February 5, 2017
1) Reading: Not only did I miss posting for several days, but we really weren't reading too much -- just Jamie's homework reading and a little bit of bedtime reading, mostly from What People Do All Day. This weekend, though, we had a reading bonanza. Saturday afternoon we read 2 of the last 3 chapters of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Yesterday morning, we read a chapter from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ("The Boggart in the Wardrobe") and the last chapter of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Alex and I had to keep passing the book back and forth, as first one of us and then the other got all choked up about the children having to say goodbye to Caspian, Reepicheep, etc. In the afternoon, we read the first 2 chapters of The Silver Chair and the first chapter from The House at Pooh Corner, "In Which a House Is Built at Pooh Corner for Eeyore." At bedtime we read 2 chapters from What People Do All Day, "Building a House," and "Firemen to the Rescue." Jamie loves to comment on the stupidity of Mommy Cat in the latter story. Why doesn't she just pick up the burning shirt and put it in the sink? Why doesn't she go upstairs and get Huckle herself? He made me erase all the places I had penciled in a change from Mommy Cat to Daddy Cat, where I made it look like Daddy Cat was the hysterical, idiotic one and Mommy Cat was the one with the career. Jamie didn't like it that I had changed it and I certainly understand, but I'm not sorry I did it! It also created a good opening for a conversation about these issues.
2) Quote: Last night Jamie made so many references to poop and butts at the dinner table that we sent him to finish his dinner in his room. He didn't like the mushroom quiche we were having for dinner, so I was a bit worried that he would quietly scrape in onto the floor in his room and wait for Puzzle to finish it off later, even though I've never known him to do anything like that. I told him that he had better not do that, and he was deeply insulted and indignant that I would suggest such a thing. I apologized, told him that I do find him to be very honest, and kissed him.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Monday, January 30, 2017
January 29, 2017
1) Reading: Today we read, as a family, 3 chapters from Voyage of the Dawn Treader: "The Dufflepuds Made Happy," "The Dark Island," and the "The Three Sleepers." I've always found the description of the dark island to be one of the most compelling parts of the book. At bedtime, Jamie asked to read an Arthur Geisert book I'd never read before, Mystery. He had already read it to himself and knew how it turned out.
January 30, 2017
1) Reading: This evening we read Jamie's school library book, a book about Copperheads.
2) Quote: It's not exactly a quote, but he whispered so adorably when reading out loud the parts of the copperhead book that described them as eating mice and rats. (This was to avoid traumatizing Ulli, Sabine, and Gustav).
1) Reading: Today we read, as a family, 3 chapters from Voyage of the Dawn Treader: "The Dufflepuds Made Happy," "The Dark Island," and the "The Three Sleepers." I've always found the description of the dark island to be one of the most compelling parts of the book. At bedtime, Jamie asked to read an Arthur Geisert book I'd never read before, Mystery. He had already read it to himself and knew how it turned out.
January 30, 2017
1) Reading: This evening we read Jamie's school library book, a book about Copperheads.
2) Quote: It's not exactly a quote, but he whispered so adorably when reading out loud the parts of the copperhead book that described them as eating mice and rats. (This was to avoid traumatizing Ulli, Sabine, and Gustav).
Saturday, January 28, 2017
1) Reading: Yesterday I only read to Jamie for a few minutes, right before bed, from Harry Potter. Today we did one of our Hi Lo excursions and read for about an hour, all about Harry's first divination class with Professor Trelawney.
2) Quote: Tonight I told Jamie I was going to turn off the computer and not look at the news any more for the rest of the evening. He suggested that maybe I'm paying too much attention to the news and should just ignore it. I told him that I usually prefer to do that, but that I think the things happening today are too important to ignore. However, I said, I can certainly not look at it in the evenings. "Yes," he said seriously, "because I worry about you not being able to sleep." I don't know what I said to give him that impression -- I guess I need to be more careful what I say! -- but what a sweetheart.
2) Quote: Tonight I told Jamie I was going to turn off the computer and not look at the news any more for the rest of the evening. He suggested that maybe I'm paying too much attention to the news and should just ignore it. I told him that I usually prefer to do that, but that I think the things happening today are too important to ignore. However, I said, I can certainly not look at it in the evenings. "Yes," he said seriously, "because I worry about you not being able to sleep." I don't know what I said to give him that impression -- I guess I need to be more careful what I say! -- but what a sweetheart.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
January 26, 2017
1) Reading: Today we read (in 2 installments, 15 minutes during breakfast and 10 minutes at bedtime) about Harry's train ride to Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's the section where the dementors come on the train and Professor Lupin intervenes and then gives the kids chocolate to help them recover. I find this to be one of the most memorable scenes in the series. Reading it in two bits like that was probably not the most effective way to read it, but whatever.
2) Quote: While we were discussing the dementors, I was trying to explain that they're basically bad, but on the good side. At first Jamie seemed to be leaning toward the idea that they were "naughty" and perhaps rather cute and playful. I said I thought it was more that they were really bad at heart, but had been captured by the good guys and forced to do what the good guys wanted. Jamie said, "Kind of like nipweeated?" After about a 1-2 second delay, I realized he meant "manipulated." I know we're working on his L's, but I will be sad when he stops saying ambweeance and binocweears. "Nipweeated" might be the best one yet.
1) Reading: Today we read (in 2 installments, 15 minutes during breakfast and 10 minutes at bedtime) about Harry's train ride to Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's the section where the dementors come on the train and Professor Lupin intervenes and then gives the kids chocolate to help them recover. I find this to be one of the most memorable scenes in the series. Reading it in two bits like that was probably not the most effective way to read it, but whatever.
2) Quote: While we were discussing the dementors, I was trying to explain that they're basically bad, but on the good side. At first Jamie seemed to be leaning toward the idea that they were "naughty" and perhaps rather cute and playful. I said I thought it was more that they were really bad at heart, but had been captured by the good guys and forced to do what the good guys wanted. Jamie said, "Kind of like nipweeated?" After about a 1-2 second delay, I realized he meant "manipulated." I know we're working on his L's, but I will be sad when he stops saying ambweeance and binocweears. "Nipweeated" might be the best one yet.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
January 25, 2017
1) Reading: this afternoon Jamie asked for two stories from the Pooh books: "In Which Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting, and Nearly Catch a Woozle," and "In Which Tigger is Unbounced," which he prefers to call "In Which Rabbit is Unbossed." At bedtime we read "Building a House"from Richard Scarry's What People Do All Day.
2) Quote: this evening at dinner we were discussing the Air and Space Museum in DC, and telling Jamie they had old planes there. He asked if they had the planes that the Navy flew in the Revolutionary War.
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