A Less Brilliant Misunderstanding

Again with FF. Again with a misunderstanding, but this time it was mine. Sometimes homework is just really tricky.

FF was rolling along with his Language Arts homework when he asked for help: he had no clue at all what to do with the third line of instructions on this page:

So I had a look at the assignment, mentally running a rough literal translation:

"Act according to the instructions.

We will color the blanket with light blue.

We will circle with a circle a shoe.

We will copy a baby that is small and pleasant to the correct spot."

WAIT, WHAT???? I was fairly certain that I had translated each word correctly, but clearly I was missing something, as that line of instructions made little to no sense. I figured I'd finish to see if anything became clear, but no, the last two lines of instructions were perfectly straightforward and clarified nothing:

"We will color the presents in yellow.

We will color the shoes with blue."

Did that third line really expect a first-grader to copy that fairly complex picture of a baby to... somewhere? Was he supposed to draw a doll? Why that bizarre phrasing of a small and pleasant baby??? It was time to call in the reinforcements, so I sent out a call for help on the parents' WhatsApp group.

Within minutes, I had my answer: "לכתוב תינוק קטן וענוג בשורה שמעל התמונה" - "Write 'A Small and Pleasant Baby' on the line above the picture." Well now, that made sense! 

I thanked the mother who answered me, and was gratified when an Israeli mother responded that she had also been confused. Sometimes, it seems, homework instructions are just poorly punctuated and unclear, even if you aren't an immigrant!