Reading for Prizes

After school got out for the summer I signed Topher up for the summer reading program at the library. 

And then totally forgot to have him work on it.

He's read voraciously for the last two months, which is great. But the summer reading program has specific reading prompts, plus some art projects and local field trips. So reading what he picked only checked some of the boxes.

On Monday I realized that the summer reading program ends tomorrow.

On Tuesday I asked Topher if he wanted to pull out the booklet to see what he'd already accomplished. Just from regular reading, he'd gotten through a quarter of the one hundred and twelve prompts, seven weeks with sixteen prompts per week. He decided he wanted to try to finish it. I pulled books from our home library that would fulfill some of the assigned tasks, then we went to the town library for the rest. He read a lot when we got home that day.

Then on Wednesday he did some of the art projects with Phoebe and read some more.

On Thursday I wrote out the remaining tasks on post-it notes so he could easily see what was left. This worked so well for him and he knocked through many of them on his own pretty quickly, moving them from one side of the wall to the other once he'd finished each task.

Today Topher read the last few books, grabbed some paper and a crayon, and drove around with me for the local field trips. He finished the art assignments while we found the community garden, ginkgo trees in town, and life in this creek.

Then we went to the library to present all one hundred and twelve finished tasks in his summer reading booklet. He earned several trinkets of his own choosing, plus coupons for two ice cream cones, a hot dog, two doughnuts, and six dumplings. They were all well earned.

Web Slinger

I followed last night's Shakespeare with Spider-Man today. I took Cooper and Phoebe to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day this afternoon. It was excellent! I took this very dark picture of us during the previews.

You can't tell, but Phoebe and I are both wearing Spider-Man shirts in these pictures. She suggested I borrow one of hers, which I thought was very sweet.

This was the first time either of them have seen a Marvel movie in the theater, which made the outing extra special. I'm so glad these two teenagers were willing, and even excited, to see a movie with their mom rather than their friends.

When In Rome

I had a great time tonight with friends watching a Shakespeare production I'd never seen or read. Coriolanus was very well done. For me, a mark of good Shakespeare is how easy it is to understand. The actors did a great job making the meaning of their words clear. I was also pleased with how quickly my brain switched into Shakespeare mode. It's good to know that knowledge still exists in my brain!

Rain, Rain

We've been in a drought this summer. A Pennsylvania drought looks different than a California drought or a Utah drought. The grass is still mostly green, but it's not the vibrant green it usually is. We've had a few storms, but not as many as usual.

The storm we're having today feels like it's trying to make up for all the rain we've missed.

The youth activity for tonight was cancelled because roads are flooded.

I had to drive through the storm multiple times.

It felt biblical.

This picture doesn't do it justice.

Library Day

What Am I Missing?

Today we had a ukulele orchestra performance at a park.

I brought my music.

I brought my music stand.

I brought my folding chair.

Can you see where this is going?

Upon arrival, I discovered I had not brought my ukulele.

I think perhaps my brain still hasn't recovered from the stress and overwhelm of the schoolyear.

When I announced to the other members of the orchestra that I'd forgotten my instrument they had two reactions: several of them said they'd almost done the same thing and then they all insisted that I stay anyway to sing. 

I did, and Topher, who had come with me, sat on my lap and sang along too.

Peter: Week Two in Pictures

Serve Those Around You

The service activity on Saturday was a success! This is a combination of pictures from me and Phoebe. She was much more thorough in her recording of the event than I was.

Here's the food area:

And the service area, we added another service table after this was taken:

These were the dining tables, each associated with a different holiday or pair of holidays.

Here we have Memorial/Veteran's Day:

Day of the Dead, from a few angles:

Spring Equinox:

Thanksgiving:

Valentine's Day:

Christmas:

Breast Cancer Awareness Month:

These are the wall decorations, I'm sure you can tell which holiday each one goes with:

And the service projects themselves, starting with our wall of options:

The girls added some chalk art:

And here's the activity in full swing, plus a few finished ornaments to send to families who don't have any, the first done by Phoebe, the second by one of Topher's friends:

It was well attended and a lot of service was accomplished!

Creative Distractions

On Sunday I was the first adult to primary, but not the first person. The room already held several children. We have a two-deep leadership policy, which for me means, in part, not being the only adult in the room. While I waited for another grownup to come in, I leaned against the doorway and asked who wanted to draw a picture of a temple on the chalkboard. Several hands went up and I encouraged them to go for it.

This temple has a mustache instead of an Angel Moroni. I didn't realize this until one of the kids pointed it out during singing time. I thought it was a propeller.

Topher drew the temple on the right. He said he patterned it after the Washington D.C. temple.

The kids were all pleased with their art and none of them seemed to realize it was a diversionary tactic.

Photographic Evidence

"Topher, what's on your neck? Is that chocolate? How did you get chocolate on your neck?!"

Sometimes when you sneak chocolate chips out of the pantry, there's evidence.