Proverbs

I read the funniest thing on Facebook today. I don't know if it was true, but the story goes that a 1st grade teacher gave her student the start of famous proverbs and made them finish them.

So I decided to try it with my kids. I had a hunch they wouldn't participate for long, so I bribed them by throwing gummy bears at them at random intervals.

Here were their answers:

1. Don't change horses
Jackson: because the other one might be mean.
Ryker: bad or good.

2. Strike while the
J: painted zebra.
R: zebra.

3. It's always darkest before
J: night
R: (silence)

4. Never underestimate the power of
J: because you might be smarter than you think you are.
R: change. (I kid you not - that's what he said.)

5. You can lead a horse to water but
J: there's water in the way.
R: we need gas.

6. Don't bite the hand that
J: is a skunk.
R: is a shark.

7. No news is
J: no fun.
R: changeable.

8. A miss is as good as a
J: shoot.
R: tigress.

9. You can't teach an old dog new
J: tricks that dogs already know.
R: changing invisible.

10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll
J: it will be soft.
R: bite.

11. Love all, trust
J: Momma.
R: (silence)

12. The pen is mightier than the
J: horse.
R: no one.

13. An idle mind is
J: nothing that talks.

(At this point Ryker takes a break to eat the rest of his dinner.)

14. Where there's smoke there's
J: fire. (good one!)

15. Happy the bride who
J: marries.

16. A penny saved is
J: a dime. (we need to work on money, I guess)

17. Two's company, three's
J: makes fours.

18. Don't put off till tomorrow what
J: because it might be a terrible day tomorrow.

19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and
J: whine.

20. There are none so blind as
J: Old Man Jankins. (I looked perplexed, and Chuck and Jack cracked up laughing. I guess the other day in the store Jack pointed up at some random old man and goes "Look - it's Old Man Jankins!" We have NO IDEA who Old Man Jankins is. Some of you will recall John Millman. I think this might be a similar figment of his imagination.)

21. Children should be seen and not
J: so big.
R: (reenters the game to win more gummy bears) be nice.

22. If at first you don't succeed
J: you do it again.
R: no one.

23. You get out of something only what you
J: don't like.
R: (silence)

24. When the blind lead the blind
J: it gets you nowhere.
R: (silence)

25. A bird in the hand
J: doesn't fly.
R: nothing.

26. Better late than
J: early.
R: no one.

So, clearly we have some work to do on our proverbs with Rykie. Jack, on the other hand, has some pretty decent insights I think.