Skip to main content

Read and Relax




Like most of the Midwest, Eastern Iowa has been blasted by cold weather for much of January and February.  This has caused quite a few school cancellations and even more 2-hour late start days.  I don't care much for school cancellations, but I have to admit that I kind of like the 2-hour delays.  Sometimes, they are a problem when I have a doctor appointment scheduled and have to leave the kids at home.  On those days, I have to trust them to walk to school on their own and get there on time.  I feel bad about sending them to walk to school in -20 wind chill, but they have survived it.
 
Much of the other days, I don't have morning plans, so the two hour delays are actually quite nice.  The kids still get up and get ready on time, but then they use the extra two hours to do the stuff we usually have to cram in after school.  Most particularly, they can get their reading done.  I have recently paired up Ricky and Andrew as reading partners.  Ricky should be reading out loud to me every day for at least 20-30 minutes, but I have had a hard time sitting and listening to him when there is often so much going on.  For a week, I tried having Ricky read to Andrew (while Andrew checked for accuracy) and then Andrew would read to Ricky.  Unfortunately, that plan hasn't worked well at all.  It's hard enough for the boys to sit through their own reading time let alone somebody else's.  We are still working out a plan.
 
Often, Andrew reads to Sean and Ricky reads to Brooklyn.  I love to see the kids reading to each other.




I love to see a child get excited about reading a particular book.  We are still working on getting Ricky really excited about reading, but one morning he had no trouble sticking to reading to me for a full 20 minutes (he usually stops every few minutes to ask how much longer he should read).

Brooklyn, young as she is, LOVES books.  She is very careful with them and will spend a long time with her little feet crossed flipping through the pages of all kind of books.  When she is quiet for a long time, I will often find her sitting by a pile of books.  Her favorite book last week was Andrew's library copy of the chapter book, Geronimo Stilton.  She rarely rips books now, so I knew I could trust her with Andrew's library book.  Somehow, she has learned that we take care of our books and I am glad because they are often littering the floor in easy reach.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

That Sinking Feeling - Real Talk From Your Mother

Also found at Letters from the Nest:   https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/that-sinking-feeling?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Dear Nestlings, I hope you don’t mind a little stream-of-consciousness letter today. I don’t know if I have anything specific to share, so let’s see what floats to the surface. It’s a bright fall Friday morning. These last few weeks in central Pennsylvania have been lovely, sunny, and warm. I know winter is coming, so I try to be outside as much as possible to take advantage of the sun before it hibernates. I just completed the forty-minute round trip to drive one of you to the high school. You know who you are, but maybe in a few years, when you read this, you won’t know because every one of you has missed the bus sometimes and has endured lectures about planning better and showing your respect for my work by not requiring forty minutes of my life for your convenience. Anyway, everybody is at school and work except...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gavin in a Million Words or Less

 Way back when Emily was in 6th grade, her teacher, Ms. Grey, asked parents to write about thier children in a million words or less. I posted what I wrote about Emily on our blog. I wish I were more organized and tech-savvy to find the link to that post and put it here, but I'm not. It's a nice idea that maybe I'll do later. Anyway, you get to read what I wrote to Gavin's fifth grade teacher who made the same requests of parents: Gavin is the youngest of seven children. His three oldest siblings have flown the nest, so he talks to them on the phone and looks forward to holiday visits. This summer, his oldest sister had a baby, so he’s an Uncle! He has three older brothers, who sometimes make life tricky for him, but are also sources of wisdom, rides to the store to get candy, and annoying TikTok phrases. He sometimes wants to be more grown up than he actually is. This little guy is academically oriented. He loves to read BIG books. He rarely reads a standalone nove...
Post a Comment
Read more

Back To School Meanies

 Letter From the Nest August 15, 2025 https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/back-to-school?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web One August, more than twenty years ago, at an evening book club discussion, my “older” friends (now I look back and know those women were the age I am now), were discussing the woes and triumphs of back-to-school season. One woman was anticipating her youngest child’s senior year of high school. She said, “For more than two decades, our lives have revolved around the school district’s academic calendar. I don’t know how I will plan my life without knowing about school breaks or holidays.” I remember her bittersweet tone as she anticipated freedom from school schedule constraints but also mourned how those constraints guided her choices. What would she do? Other women joined the discussion, wondering if their kids would have good teachers, if they’d be able to balance volunteering in the classroom, how to streamline school supply pu...
Post a Comment
Read more