The library

A few months ago, Daddy took John to the library to get his very first library card. Our town library is very small, but John loves to go and pick out books and use his very own library card. John is an avid reader and the boys go to the library every other weekend. 

We went to the library yesterday. When we walked in the librarian asked "Are you here for story time?" We said "No. But we can be." The kids joined the group and listened to the stories. Daddy and I were ready to go. But after story time it was craft time. My kids enjoy a good craft and it was a Mother's Day craft too! John was so sneaky. He held his little bag and said "It's nothing." The library is small, and I could hear that they were working on a Mother's Day gift. But I didn't spoil it. 

When it was time to check out our books, John was so embarrassed. He left his wallet at home with his library card in it. But the librarian was able to look up John's card and check out his books.  

Yet another fun trip to the library. Until next weekend!

Robots

John is reading a new book series called "Nick and Tesla."  They are eleven year old twins that solve science mysteries.  This month's book report for John's class has to be a mystery book.  We were very happy that John was able to read one of these books for his report.  Book reports for John's class normally involve some sort of special project to go with it.  This time, they have to take a shoe box decorate the outside and then put five objects that go with the book inside.  John read "Nick and Tesla: Robot Army Rampage" for this report and in the book they actually give directions on how to build the robots in the story.  John and Daddy spent some time and built two of the robots. 

The first one they made last weekend.  He is a friction robot made with some parts from Radio Shack, a paper clip and the head of a tooth brush.

They made the second robot yesterday.  He is made out of a computer fan, wire hanger legs and some other parts from Radio Shack.

New book

Daddy and John went to the library tonight to pick up some more books. John found a new series he likes and he is currently on book three. Daddy took John tonight to get the next book and to take a look at some new books. John came home and showed me his latest library books. 

I read the cover and said "John you don't like anything in this book." He said "Let's take a look. Mom, is a mystery! And there are gadgets you can build!" Yup, the perfect book for my little man. 

Reading on the River

This past week was Read Across America. John's school celebrates every year with a program called Reading on the River. The kids from each grade are assigned a theme and they get to dress up like fictional characters to go with the theme. This year the 3rd grade got the theme Dr. Seuss. John was super excited about this theme. At first he wanted to dress like Wacky Wednesday. But at the last minute he decided "I want to dress like There's a Wocket in my Pocket!" This was simple enough to do. Daddy took on the task of making the Wocket. I think it looked awesome. 

When I picked John up from school, he said that most of the kids in his class were either Cat in the Hat or Thing 1 or 2. He was so happy he picked something different!

The computer

In the the car tonight, Gillian asked "Can I have my own computer?" I laughed and said "What are you going to do on the computer?" She said "Reading Eggs. I do Reading Eggs in technology. I want a computer to do it at home." I said "You can use my laptop. Just like Johnny does for his homework." "Can I do it tonight?"  I can't say no to that. So I agreed if she had time after homework and bath she could use my laptop. Well it turns out that she had a hard time using the mouse on the laptop so we went downstairs to use Daddy's computer. 

She sat and played Reading Eggs (it's an online program for kids learning to read)  for twenty minutes before bed. We will make sure she has some time tomorrow to play too. 

Calvin & Hobbes

When Daddy picked up John from Time Plus today, he found him reading Calvin & Hobbes in the school library. In the car, Daddy told him "You know Granddad gave me those books when I was younger. I have them at home." John was super excited to hear this and as soon as they got home he asked "Where were those books?" He ran to the basement and just read no stop. He was still reading when I got home. He even tried to read them during dinner. 

After bath, they all climbed into my bed and read Calvin & Hobbes. 

This made Daddy & I so happy. We love Calvin & Hobbes. So glad the kids do too!

The book

John and Daddy found bought John a new book at the beginning of the month. The book is called "Treasure Hunters" by James Patterson. We wanted John to read it for this month's book report. But John's teacher said it was too long. The book is 450 pages long (with illustrations). So John read a different boon for his report and went back to reading "Treasure Hunters" for fun. 

I am very proud to say that John finished his book tonight!

