Week #4

Week 10/24 through 10/30/2011

Tuesday (10/25)             8:05-8:15pm  The Mystery of the Missing Peanuts

Wednesday (10/26)        8:15-8:25pm   The Bike Lesson

                                      10:05 -10:45pm The Education of Little Tree

Friday (10/28)                8:00 – 8:30pm Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Total = 90 minutes

This week’s pleasure reading took a turn towards childhood.  With a hectic schedule, my two sons were put in my charge outside of our regular routine.  My oldest son (10) reads from 8:00 to 8:30mevery night.  I read to my youngest son on two nights this week.  He has a craft in choosing the lengthier books in our collection.  It was enjoyable because I seldom seize the opportunity to do the nightly reading.  I used to have to ask whether I should do the “voices” or not.  It’s become expected.  In the Mystery of the Missing Peanuts, Donald Duck is hired as a private investigator to determine why peanuts are going missing from the zoo’s shed.  Those innocent chipmunks, Chip and Dale, end up being discovered after the many failed attempts by Donald.

I was requested for reading the following night for The Bike Lesson by Stan and Jan Berenstein.  The voices are much easier as this story occurs between the father and the son, great story of a father attempting to provide lessons while unintentionally providing examples of what not to do.  It’s amazing how this echoes what often happens in real life.  The experience was extremely gratifying and a realization of how little I read to my children.  I’m thinking my wife (a first grade [reading] teacher) too often hogs the experience. 

I finished The Education of Little Tree on Wednesday night putting aside schoolwork.  It was mostly cruising through the anticlimax (not the best when you want more from the story).  Little Tree was pulled out of formal education through recognition that it wasn’t supportive of his spirit.  Sadly, grandpa dies and grandma commits suicide.  I really like Forrest Carter’s other book (even more), Watch for me on the Mountain.  Unfortunately, Carter has been recognized as somewhat of a fraud in his credibility as having Native American ties and historical knowledge.  Both books are quality works in my opinion.

On Friday night, I joined my son during his reading time and began the first Harry Potter book.  He is in fourth grade and is beginning the fifth book.  I’ve been impressed to watch him read so diligently.  Recently, he has seemed to have lost motivation for the larger books and took a hiatus to less challenging readings, so we agreed that I would join in and see what it’s all about.