Fancy Nancy

Abigail's class focused on classic stores such as Goldilocks & the Three Bears for the month of October. They read, performed and put on puppet shows to tell their favorite stories. As part of the unit, the class had Storybook Character day a few weeks ago when the children dressed as their favorite characters, parents joined them for a picnic breakfast, and they paraded through the kindergarten classes displaying their costumes.

Abigail chose a modern character, Fancy Nancy. If you don't have a little girl, you're probably not familiar with this dolled up young lady, but she's quite the character, and a perfect match for my little girl. We've collected a few of this series' books and always enjoy reading them.

Nancy is the daughter of two plainly dressed parents usually seen in jeans and t-shirts, but never shows herself in anything less than party dresses, full jewelry and curled hair. Not only does she assume the appearance of "Fancy Nancy," but chooses her vocabulary similarly. In narration and when speaking to others, she uses the most multi-syllable words she can think of, then defines them by explaining what word is a less fancy version.

Abigail donned a silk shantung pink dress with a tulle petticoat, slept in sponge rollers for the curled hair, added her best tiara and bracelets, and headed to school. She was fully into character as she greeted her teacher dressed in a Snow White dress, saying "That's a gorgeous dress, Mrs. Borman. That's a fancy word for pretty." Oh, Abigail.

Then, I met her for breakfast a bit later, bringing only the fanciest of take-out breakfasts, Starbucks.

She loved the Starbucks, but I was not impressed. Apparantly, the found the fanciest cow in the pasture to milk, because the price of a cup of milk was certainly the fanciest! I digress...

The kids then lined up for their costume parade and made the rounds through the kindergarten classes.

And, Abigail has stayed in Fancy Nancy mode ever since. She chooses her words carefully and is constantly inquiring about "fancy" words.

"Mom, do you know what a fancy word is for broken? Damaged."

"Mom, that sky is spectacular. That's a fancy word for beautiful."

:Mom, I'm exhausted. That's a fancy word for tired."

Mom, mom, mom, fancy, fancy, fancy... I think you get my point.