The invitation

John received and invitation today for the Summer Reading Celebration. Every year our school system rewards the kids that read over a certain number of steps (every step is equal to 15 minutes of reading) during the summer.  John proudly told Daddy, "I am one of the lucky few that got invited! It was just me and a few other kids in my class." Daddy said "No. Lucky means that you didn't do anything to have something good happen. You worked really hard to read all those books this summer." John said "So I guess I'm one of the hard working few!" 

Highlights

John and Gillian both have monthly subscriptions to Highlights. Thankfully they both get their own magazine, because they both want to find the hidden pictures or point out all the wacky things. Plus when they are done, they switch. This morning I found them eating breakfast and checking out their Highlights magazines. 

Reading

I have been reading the Harry Potter series to John for some time now. We are currently on book four. Recently I found a chapter book to read to Gillian. It is called "Anna and Elsa: All Hail the Queen." It is about Anna and Elsa from Frozen and it takes place after the movie. The reading level isn't high and John could probably read it to Gillian. I love it. The book gives Gillian the chance to imagine two of her favorite characters. And gives me a chance to spend time with my favorite lady. We only read a chapter at a time and not every night. 

Tonight I read to her while she took a bath. And then I read to John. Gillian got jealous and asked "Can you read to me?" I said "Yes. After I read to John." When I was finished she ran in with her chapter book. I said "Not that one." She whined. I said "I read that book already tonight. Find a shorter book." She pouted a little bit. But found another book. I am so glad that she loves her book. I will definitely buy the next one in the series to read with Gillian. 

Cinderella

Every night this week, we have given the kids some extra time before bed to read books. Tonight I asked Gillian to read me a story. She picked Cinderella.

I recorded her telling the story. I hope you enjoy it. I did. 

Snow day

During the snow day yesterday, I tried to entertain the kids with as many activities as possible. We started the day with Playdough. The kids used Gillian's new Playdough set and they made cakes and frosted them. 

The kids then got to play for a little bit. I went to find them to start our next project. I found them in John's room. John was reading to Gillian. 

Next I set each kid up with a tray of baking soda. And I prepared 6 squeeze bottles of colored vinegar. The kids take the squeeze bottles and make designs in the baking soda. It's fun to watch the baking soda bubble and fizz. John and Gillian had completely different approaches. John made a picture and Gillian just went abstract. 

I love their different approaches and final projects. They are both amazing. 

Next we played outside. The kids got all bundled up and we were outside for about an hour. 

The kids came inside and snuggled under some blankets to warm up. We ate dinner and then I made some snow ice cream for dessert. Gillian was not a big fan of it, but John loved it. 

Overall it was a pretty awesome snow day. 

Chile

Tonight for homework, John had to read a story and then answer some questions.  The story was about two sisters, Rosa and Blanca.  They both had gardens and picked all types of vegetables.  One of the vegetables was a chile pepper.  John was putting a lot of emphasis on the e.  Daddy and I giggled.  And Daddy argued with him about how to properly pronounce chile.  John said "That's how we said it at school. It's Spanish!"  I got some video of him reading to us and Daddy arguing with him.

Laughing

Tonight, I read John a chapter out of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." At the end of the chapter, the Weasley twins  were teasing their older brother about getting dragon dung sent to him at the office. Here's the passage:

So I read it to John and he laughs. Daddy says "Do you know what dragon dung is?" John said "No." Daddy asked "Then why are you laughing?" "Cause I bet it's funny!" This kid. You got to love him!

10 seconds

I am reading John "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Tonight we got to the part where Harry gets to test out his new flying broom, the firebolt. I read "Harry saw the Snitch dart out behind Wood, and within ten seconds had caught it tightly in his hand." John said "What? That's like, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten! That's fast!"

