Math and stories!


sea turtle shirt
Originally uploaded by Liz Henry

Well, Moomin raised $565.10 for St. Jude Hospital with his Mathathon! I’m so proud! Thank you to everyone who pledged and donated.

Tonight he had to write a “silly story” with his spelling words and he was somewhat flummoxed. “I make up stories with superheroes all the time, but they’re more serious. But somehow, when someone’s telling me to make up a story, I can’t think of anything!”

Much less when you’re told to include the words:
– flies
– donkey
– monkey
– early
– noisy
– messy
– berries
– chilly
– happier

I suggested putting Godzilla into the story but he looked at me like I was bonkers. “The rules don’t SAY you can’t put in other things. It doesn’t have to be just about the boring old things in the spelling words.” Moomin would have none of this.

9:15 and he’s still not in bed. He was so devoted to the story!

His teacher told him that she liked the idea of the pencils with his name on them. He used to lose at least 5 or 6 pencils a day. Now, he still loses them, but because they’ve got his name stamped on in gold letters, some of them find their way back!

Lately, he has enjoyed reading “The Twenty-One Balloons” and “Dragonology”. He’s in the middle of Marguerite Henry’s “King of the Wind”.

I came back from Seattle with strep throat. Actually, I left here with strep throat, but I didn’t realize till Sunday that it must be strep since it had been days and days and hurt more than I could have imagined throats are capable of feeling! So, I haven’t read to Moomin for over a week, and we are *right* at the exciting end of Farmer Boy.

I know that when it gets to the point where the mean, stingy rich man gives Almanzo a nickel for returning the wallet full of money, Moomin will be unbearably excited at the injustice of it all. And the end! I get little shivers when I think of the line, “If it’s a colt you want, I’ll give you Starlight” and how Almanzo nearly faints with joy. Well, I can’t wait for Moomin’s smile of happiness at that ending.

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