books and bears

Yesterday H brought home a book about Franny K Stein. She told us that all the 4th graders were reading them and that they were always checked out of the library. Then she very nicely read the whole thing to Brother while we ran errands. And he loved it. Every time we got back in the car from whatever we were doing he would chant "Franny, Franny, Franny" until she would read again. It was really very sweet.

Fast forward to today. She got another one, they are a series, and brought it in the car. This time however she held it hostage and he cried. He really wanted to hear it but she wouldn't let him touch it, even though it is well within his reading ability. I told him he should check one out himself when he is done with his Droon book (another series) and then he said 1st graders aren't allowed to check out from the shelves, only the book boxes that are set out for them.

Finally her nicer side came out and she said she had a headache so she couldn't read out loud to him and he couldn't touch her book but tomorrow morning during early bird readers he could come with her to the library and she would help him ask the librarian for one. This was agreeable to him. 1st graders also aren't allowed to do early bird readers so while she gets to read in the morning he has to sit in the cafeteria and visit with friends, which he doesn't hate. Thankfully. He gets a lot of time to read during the day. He is always one of the first kids done with every assignment and then the plan is to read from your browsing box or from your library book until the other kids are done, or time is up and the class moves on to the next thing. He complains that it's kind of boring to wait on everyone every day and I know he's not exaggerating because I have subbed his class several times and he is done and he does sit and read.

Today Lucy and I stopped by the bookstore on the way home from taking Beloved to the airport. I actually wanted to look for Franny, but they were out. I ended up getting Mercy Watson, by the same author as Despereaux. It is a really cute story (series but we only got one) about a pig that is part of the Watson family. We read it tonight and H and E both liked it and laughed out loud at it. Brother is taking it tomorrow so his teacher can borrow it and read it to the class.

I am glad they both like to read. Today we were talking in the car about how books change people. They leave a little piece of themselves in your mind and your heart and you are changed forever by that knowledge/story/perspective that was brought to life through a book.



Today we got Wii Fit. I am super excited. It'll be fun. We have enjoyed our wii a lot and maybe this will be the key to exercise fun :)

Yesterday everyone went back to school or work and our lives are out of vacation mode. It was our turn to host the kiddos and we did a bear theme for our lesson time. The kids really enjoyed "hibernating" in a cave, and fishing for fish and hunting for berries and hunny as they became bears. We then made little caves out of lunch bags and put our paper bears and their food in the cave. A hit! Lucy was glad to have her friends back and it was a good day.

In other much sadder news while we were buying food and bedding for Renaldo at Russell's Feed we found out that after months of waiting and asking they had hedgehogs again. J REALLY wants one and is now begging away. We are having enough on our plates with moving 5 kids, 2 grown ups and one very large dog and don't want to add a hedgehog, sugar glider, cat or partridge in a pair tree...or cage full of finches. Maybe J needs to be a vet or an exotic animal trainer or something when she grows up, she always wants another pet.