My daughter has a talent for winding people up and taking the piss. A genius, really. I don't know where she gets it, but she'll find something that winds you up and pounce upon it, worrying it incessantly until you have to demand relief.
I ask her to pick up a towel thrown on the floor.
"That's where it belongs" she assures me.
We read books she takes from the library at school. She watches me, guages my approval and reaction, then acts accordingly. She's developed a taste for reading Junie B. Jones books, mostly because I don't like Junie B. Jones and think she's long overdue for a spanking. No surer way to win her approval.
Her older brother gets no quarter, and frequently I'm forced to intercede on her behalf to prevent any bloodshed.
I've been working on a project where I assign them writing projects. Small writing projects, a paragraph or 2, I'm trying to teach them rhetorical structure. The boy good naturedly goes along, the girl is a little more vocal in her resistance.
So it's no surprise that when I'm suggesting it's time we practice our writing she kicks up a bit of a fuss. Finally she acquiesces.
"What should I write about?" she asks me.
"Why don't you imagine that your a turtle?" I suggest.
She thinks for a moment before beginning.
"I would hate to be a turtle because...."