Since she was a baby, Katie has always been interested in books and stories. She's always loved to have people read to her and she especially loves all the pictures. (She is an artist!) She's always had quite an attention span (for the things she's interested in...she could draw or write for days on end). So, we always thought she would be a good reader. She was an early reader, but she still wouldn't read much on her own even though she could. Katie likes to have other people do the work! This year has been good for her. She came in reading at a 1st grade level, but motivation still was an issue for her.
2 weeks ago, that all changed! I went to Barnes & Noble to pick up some books for 4th grade and I told her I'd get her a book too, but it had to be a chapter book that she reads on her own. (You know she wanted to get a journal with a fluffy pen... I think we have 73 of these already at home!) Looking through the selection at B&N, we found a series called Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo! What do you know, a book with her very own name in the title! Apparently, that's all it took. She started reading it in the car on the way home and didn't stop until she fell asleep that night. She got up in the morning and finished the whole book before she came out to breakfast!
Too bad we had to wait another week to go back to B&N. (It's all the way on the other side of Chattanooga). This time, I thought I'd be proactive and get the next two in the series, #2 and #3. Well, that didn't last long. She started reading in the car again on the way home and finished #2 before bedtime. Sunday morning she started book #3. They even went out on the boat Sunday and she spent the whole time in the cabin reading until she finished that one! These books are written on a mid-3rd grade level. I am so thrilled that she is so excited about reading. It probably doesn't hurt that the main characters are Katie, her best friend Suzanne, and their friend George. Just waiting for a Ben and Camden to show up in one of the other books. There are over 30 in the series, so if anyone wants to send a donation to our local bookstore in Katie's name, we'll be sure to use it! :)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Are we in trouble, or what?
These days Camden can and will say just about anything in the world. The only thing she hasn't said is her own name. She refers to herself as "baby" when she does talk about herself. hmmm...I don't even want to think about the Freudian implications that one could have...
Today she was writing "I write! I write!" with some markers, and managed to get ink all over her hand. (Hard to believe!) Later in the day, she tells me, "I write on me." Wow, I am so impressed! A 4 word sentence, and it makes sense! So I repeat it to her so she can hear the language again (always the teacher, right?) "Oh, you wrote on yourself?" To which she replies... "Abbie did it!" (Katie's friend Abbie was over visiting today.) "What!? Abbie did not do that!" I say. Then I am given the look by my daughter who is not yet even 2 years old; and she says again and again with expression, "Abbie did it! Abbie did it!"
Later, I was changing her diaper. She was holding a baby doll and decided, as she does sometimes, that she wouldn't hold the baby anymore. So, she throws it on the floor and exclaims "I throw! I throw!" (as if I wasn't sure what had just happened, then I would know because she would tell me!) I should have learned from our previous conversation, but I asked her a question and gave her a chance to answer it honestly...or not. I said, "Did you throw the baby on the floor?" and I bet you know her answer... "Katie throw it!" I said "Katie did not throw it" and she adamantly replied "Katie do throw it!"
So, mark this day down in the baby book and on your calendars. The first day Camden told a lie. And she told two of them. And the scary part is, she said them very convincingly! If I hadn't seen it happen, I might have believed her! This is one girl you will want to take to your poker games, I think!
Today she was writing "I write! I write!" with some markers, and managed to get ink all over her hand. (Hard to believe!) Later in the day, she tells me, "I write on me." Wow, I am so impressed! A 4 word sentence, and it makes sense! So I repeat it to her so she can hear the language again (always the teacher, right?) "Oh, you wrote on yourself?" To which she replies... "Abbie did it!" (Katie's friend Abbie was over visiting today.) "What!? Abbie did not do that!" I say. Then I am given the look by my daughter who is not yet even 2 years old; and she says again and again with expression, "Abbie did it! Abbie did it!"
Later, I was changing her diaper. She was holding a baby doll and decided, as she does sometimes, that she wouldn't hold the baby anymore. So, she throws it on the floor and exclaims "I throw! I throw!" (as if I wasn't sure what had just happened, then I would know because she would tell me!) I should have learned from our previous conversation, but I asked her a question and gave her a chance to answer it honestly...or not. I said, "Did you throw the baby on the floor?" and I bet you know her answer... "Katie throw it!" I said "Katie did not throw it" and she adamantly replied "Katie do throw it!"
So, mark this day down in the baby book and on your calendars. The first day Camden told a lie. And she told two of them. And the scary part is, she said them very convincingly! If I hadn't seen it happen, I might have believed her! This is one girl you will want to take to your poker games, I think!
Friday, March 13, 2009
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