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conuly
This is the book she brought home: "Baby Elephant had a new bike. He got on. The bike wobbled and wobbled, and Baby Elephant fell off. "I can't ride this bike," he said. (We totally haven't been reading the books she brings home. I have her read a note I write for her to take to school every day instead. It's theoretically for lunchtime, but we read it together over breakfast. I didn't do that this week. Bad Connie!)
So that gives you an idea of how difficult that reading level is. What's funny is that I know she can read harder stuff than that and comprehend it - if and only if she's doing it alone, with little attention. I've seen her do it. She struggles and stumbles though, and *this* she can read easily. This is the old Ana trick of not letting on that she can do something until she can do it perfectly, of course.
I only bring this up because the illustrator's name is kinda cool: Jan van der Voo. Say it. Isn't it awesome? My only problem is that I can't figure out if we say Jan like a Dutch name (as van der Voo is clearly a Dutch name) or, because this book was written and illustrated in the US, as an English name - presumably the illustrator is American, I can't see why they'd send this book to be illustrated overseas. Having never met this person, I don't know how s/he pronounces this name! There's a Jan van der Voo who is a Dutch cartoonist, but that doesn't seem to be *this* person. (Correction: The series was developed in Australia and New Zealand. Well, all right then. How do I pronounce Jan?)
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I can't talk about one being cute without the other, of course. (And do you know, both children insist on saying "teechuther" instead of "each other"? Always have.) Day before yesterday, Evangeline napped on the way home, in the wrap, but woke up as I put her in her hammock. I told her she had to stay in bed and be quiet for half an hour, it was still naptime. After that time was up, I said she could get up so long as she stayed in her room, but she declined. Then, 10 minutes later she asked me first if she could get up (uh, yeah?) but then she asked me "Connie? Did you know that if I have a long bath, my fingers get all p'uney?" This? THIS is what she was thinking about all that time? "Yeah, I was t'inking about it a yot."
And on the subject of each other, I have a question. It has been bugging me and bugging me for over a year now.
When I'm walking with the nieces, sometimes I want them to hold each other's hands (and not just because it looks cute). Maybe I want them to walk together in a crowd so I can keep better track of them, or we're crossing a busy-busy street and I have one hand full - whatever.
What do I say? Do I say "Hold your sister's hand, kids" or "Hold your sisters' hands, kids"? Obviously, each child is only holding one hand from one sister, but there are two hands being held. I have gone round and round thinking about this, and I can't figure it out.
If I asked them to pick up their jackets, and each child has one jacket, I'd still say "Ana, Eva, pick up your jackets", regardless of the fact that each child is fetching one and only one jacket. But somehow, to move that to hands sounds wrong! It sounds right to say "hold your sister's hand", but why in that context when not with jackets or balls or whatnot? Sometimes I use "each other". Hold each other's hand? Hold each others' hands? God, I have no idea what to say! And meanwhile, as I try to figure it out, they've run ahead a mile and I can't catch up.
So that gives you an idea of how difficult that reading level is. What's funny is that I know she can read harder stuff than that and comprehend it - if and only if she's doing it alone, with little attention. I've seen her do it. She struggles and stumbles though, and *this* she can read easily. This is the old Ana trick of not letting on that she can do something until she can do it perfectly, of course.
I only bring this up because the illustrator's name is kinda cool: Jan van der Voo. Say it. Isn't it awesome? My only problem is that I can't figure out if we say Jan like a Dutch name (as van der Voo is clearly a Dutch name) or, because this book was written and illustrated in the US, as an English name - presumably the illustrator is American, I can't see why they'd send this book to be illustrated overseas. Having never met this person, I don't know how s/he pronounces this name! There's a Jan van der Voo who is a Dutch cartoonist, but that doesn't seem to be *this* person. (Correction: The series was developed in Australia and New Zealand. Well, all right then. How do I pronounce Jan?)
I can't talk about one being cute without the other, of course. (And do you know, both children insist on saying "teechuther" instead of "each other"? Always have.) Day before yesterday, Evangeline napped on the way home, in the wrap, but woke up as I put her in her hammock. I told her she had to stay in bed and be quiet for half an hour, it was still naptime. After that time was up, I said she could get up so long as she stayed in her room, but she declined. Then, 10 minutes later she asked me first if she could get up (uh, yeah?) but then she asked me "Connie? Did you know that if I have a long bath, my fingers get all p'uney?" This? THIS is what she was thinking about all that time? "Yeah, I was t'inking about it a yot."
And on the subject of each other, I have a question. It has been bugging me and bugging me for over a year now.
When I'm walking with the nieces, sometimes I want them to hold each other's hands (and not just because it looks cute). Maybe I want them to walk together in a crowd so I can keep better track of them, or we're crossing a busy-busy street and I have one hand full - whatever.
What do I say? Do I say "Hold your sister's hand, kids" or "Hold your sisters' hands, kids"? Obviously, each child is only holding one hand from one sister, but there are two hands being held. I have gone round and round thinking about this, and I can't figure it out.
If I asked them to pick up their jackets, and each child has one jacket, I'd still say "Ana, Eva, pick up your jackets", regardless of the fact that each child is fetching one and only one jacket. But somehow, to move that to hands sounds wrong! It sounds right to say "hold your sister's hand", but why in that context when not with jackets or balls or whatnot? Sometimes I use "each other". Hold each other's hand? Hold each others' hands? God, I have no idea what to say! And meanwhile, as I try to figure it out, they've run ahead a mile and I can't catch up.
