Chop Wood, Carry Water

Told to the tune of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff

If you give a girl a hammer, she’s going to ask you for some nails. When you give her the nails, she’ll probably ask you for some wood. When she is finished hammering she’ll ask for some sandpaper and a screwdriver.

Then she’ll want to look at her project to see if she can improve it. When she’s looking, she might notice that it needs some paint. So she’ll probably ask for a paint brush. She’ll start painting. She might get carried away and paint everything in the house. She may even end up painting the floor as well! (Plan accordingly.)

When she’s done, you’ll probably want her to take a nap. She’ll disagree. There will be no bed making in this version. She’ll settle for a story instead. So you’ll read to her from one of her books, and she’ll ask to see the pictures. When she looks at the pictures, she’ll get so excited she’ll want to make something of her own. She’ll ask for some power tools. Which means she’ll need some supervision. She’ll make something amazing. When she is done, she’ll want to display her work. She will know that scotch tape is not nearly durable enough for the heavy-duty type of projects she is into, so she’ll ask for some nails.

And chances are if she asks you for some nails, she’s going to want a hammer to go with it.

*Just imagine what will happen if you buy a girl an entire tool kit. She just might start her own business. 

Thanks to my husband and my dad who have helped with some of these projects. Thanks to my sister Amber, who bought Evan her first toolbox for her birthday.

Evan’s bird house.

Evan in her workshop.

Evan’s high chair.