Although it is still six weeks away, AJ has already started planning for Halloween. A couple of weeks ago, AJ announced that he would like to be a skeleton this Halloween. It�s the first year he�s wanted to be something scary. Unless you count his bumblebee, at age 3. He thought he was scary, but I�m not sure the rest of us did:

I am not usually one of those crafty mothers, so I made a mental note to keep my eyes open for skeleton costumes. AJ helped too. We immediately found one we both liked, but $50 for a 5-year-old�s Halloween costume seemed a bit excessive. Besides, my five-year-old is a stickler for anatomical correctness � he was unimpressed with P0ttery B@rn�s interpretation of a pelvis. Hmm. Maybe he could design his own costume � Halloween meets science lab.

This morning, AJ researched the matter in his many books on human anatomy. Meanwhile I, with a greater knowledge of graphic design and a firm grip on my own inferior sewing skills, blew up the P0ttery B@rn skeleton photo and started practicing drawing bones. We went shopping for a black sweatshirt and sweatpants, a 50-cent drugstore skeleton mask, some white felt and fusible tape. AJ already has a pair of black Chuck Taylor high tops with white toes, which will be perfect on his feet. And we ordered a pair of inexpensive gloves with glow-in-the-dark finger bones on them. Before lunch we sketched and cut out patterns for the femur, the patella, fibia and tibula. After school we�ll work on the arms and then we�ll have to figure out how to make the ribs so they look appropriately three dimensional.

AJ�s very excited about the project. I�m thinking that we might make some Velcro labels to attach to the bones for play after Halloween. This kid is all about labels. When I was studying for my Italian exam, he helped me stick post-it labels on items all over the house to help me memorize my vocabulary. I think naming the bones of his skeleton costume would suit him rather well (no pun intended).

AJ and I walked to school today in the fall breeze singing �Dem Bones�

Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around
O, hear the word of de Lord.

The leaves were scurrying around our ankles as we passed the big red maple. AJ stopped to crunch them. �Mommy, it�s fall this week.�

�Maybe we should celebrate. What do you think we should do?�

�Maybe we could have a party. We could invite The Girl Next Door.�

�And we could fall down a lot.�

�No, Mommy, it�s not that kind of fall.�

�Oh, that�s too bad.�

�But we could rake up a pile of leaves and jump in them.�

�I don�t think there are enough leaves in our yard yet, but soon, AJ, very soon.�

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