Hmm...you could go the stereotypical fake punk rock look, maybe? Loud and clashing and wild hair?

So.... just had my farewell lunch. Cried. A Lot. Got a present (wasn't expecting) - 2 tickets to A Chorus Line, for when I am in Melbourne. I am so loved!

Obstreperous practically DEMANDS a one-man-band sort of approach. Cymbals. A recorder around the neck on a string. Castanets. Bells around the ankles. A kazoo. Noise noise noise!

Obnoxiously conflicting colors and patterns--as many of them as possible, that's what I recommend for your costuming needs *G* At the very least, lots of conflicting patterns, although I'd go for boisterous colors to clash, too. It's all good as long as they're normal clothes put together.

Yeah, I'd have a lot of fun working with our kids for this "topic" :D Also, thanks for teaching me a new vocabulary word.

Yay, Green Room! I'm actually up late enough to take part in this one. I really hate not being able to access LJ from work most of the week.

How's everyone feeling about their entries this week? I know I spun on the topic for quite a while before I could write anything.

As for what I'm doing, I'm looking at sleep here soon, maybe turning over some ideas on my next story and reading some Idol entries in the meantime.

You could do pajamas, as a "too obstreperous to get dressed today" kind of thing?

Or a shirt with "NO!" written on it in fabric paint?

If the 8 year old is sufficiently stubborn, they could just go as themselves because "I'm too obstreperous to do the assignment?"

That's all I have for now.

Well thanks to Gary, I learned that my phone does something new! I went to copy that word to look it up and saw that I had a "define" option. I clicked and it opened up a dictionary definition. Holy crap, that's cool! I learn something new every day! Now I need more words I don't know so I can look them up that way. One more reason I'm slowly turning away from my laptop in favor of my smart phone.

In fact, I read an entire tribe tonight from my phone. Commented and voted too. It's raining, so my dog and I took the lazy road and decided a short walk and no dog park was the way to go! She hates the rain, so no complaining there!

So loud clothing... You could put vivid colors all mismatched with crazy patterns? Or maybe have a shirt with speakers glued to them! My creativity kinda sucks tonight, I'm sorry.

Off to scrub my cats chin alone for the first time. Considering the blood she drew with Java's help, I'm sure this will be fun. It can't beat her spitting her medicine back in my face like she did last night though (and yes, Java was laughing uncontrollably at that).

Yay for not missing late night GRs! I lost my job today, which is the reason I'm here, but the good thing is that it was just a routine layoff and they gave me some pretty good severance. And I'll hopefully pick something up ASAP!

Watching Family Guy on Netflix. I am so addicted to Netflix :P

Ooh! maybe a street urchin, Oliver Twist style?

I second the idea to wear something "loud"—clashing prints or whatever. :)

Just dress the kid up normal and give 'em an airhorn and/or a boombox (or whatever the modern equivalent is) full of thrash metal and encourage the child to play it whenever they get bored?

I'm picturing a costume made of noisemakers--and perhaps hair covered in a pound of hairspray. And bright, preferably shiny clothing.

:-D

Hmm... Obstreperous is basically noisy, unruly, and defiant so I'd think the punk rocker or grunge rock look would work well - torn jeans, band Tshirt, black eyeliner and spiky, colorful hair should do the trick.

Gosh it's late - I need to get some sleep, I've got bowling this (Tuesday) evening! Goodnight greenies!

Harpo Marx

For the noisy definition:

Walmart sells little bells; you could tie them to her/his clothes. Or sew them on, but make sure you use relatively wide stitches -- they're easier to remove. Not too wide, though, or he'll/she'll catch them on something.

Definitely loud patterns and bold colors. What about a jester hat? Does the school allow hats? Cowboy bandana, in 80s colors? Layer clothing on top of each other -- two shirts with the cuffs of the bottom showing under the cuffs of the top? Plaster a regular t-shirt with flowers (think Scooby-Doo) cut out of paper or felt? Deck out in leftover mardi gras beads? Costume jewelry, temporary hair color, eat a lolipop right before school for that blue-tongue look... glitter? Face paint?

For the stubborn definition:

Solid black, perhaps with little silver bells to allude to the noisy definition in passing? Walmart's bells are gold, though. You might have to hit up a craft store for silver. They do sell them, though; I just don't remember what store I found them at.

