The Rights of Passage - Francesca is Now Five and a Graduate

Francesca Autumn Corbett

Francesca has now reached the tender age of Five and graduated from a three-year Montessori program called Glen Oaks.  And like the grand oak tree, she is growing nicely, smartly and true as an arrow. 

I have been remiss in blogging about her because of time and schedules.  So today I thought I would include a panopoly of media to show where she has come to as we end the school year.  Here is Francesca in her graduation gown glowing like the flower she is.

Francesca spent part of graduation morning with her favorite friend Sophie.  Francesca and Sophie are a nice complement to each other.

Next, here is a video of the celebration with Francesca marching forth to transfer a flower from the vessel of her toddlerhood to the next stage in her growth having mastered three years in Montessori.  Next stop Kindergarten.  She has learned much in her time and leaves Glen Oaks having learned the early stages of reading not to mention everything else including numbers, colors, alphabet, etc.  Your name it, she has learned it.

A birthday for a five year old is not complete without a cake fit for a Princess.

And party of screaming friends.

It Doesn't Matter What Color Are Your Eyes, Skin or Hair

Francesca's understanding of Martin Luther King day is pretty interesting and perhaps insightful.

On the way home from school this afternoon, she asked, "Daddy do you know who is Martin Luthers (sp) King?"  I said, "absolutely, he was a famous civil rights leader."

"Well Daddy that's true.  But he was also a nice person."  "What do you mean," I responded.  "Daddy he helped a lady on the bus.  There was a lady on the bus and a white person did not want her on the bus.  Martin Luthers (sp) King helped her on the bus so she could ride it."

"Francesca," I said, "What do you think was significant about that?"  "Daddy," she exclaimed with considerable force, "It doesn't matter what color are your eyes, skin or hair."

Now that my hair is getting some grey, I feel quite fortunate with Francesca's point of view.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!!!

You Shouldn't Date When You're Married

"You shouldn't date another girl when you are married," Francesca exclaimed!  "What did you say?" I calmly replied as Francesca began one of her "Let's give Dad advice and counsel" sessions.

I was flabbergasted when Francesca bolted out that piece of wisdom!  With the Tiger Woods fiasco and the endless stories of heretofore clean cut "sports figures" and "politicians" I could not imagine where on God's green earth Francesca came up with that idea.  Was she watching the endless coverage of the "Tiger" on CNN and Fox?  Was she reading the countless blogs that were covering the Tiger travails?  How about the hundreds of advice columns telling Tiger how to redeem himself?  Fortunately, no to all of those questions.

The answer turned out to be some wisdom that she intuited from watching of all things "Hannah Montana" on the Disney channel.  Francesca explained that Robbie Ray, Hannah Montana's father on the show, was dating a woman.  A flash back in a previous episode showed Hannah's mother giving Hannah advice.  In Francesca's mind there was something odd going on.  On the show, Hannah's mother has passed on.  Not fully realizing this, Francesca made the judgement that what she saw was "not right."

Francesca said, "Daddy you shouldn't date another girl when you are married.  That's not right and not very nice."  "Francesca," I said, "Daddy agrees."

Francesca-isms - "If you don't tell the truth..."

Francesca continues to develop her thoughts about life from her experiences and things she learns in school.  She just had her first friend sleep over at our house and was the adult all the way.  Her friend cried herself to sleep because she was overtired from an evening of trick or treating.  Not Francesca, she sat up and played with her collection of Barbie Dolls. But before she did, "she pat, pat, pat'd" her friend to sleep, ever the caring person.

As we prepared for Halloween, she conveyed these thoughts to us.

• Do your chores.
• Eat all of your food.  If you do, you'll get dessert.
• No talking to strangers.
• No fighting.
• Don't give up.
• If you don't tell the truth, someone will lie to you. 

The latter exclamation is certainly food for thought.

Philosphy from Phrancesca - Connecting

It is a rare moment when I am able to capture some of Francesca's philosophical musings in realtime. I succeeded this time. This one truly is a gem and I am lost to know what was her influence. Clearly she has the fundamentals to be a teacher. This video is amazing. Take a listen to Francesca.

You Gotta Figure it Out

Francesca writes most of her songs on the fly. We are not certain where her inspiration originates. But we do know that she has a great moral compass. Listen up!

Never Give Up

Francesca, ever the optimist, has a message for everyone about everything. Listen up!