As the start of a new school year approached, I tried to organize all parts of our house, especially the kid areas. We played outside and visited family and friends all summer, and I neglected to care about the state of their rooms. So saying it was a disaster zone might be a kind description.

My son, Dawson, 9, wanted to be involved in cleaning his room. He just wanted to hang out with me and talk and talk and talk. I do enjoy his witty sense of humor. And I’m glad he still wants to talk to me so much, though you’ll often find me daydreaming about when my children are all in school.

While we were spending time together, Dawson was kind enough to share a little nugget of his Kid Wisdom with me.

We came across a book about day hikes on the Olympic Peninsula. He told me he wants to keep that book but doesn’t want it in his room, which is fine since it does not belong to him anyway, he just kept grabbing it off the bookshelf downstairs.

“That’s just a decorative book,” he explained. “Trust me, I’ve studied adults for many years, and most of their books are like that.”

My girls, Violet, 5, and Eleanor, 3, are generous with their wisdom, too.

Violet was in a terrible mood, and I just couldn’t get her to stop being grumpy and mean to her little sister. I couldn’t understand why she was in such a terrible mood and then I realized she was ‘hangry,’ so hungry she was angry. All I had with me was a package of Twizzlers. But after she had some candy she was in a much better mood.

“I’m so glad you’re feeling better,” I told her.

“A little bit of candy and I feel better,” Violet said.

“Candy helps me be good when I be mean,” Eleanor said. “Then I don’t be mean to anybody.”

Then she put her hands on her cheeks, tilted her head and smiled sweetly. I think she was lobbying for more candy.

With the stages and ages that my girls are right now, we have a lot of challenging days. One day, in particular, stands out to me.

That night as I gazed at Eleanor sleeping I marveled at how angelic she looked, long lashes resting on chubby toddler cheeks, blonde ringlets framing her face. You would never guess she had been a holy terror all day. Running around getting into everything, climbing anything she could and many things she shouldn’t, picking fights with her sister, screaming and throwing fits and basically in motion since the instant her feet hit the ground that morning. It was no wonder she was asleep nearly the moment her head hit the pillow. Violet had also been quite challenging that day, too.

Since Eleanor fell asleep so quickly, that allowed me to have some special one-on-one time with Violet. She sat on my lap in the rocking chair, and we just talked.

When it came time to tuck her in, Violet turned to me and said it was such a special day, just because we had a few minutes of quiet one-on-one time at the end of a lousy day. I would not have called the day a success or even a good parenting day.

I realized that we could struggle all day but that a few special moments could turn the whole day around. She chose to focus on the good. There’s a lot of wisdom in that. I’m so glad Violet shared her wisdom with me.

When her sons were about 5 and 6 years old, Poulsbo resident Megan Houser had had it with her kids’ unruly behavior at bedtime that night. So she “burritoed” or swaddled them. Her younger son Lucino began to cry. “What’s wrong,” big brother Bowen asked. “Did you want to be a taco instead.”

Laurie Wilkey, of Poulsbo, writes that her granddaughter, Avery, 8, recently had her hair cut and asked her mom if she likes her new kabob. Avery’s mom replied that she likes skewers of chicken and vegetables on the barbecue but that she loves her new bob.

Cristina Bassitt, of Bremerton, was on the way home from dinner with her family. They pulled up next to an ambulance and her son Jacob, who was about three at that time, got very excited.

“Mommy look,” he said. “It’s a bandaid truck.”

One morning Cristina was still in bed but could hear her boys Jacob, 5, and Phillip, 3, talking in the family room.

“Did you fart Philip,” Jacob asked.

“Yes, I farted twice,” Philip said.

“Your special power is skunk power,” Jacob said.

I would love to hear your funny kid stories, so please send them my way. Parents, teachers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and people who love children, please send your stories and cute kid photos to quinn@ward.media. I look forward to hearing from you.

— Quinn Ward is a former journalist living in Poulsbo. She has been recording the amazing and outrageous things her kids say since they have been able to talk.