letters on the cover, and as his feathers moved over the pattern of the yellow brick road, he fell fast asleep. His mom kissed his forehead so he would have sweet dreams, and wished with all her heart that his fever would break and he would wake up feeling better.
And so it did, and he did.
It was winter, and RoboHen had a fever. His mom had a big problem taking care of him. She covered him with a blanket, but he kept throwing it off. She wanted him to be silent because his throat hurt, but he kept yelling. She closed his window so he wouldn't catch a chill, but he kept opening it. He was a terrible patient who refused to follow directions.
The other female in the house, RoboHen's sister, had no luck either. He threw his pillow at her and bit her finger. She tried to bring him some water to help him feel better. Instead of drinking it, he only dumped it on the floor. After that, RoboHen's mom took charge again.
She brought him his fuzzy yellow blanket and his favorite book, RoboHen in Oz. She started with chapter number one. In a few moments, RoboHen stopped acting crazy and started to calm down. He thought it was funny when the twister carried him to Oz, and he smiled sleepily. He really liked it when he became a member of Dorothy's travelling party to go see the Wizard. He tiredly traced the letters on the cover, and as his feathers moved over the pattern of the yellow brick road, he fell fast asleep. His mom kissed his forehead so he would have sweet dreams, and wished with all her heart that his fever would break and he would wake up feeling better.
And so it did, and he did.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
RoboHen's Crazy Summer
Note: Every Wednesday, Jackson must write each of his word study words three times. To make this more interesting, I have gotten into the habit of reading the words in the form of a RoboHen story. Jackson wants to record those stories on this blog; these are the work of me, his mother. All others are his own.
One summer, RoboHen received an unexpected present from his mother. She came to his lair with a box that contained a tiny, mewing striped kitten and a cute roly-poly puppy. They both seemed happy, but they needed a home. RoboHen opened the box and instantly was drawn to the feisty kitten, who was trying to claw its way up the sides. RoboHen's mom knew that her son would give the little creature a home, so she handed it over and headed off to find a companion for the puppy.
As soon as she had gone, RoboHen tried to feed the kitten a can of cat food for supper. The pretty orange ball of fur refused to eat the food, but scampered out the window and caught its own meal - a rabbit! It was a giant rabbit... RoboHen measured it with a ruler, and it was more than a foot long! The stripy kitten was a very contented diner, greedily devouring its prey. "Well, hello, kitten," thought RoboHen. "You can catch your own dinner from now on." RoboHen named his new pet T-Rex because of its appetite, and they had a super summer together, getting up to all sorts of mischief. Once they had to apologize to the owner of the candy store because RoboHen put a penny in the machine for a gumball, and T-Rex got so excited that he knocked the whole machine over and made a big mess. Later he wrote a letter to the store owner, telling him that he would control his pet better in the future. RoboHen learned his lesson and did not take T-Rex into any more stores.
It was a crazy summer, but it was fun. Imagine RoboHen's surprise when he realized that his beloved kitten wasn't a kitten at all. It was almost September when his friend the zookeeper, who had heard stories about all the mayhem that T-Rex was causing, came to visit. "Oh, no!" said the zookeeper. "That's not a kitten! What you have, RoboHen, is a young TIGER!" He handed RoboHen a piece of paper with directions to the zoo, and told him that he could visit T-Rex anytime, but that it was time for him to live with other tigers. RoboHen was sad, but he knew that it was for the best, and he promised T-Rex that he would come visit every Saturday. And he did.
One summer, RoboHen received an unexpected present from his mother. She came to his lair with a box that contained a tiny, mewing striped kitten and a cute roly-poly puppy. They both seemed happy, but they needed a home. RoboHen opened the box and instantly was drawn to the feisty kitten, who was trying to claw its way up the sides. RoboHen's mom knew that her son would give the little creature a home, so she handed it over and headed off to find a companion for the puppy.
As soon as she had gone, RoboHen tried to feed the kitten a can of cat food for supper. The pretty orange ball of fur refused to eat the food, but scampered out the window and caught its own meal - a rabbit! It was a giant rabbit... RoboHen measured it with a ruler, and it was more than a foot long! The stripy kitten was a very contented diner, greedily devouring its prey. "Well, hello, kitten," thought RoboHen. "You can catch your own dinner from now on." RoboHen named his new pet T-Rex because of its appetite, and they had a super summer together, getting up to all sorts of mischief. Once they had to apologize to the owner of the candy store because RoboHen put a penny in the machine for a gumball, and T-Rex got so excited that he knocked the whole machine over and made a big mess. Later he wrote a letter to the store owner, telling him that he would control his pet better in the future. RoboHen learned his lesson and did not take T-Rex into any more stores.
It was a crazy summer, but it was fun. Imagine RoboHen's surprise when he realized that his beloved kitten wasn't a kitten at all. It was almost September when his friend the zookeeper, who had heard stories about all the mayhem that T-Rex was causing, came to visit. "Oh, no!" said the zookeeper. "That's not a kitten! What you have, RoboHen, is a young TIGER!" He handed RoboHen a piece of paper with directions to the zoo, and told him that he could visit T-Rex anytime, but that it was time for him to live with other tigers. RoboHen was sad, but he knew that it was for the best, and he promised T-Rex that he would come visit every Saturday. And he did.
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