Summer Schedule
Welcome to Summer!
“Finding fun is not hard …
when you have your library card!” ~ Arthur
Today is the first day of summer vacation here in Charlottesville. The rainy skies (and my daughter) were filled with lots of tears as the school year ended last Friday.
One of her first requests (and there have been many in the last 72 hours) was to join the library book club this summer. Her first summer library program! I don’t know who is more excited: her or me. We have never done formal programs in the past because we wanted summer reading to be something she wanted to do.
That quote from Arthur is the ditty Catherine sang on the way to the library today. I was doing seated jig from the front seat. Then, we got to the library and she very proudly walked up to the librarian to ask for her “kit,” which includes a bag, a log, and a bookmark all with the Be Creative @ Your Library theme.
Like most new readers, she is still heavily influenced by book displays. She can select a book for each day, if she likes, but each week she has to pick either a nonfiction title or a chapter book. The former because I think it’s important; the latter because I can begin to show her how to search for books in the catalog. Here is her first haul …
Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems
Pegasus by Marianna Mayer
Mermaid Sister by Mary Ann Fraser
My Friend is Sad (Elephant and Piggie) by Mo Willems
Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
Stars Beneath Your Bed: The Surprising Story of Dust by April Pulley Sayre
She read two books before we got home (it’s a 30 minute trip) and regaled her father and me with two more at lunch. She’s also happy that Mom and Dad reading books to her also count. I’m excited Dad has gone into my office and was book-talking some easy reader nonfiction for her!
Bill and I share duties as the 24/7 entertainment committee … in addition to being the swim team parents, chefs, and event coordinators (playdates). I’m still not sure how this will shake out over the next few weeks, as Bill’s travel schedule picks up. So (she says with a b-i-g sigh), I suspect it will mean working at odd hours and on weekends, and with the exception of the Roundups (which are a standing date), blogging will be intermittent.
Time for reading, exploring new places, and hanging out with Catherine, will be aplenty. At least that’s the plan!
That sounds like a great plan to me, Terry. (Well, not the part about Bill traveling, but I’m sure it can’t be helped). I love the mental image of Catherine singing that Arthur song in the car, and you doing a seated jig. One of my earliest memories is of singing “C is for cookie” in the car – this is much better.
Anyway, the real truth is that for the rest of your life you’ll be able to blog (or whatever comes along next), but summers with “Time for reading, exploring new places, and hanging out with Catherine” are precious. Enjoy!