Smartypants 3

Last night I was reading the newspaper and Owen spotted Sudoku. "MOM! Look at all the numbers! Can I see those numbers?" I handed him the page and he read the entire answer grid aloud to me. This morning I offered him the same section and he read them again, this time stopping to point out when they were in order. "Oh, look, 1 - 2 - 3!"I asked him if he loved numbers and he answered, "Yea. I love counting. Want to count to 100 with me?"

Sam and I have been reading some chapter books and he is developing strong preferences: Harry Potter and Captain Underpants. It's fascinating to watch his reading ability develop. He is almost always aggravated at the prospect of reading an entire book on his own, but he will read a cereal box or a billboard effortlessly. We've found a series of books called We Both Read, which have a page for the parent to read and then a page (with fewer words and simpler vocabulary) for the child to read. Sam loves those. And listening! I was reading to Jude one night and Sam needed to finish jobs before he could join us. He looked like he might pop out of his skin with anxiety about missing two pages. "But Mom I just LOVE reading!" Sometimes I feel like he *should* be reading more on his own. It's hard to keep in mind that enjoying books is the main thing and he will read them on his own soon enough.

Kindergartener Jude asked me last night if he could please write a story. Um, yes please! He took a blank sheet of paper and wrote "Mom." Then he asked me how to spell "I see." A few minutes later there was a (colorful, curly-haired) picture of me and Jude asked how to spell "trampoline." I see Mom (on a) trampoline. Good story. He copies down words from anywhere and then asks me what he's written.

I am helping in the library and Sam and Jude's school this year. The librarian looks for parents to come in every week and shelve books. Helping at school feels like such a treat after I had to miss out on last year while I was sick. Yesterday was the first day I worked in the library and happened to be there when Sam's class came for their library lesson. I gave Sam a hug and the boy behind him in line said "You're his mom?!" He seemed surprised that his classmates have moms. Little people are funny.