Frozen by Gillian

Gillian "read" Frozen to me tonight. This isn't her first time, but she was hilarious tonight. Here is Gillian's version of Frozen:

There were two sisters in Arendelle, Anna and Elsa. Elsa makes it snow. And they made an Olaf! But Elsa made Anna shiver! (And she folded her arms and shook). Then the parents ran to get them. And then Anna knocked on the door and say "Do you wanna build a snowman?" Elsa didn't come to the door. And Anna say "It doesn't have to be a snowman!" Then Anna meets Prince Hans of the Seven-aisles (that's how she said it). Him's evil. Evil. Evil. Evil. And Elsa holds something with no gloves! Then Elsa becomes the queen. Anna and Prince Hans get engaged. Elsa says "NO!" Then she shoots ice and makes spikes. But then she runs away. She goes up to the mountain. Let it go! Let it go! Anna goes to find Elsa and her finds a man covered in snow. It's...Mommy, what's his name again? Right, it was Kristoff. Anna says you are taking me to to the North Mountain! Then the sled falls. And they meet Olaf. Olaf says "No yellow snow!" Olaf likes summer. In Summer!!! Then they see the ice castle. Anna sees Elsa. Let it go! But then Elsa shoots Anna with ice. The big snowman runs after them and says "Get out!" Anna cuts the line and they fall on a pillow. The boy says "Your hair! It's white!" They see the trolls. And Anna says we need Prince Hans. But him's doesn't help. Him's is evil. He pours water on the fire! Elsa escaped! Anna saved Elsa. Elsa unfreeze Anna. All the snow goes away. And Olaf got a flurry! Anna and the boy were ice skating! 

I love Gillian's version!

Harry Potter

A few weeks ago, I started reading John "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." I did the same thing last year. But he really didn't really get into it. And it was hard to keep his attention. So I started reading it again. He loves it. He remembers what I read about and questions everything. Daddy asks every night about what we read. And John will give him a little synopsis. "He played quiddich and he caught the ball in his mouth! And he didn't fall!" "They had a dragon and they had to give it away!" "They had to go in the FORBIDDEN forest. And there was something drinking unicorn blood. And you know what? That's no good. You only get half a life!"

Last night, we finished the book. He told me "Harry Potter, the boy who lived twice! Two times he beat you-know-who!" I told him that there are movies of each book and that when we finish reading a book we can watch the movie. He is looking forward to seeing the movie, but he was very excited to start the second book tonight. I am very excited that he enjoys our special time together reading one of my favorite books. 

Story time

Today we took the kids to Barnes & Noble to pick up some summer books for the family. Gillian picked out a Tangled book and John asked her "Do you want me to read it to you?" She said "Yes!" So they sat down and he read to her. She sat patiently for two pages and then got up and started walking around. 

It turned out that she was upset that he was holding "her" book. So we found another book for her to look at while John continued to read "her" book. 

ABC reader

Today I got to go back to John's school for ABC reader. It is a program where the PTA donates a book and once a month a parent reads it to every class in the school. 

This month's book was a funny version of the three little pigs. John got to sit next to me and turn the pages of the book. Every time he turned the page, he would whisper "Oh man, this page looks silly." I think his little comments just made the kids even more excited about the story. The kids truly enjoyed this book and listened intently. 

As I tucked John in bed tonight, I said "I am so glad I got to read to your class today." John said "I wonder when you get to come back again." I told him "I won't be reading again this year." He looked really disappointed. But I said "Maybe next year, I can read

to your class." He was very happy to hear this. I am so glad he enjoyed my visit because it was the best part of my day!

The little moments

Wednesdays can be a little crazy for me. I drop Gillian off at school so that I canget to work early so I can leave early to pick up the kids. Daddy works late on Wednesdays so I need to get both kids, make dinner, do homework and baths. Most days I just get caught up in all the tasks and I miss all the little, silly, fun moments with the kids. Today there was a couple of little moments that made my day better 

I dropped Gillian off and school and one of the teachers asked me "Who's pregnant and ate a baby?" Apparently Gillian has been telling everyone at school that Aunt Missy ate a baby. 

I picked up Gillian from school. She had the hiccups. She still had the hiccups at bed time. 

Gillian and I picked up John from school. When they saw each other, they ran and gave each other a big hug. 

After bath and the kids got in their pajamas, Gillian asked "What are we doing now?" I said "John is going to read to us." She jumped up and down and said "Yes!" And went running into my room.