Lately - and I've been a slackin' to mention it on my sidebar - we've been reading chapter books to the bugs before bed.At the moment we're reading this absolutely fabulous book which begs to be read out loud to six year olds with imaginations.
Because, let's just admit it, if you know a six year old with not even a drop of imagination then they are probably going to make gagging sounds if you read anything out loud to them.
Unless it's the Pokemon catalogue or one of those hideously hacked out commercialized movie "books" like Transformers: Dinobot Hunt in which case I make gagging sounds as I'm reading.
And lest you get offended at my snobbish approach to what you call literature, hold your tongue a moment while I confess that lately these are The Pirates favorite things to look at.
However, I'm still a snob, snob, snob. So while he's thumbing through that candy coated rubbish, I'm reading out loud these little ditties.
The Princess came in yesterday, "Mom. Can you please read As You Like It again?"
You think I'm pulling your leg. So did Mr. Right.
He stared at her and then at me while his hand held the refrigerator door WIDE open.
"Really?" he asked, "You really have to start them this young?"
But later he came upstairs and declared with a sickly groan, "We just read King Lear and Richard III" (Don't worry about him he has a notoriously weak stomach for violence.)
I asked the The Princess who was bouncing on my bed, "What did you think of them?"
"They're - bounce - GREAT!"
Maybe it's violence they crave and not Pokemon after all because today she asked for Twelfth Night and King Lear again.
"Didn't you read that a couple of days ago with dad?"
"Yeah!!"
"Doesn't everybody die?"
"YEAH!! It's really funny."
And now you see that I'm actually not a proud parent parading my offspring's intelligence. I am simply documenting their growing predilection to savagery.
Honestly, who needs Transformers?
Anyway, before our adventures in Neverland began we were behaving in a civilized manner and dwelling in the attic of a schoolhouse in England while we read this:
And while we read the bugs draw pictures. The Princess draws things like this:
and this:
The Pirate draws a page each night as well. He chooses his colors carefully and spends the chapter drawing spots on a page. When he finishes I was under the impression he was throwing them away. I encourage them to do this with all their art work. (Unless you want it.)
He was not throwing them away.
He was keeping them safe.
Night after night he was putting those carefully drawn pieces of art and saving them on his dresser with his other treasures.
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Which has nothing to do with anything - but it's sweet ain't it?