a reader.

"To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark."

— Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

Over the summer Hazel turned into a real, bonafied reader.  It makes me want to sing hallelujah!  I want my kids to love reading.  I want them to devour books.  I want them to sneak them into their beds at night, bring them on vacation, try to read them at dinner, walk into street signs as they read while walking to school.  I’m not sure where this obsession came from, maybe it’s that I wasn’t really a fanatic reader as a kid and I wish I had been.  It’s not that I watched TV as a kid, I just didn’t devour books like Jeff did.  There’s just something about raising a reader that is really important to me. 

But, I have accepted the fact that I might get a kid who doesn’t naturally gravitate to reading.  I might have a child who has some difficulty with it, or who’d rather be off with friends (like I was).  And that’s ok.  It really is, I know plenty of amazing people who don’t love to read. 

I thought Hazel might be one of them.  I tried to push her into reading pretty early, before she was really ready I think.  And it didn’t seem to be coming naturally to her.  We’d read through the “Teaching your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” and both end up pretty frustrated with each other.  She could tell that I wanted her to read more than anything and Hazel is not one to be coerced into anything. 

It wasn’t until Jeff and I forbade her from reading that she got determined.  I started “regretting” all the promises I had made to her, telling her NOT to get to the 25 book mark because I did NOT want to buy her that reading lamp I’d promised and I certainly did NOT want let her stay up late reading.   She knew we were half kidding, but I think feeling the pressure lift gave her the freedom to do what her heart wanted to do: read.

Plus, I think she just got a little older and her brain was ready for it.  And once it was ready and she had enough sight words under her belt, she just got it.  And now, there is no turning back.  This girl is a reader.   

One night as I was putting her to bed she said, “mom, you know how I used to hate reading?  well, now I love it so much, it’s like candy to me.”  Ahhh!  Music to my ears. 

I asked her what brought around this shift.  She said it was her friend Penelope who “inspired” her.  She said she saw how much Penelope liked to read and decided she should give it a better chance.  Bless that Penelope.  The end of her bed is now exploding with books and she’s always begging to go to the library for new brain candy. 

Jeff just started a reading challenge with her where they add little construction paper circles with titles of the books she’s read written on them to a little book worm that hopefully will creep its way around her room.   She gets a quarter per book and then some big prize once she gets to one hundred.  She’s hoping and begging that prize will be her first real pet.   Jeff says we already have four little pets in this house. 

So, if you have any suggestions about books to get this girl, let me know.  I want to make sure all one hundred books don’t come from the fairy series or Junie B. Jones.  Not that I have a real objection to those, I just want her to know good writing soon.  There’s such a wealth of goodness in books that I can’t wait for her to discover.   Send suggestions my way, please.

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.  ~Charles W. Eliot

Wrapping up Kindergarten

 

Here’s Hazel walking out the door on her last day of Kindergarten.  Doesn’t she look confident?  Old?  Smart? Secure? 

Here she is on her first day.  Cute as a button.  But look at that face, a little apprehensive. So much wonder at what this wide world is going to present to her.   

Kindergarten is an amazing place.  I had such a hard time deciding if I should send Hazel to first grade or kindergarten (she missed the deadline for kindergarten a year ago by 10 days, so we “home schooled” her to try to prepare her for first grade.  She was prepared and cleared to go to first grade, but we (together with Hazel) decided that she didn’t want to miss Kindergarten.  She could tell there was something there that she needed.  And she was right.  I was surprised by all the things she learned and how well she grew into herself.  Something about being so old and well prepared has done wonders for her confidence.  I got to volunteer weekly in her class for a good chunk of the year and I loved seeing her in that environment.  Quiet and conscientious and on task and helpful.  A little worried about doing the right thing all the time.  And, completely loved by all of her classmates.  Everyday as we left to walk home nearly every child in her class would call out to her and wave good bye.  That’s exactly what I wanted her to learn in kindergarten.  

 

During the last week of school Hazel preformed in her Kindergarten class play.  She was one of two gingerbread men.  The class acted out a whole series of classic children’s stories, directed and produced by her classmate Penelope’s mom, Therese.   They were all adorable.  I was so happy that Therese volunteered so much of her time to make this happen.  That class (and Hazel especially) needed some creative outlet.  Half hour of music and art a week just isn’t enough arts in my book (especially for kindergarteners who soak that kind of stuff up and are so darn creative!).Here’s Hazel on field day with her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Lievense.  Boy does this woman know how to run a tight ship!  She had those kids in line all the time and was able to teach them so much.  I think she’s got one of the hardest jobs in the world.  Taking all those kids, most of whom have never been in school for a full day every day and who have such varying degrees of knowledge and ability and somehow getting them to all gel into one cohesive group.  She did a great job.    Here I was trying to snap a picture of what Hazel looks like when she comes out of school each day.  The teacher points at me and then she typically sports a huge grin and runs to me.  For some reason on the last day of school she forgot to wear her smile.  She was moody as all get out.  I’m still not sure exactly why.  Maybe she was sad or worried about being done with kindergarten.  Maybe she “broke up” with her best friend (that happens a lot).  Maybe those darn high heels that she insisted on wearing made her grumpy (high heels always make me grumpy).  Whatever it was, she didn’t snap out of it until the boys started getting in the pictures.  Check it.

A little happier. Oap, there a boy is teasing them with bunny ears from behind.

and then look, she finds her smile. 

Darn. It’s already beginning.  I’m in some serious trouble when she rolls into her teens.

  Here she is with the assistant principle, Mr. McCarthy.  I love that man.  He makes them all feel so loved and enjoyed and secure.  I’ve come to learn that that is a real gift and so important when working with kids.

Hazel is pretty excited about summer time.  She told me that the thing she’s most excited about is being able to hang out with Emmeline all day.  She’s been reminding Emmeline every day for two weeks that once she’s done with Kindergarten she gets to stay home and play all day.  I love it that these two are such good friends.  Hoping it will last.

One last video here.  You’ve got to watch this.  It made me laugh and cry all at once. 

I guess they said it right, if she can make it in Kindergarten she can make it anywhere. 

Here she comes 1st grade!