The kids and I have been enjoying a few new things lately:

• I created a simple shape-based cipher system over this past weekend and taped the key to our kitchen table. I then distributed a note encoded with the cipher to each of the kids without any explanation. It was great fun to watch them discover the key, work out their messages, and then go chasing through the house to find the candy canes I’d hidden as a reward. [Liam->] got especially excited about the process, and we’ve exchanged several more encoded messages since. [Abigail->] wants a copy of the key so that she can write her friends at school secret messages as well. Fun stuff.
• At bedtime, we usually give the kids the option “carry or tuck” — they can be carried to their beds, or be tucked in once they’re there. Last week I changed up the formula: “carry, tuck, or a song.” If they choose the latter, I’ll swing by the kids’ room with my guitar and sing a song for them. (This is, admittedly, partially in response to a “patriarchal tearjerker” that Barry wrote called “My Daddy Sang to Me.” It makes Kathy cry every time it comes around on the MP3 player.) So far, we’ve covered “Down in the Valley”, “Little Bunny Foo-Foo”, “Puff the Magic Dragon”, and “Irish Rover” (which Liam inexplicably refers to as “The Pirate Song”). Further suggestions for good bedtime music are welcome!