But solid black, torn, maybe a collar? I don't know if they make collars for eight-year-olds, though. Definitely not spikes -- spikes are inappropriate for kids and probably count as weapons anyway -- but a nice soft collar might work. Be careful it's loose.

Or a chain necklace, that might be more age-appropriate than a collar. One of the coolest versions I've seen was to take a medium-sized chain (links about fingernail-sized) and use a lock for the clasp, worn in front, of course. You could use one of those little diary locks rather than a real one, given her/his age. (They also sell fake "chains" in little-kid necklace sets, usually at either the dollar store or a party store. But they're frequently pink. Although I've seen both purple and blue versions.)

A do-rag, ball cap, or other headgear would also be appropriate to "stubborn", but you might want to check the school's hats and headwear policy.

You'll want to tailor either approach to the child, of course.

What does he/she want to do? Is she/he into bright colors or more sombre attire? Would bells appeal? What about eclectic jewelry? Is he/she crafty? Y'all could make something out of pipe cleaners (chenille stems) -- belled bracelets, chains or collars, a headband or crown, even spell the word out in linked letters draped like a sash across one shoulder. Letters and chains can also be made out of felt or construction paper, as can hats/crowns.

Can you dress him up as the Idol Green Room?

*runs like hell*

No? OKAY FINE. I think the one-man-band idea lrig_rorrim brought up is brilliant. Easy to put together with random junk from a dollar store\discount store (kazoo, bike horn, toy tambourine, all that jazz, literally and figuratively) and DEFINITELY fits the definition.

I did a google image search for "obstreperous" and it turned up with a lot of screaming kids and politicians (never in the same picture, although that would also be appropriate). Just throwing that out there. ^_^

HI GREEN ROOM!!!!

I really need to be not on the internet and thinking about making tea for everyone, but since we got paid today and the grocery shopping cost a little less than I expected, I'm going to splash out and get fish and chips. I think my sanity needs it - we've been surviving on beans and homemade bread lately. Tasty, but we need a break.

Gary, I seriously can't believe that people complain about the topic.

Oh wait, I remember doing that last year.

Heh.

Oops.

'obstreperous' would make a wonderful idol topic!! :-P
If it were me dressing up, I'd go as a football fan, from the 2010 world cup, complete with vuvuzela (which I would perpetually blow). School-appropriate is for geeks and goody-two-shoes.

Hmmmm, you'd think that some 8 year olds could probably just dress as themselves to match that theme. I'm sure your 8 year old isn't one of them, though. :)

Maybe you could do something with a megaphone or a bicycle horn or something like that? Or is that too literal?

First of all, I think anyone assigning obstreperous to school childlren has a gift for redundancy. That said, my first thought is a one=man band kind of get up, drum, cymbals between the legs, horn under the arm to honk, harmonica on a stand around the neck, etc.

Also, were I employed at this school, I would take the day off.

Zzzzzz... I know it's morning and I must start working, but my boys are so cute, I want to lounge on the couch and play with them a little longer.

I love all the costume ideas, but the one man band idea is my favorite.

I haven't been around much because I've been sick, but I feel okay today! The secret is - don't eat.

I've had six pre-cut carrots today so far, but they haven't made me sick yet. And I'm drinking a lot of Gatorade and water to stay hydrated.

I had an ulcer last year and changed my diet quite a bit after that. I think I'm going to have to change it even more now.

I hope someone out there can learn from my experience and make some changes to their diet before their body forces them to do it. Going out to eat tonight should be fun - trying to decide where we can go and what I can eat there that might not make me horribly sick.

The outfit thing sounds like a really fun school activity! We never did anything like that in elementary school.

Bells. Lots of bells. Bells are very obstreperous especially on children.

Howdy-Doo folks!!!

My job would be *so* much easier if other people did *their* jobs properly! It really would. it would save me the trouble of having to call them to give them a... ahem... friendly reminder that there are proper procedures and protocols to follow... you know, the same ones I've been telling you about at least once a month for the last several YEARS!!!! Ahem. Sorry. Apparently I'm feeling a little obstreperous m'self today! The moral of the story for these people though is... do your jobs correctly... have a little pride in your work... and failing that, just do what the "F" I tell you to do and things will go so much smoother for all of us! :-)

Hope everybody is having a good day!

Feeling a bit better today!

Working on Scentsy, now gonna make myself a late lunch (so late dinner tonight *sigh*) and then go ahead and work on a paper due on Friday