School are going to think DD(8) has a warped mind!!!

[Jourdain11]

DD2's Year 4 class are writing "urban wildlife diaries" this week and I took a look at what DD had written so far this evening.

"There were rats at the bottom of the garden. I saw two it was the size of a cat."

"At night I could hear foxes fighting and they make a sound like ladys screeming ." (At least she didn't know what they were actually doing.)

"On the way home I saw a dead squirel and two pigeons were eating it."

"There are lots of spiders in our house and my dad washed them down the plug drownde them."

Urgh... I'm sure the teacher was expecting different kinds of birds singing outside the window and late summer butterflies. DH thought it was hilarious but I'm sure the teacher is going to think she's a Disturbed Child.

Yes, IABU: let her get on with it and see how grim it gets

No, IANBU: encourage her to look at, er, more pleasant urban wildlife.

Haha its brilliant.

Honestly its real life observation. Kids are amazing at it, and as adults we just loose this valuable tool.

I would let her get on with it.

She's 8, my DD would probably write similar. Apart from the spiders, we don't kill spiders in our house (mummy makes daddy put them outside) as they eat the flies.

YABU. She sounds brilliant.

It’s all fine and just nature, apart from your husband drowning spiders. He sounds like a dick.

Leave her to it. I think its great. I once took a group of girls Brownie age on a survival course, and the instructor asked what they would do for food if the were lost in the woods. One girl piped up I would put some nice dandelion leaves on the floor, sit in a tree with a brick and when a rabbit comes to eat the leaves I will drop the brick on him.

She won't be the only one.

Imaginative writing can also involve a fair bit of death and knives.

She’s got her descriptive writing down 😂 rats the ‘size of a cat.’ Honestly pigeons eating dead squirrels and huge rats are just as much wildlife as butterflies.

She sounds fab. She's just observing the realities of nature. X

I just hope the teacher isn't too shocked. Mind you, at least she's actually doing a diary and not just making it all up on the last day

Let her get in with it. Don't interfere with how she's experiencing and interpreting the world around her.

YABU let her express her creativity.

I know a good many that age who are pretty bloody-minded. If the teacher has any issues, she should have instructed her class to write about "the beauties of nature" that they observed. Let her have at it. I, personally, love the fact that she is actually doing this daily, on her own.

I was a TA then a HLTA and worked with this age group a lot. It is absolutely fine. You could encouraged her to use some adjectives to describe the animals and they may have been asked to describe their senses. What she hears, smells etc as well as what she sees.Take her for a walk near dusk if possible.

I went out to the freezer in our outhouse tonight and an owl screeched really near to me and made me jump. We have bats so we see those swooping around catching insects.

We had to write about what we did for Christmas
Mine "we ate scraps and dad was in the pub as usual"
School
Mum "scraps are what we call M&S nibbles/buffet (I couldn't remember the word) and yes we were ALL in the pub. Because we live there!"

M&S oven food is still known as scraps now

She's keeping a diary of the wildlife she sees, hilarious but accurate. Definitely help her notice other things but she sounds amazing.

A pupil in my tutor group proudly announced yesterday when we were talking about their weekend, that he had seen a dead rat's brain. I didn't think he had a warped mind for a minute, it made me laugh. Question the circumstances yes, but mainly laugh while being bemused.

@Jourdain11

I just hope the teacher isn't too shocked. Mind you, at least she's actually doing a diary and not just making it all up on the last day

Why would the teacher be shocked? I think it's going to provide some light relief in the rather tedious job of reading many of those diaries.

They are normal observations, don’t worry!

It's brilliant. And it is obvious she actually did the assignment properly.

When dad was 6 she was asked to write about the most interesting thing she had seen on a class outing. She wrote that she had seen:
: wite dog poo and some blud from xxx”.
Her friend had picked off a scab and bled copiously!

I try not to think too much what mine tell their teachers. Both have such a way with words judging by what they tell me.

Pretty sure teachers (or anyone who works with children) must hear all sorts.

I think you have the next Stephen King on your hands 😂 Excellent work.

I teach 7 and 8 year olds and would think it was great (apart from the dad drowning spiders). I'd particularly like that it sounded genuine, not made up because of a last minute panic when she realised that she hadn't done her homework.

At that age they love dead things and gore.

Heh - yes, just let her get on with it. Tell the teacher, if it's raised with you (not necessarily) that her nickname at home is Wednesday Addams.

Teacher will probably appreciate a different viewpoint!