Mary Poppins

Catherine and Bernadette went to a friend's costume party tonight. Catherine dressed up as Mary Poppins.  She called a few minutes ago to say that they were on their way home. I asked Theresa, "Did Catherine say whether or not they had a good time?" Theresa responded, "I didn't have to ask. I know that they did by Catherine's voice. She sounded like Mary Poppins, 'practically perfect in every way.'"

Daddy

Finnian: "Who were you speaking with on the phone?"

Me: "I was speaking with your father."

Finnian: "My father?"

Me: "Yes. Do you know who your father is?"

Finnian: "Who?"

Me: "Your daddy."

Finnian: "Oh!"

My Little Boy

Me:  "Good night, my little man.  I love you!"

Finnian:  "I am not a little man.  I am a little boy, but you can call me your little man if you want."

The Symphony

Sergey Sukhobrusov
Photo copyright the
Federal Way Symphony 

Bernadette's violin teacher plays for the Federal Way Symphony and the Rainier Symphony. She encourages her students to attend these or another symphonies' concerts. After looking at the schedule and reading that a guest violinist would be performing in Federal Way, my husband agreed to accompany my two oldest daughters to their first symphony. 

They enjoyed listening to Felix Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave, Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto, and Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1. They were able to sit close to the stage and see even more than their seating permitted, thanks to a large screen that displayed a magnified view of various members of the symphony. My oldest daughter really appreciated this enhanced view and found the guest violinist's fingering fascinating. My husband was impressed by the talent of the musicians and the force with which the music was played. All three of them are looking forward to going to the symphony in December and listening to some Christmas music.

If you have a symphony near you, I highly recommend that you (and your children) take the time to experience at least one concert.

Symphonies in our area include:

The Auburn Symphony
The Everett Symphony

The Federal Way Symphony

The Puget Sound Symphony

The Rainier Symphony

The Seattle Symphony

The Tacoma Symphony

Picture Books for the Sixth Week of Kindergarten

Last week, we visited the library and the children chose a few books from the shelf. One of them will be checked out again around Groundhog's Day and another will be checked out again in April when the tulips that are currently being planted usually start blooming.

The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman

Patrick was happy to find this classic book on the library shelf.

Mrs. Bird decides that she no longer likes her nest.  So, she and Mr. Bird search for a new home.

My one reservation about this book is that it uses the word "hate".  Since we try to avoid the use of this word in our house, I change the words to "didn't like".

Gregory's Shadow by Don Freeman

This title isn't as good as Norman the Doorman or Corduroy, but my children enjoyed listening to it and the story will be perfect for February.

Gregory and Shadow leave their house one day prior to groundhog's day.  When Gregory sees the scarecrow's shadow, he gets scared and runs inside his home, accidentally shutting Shadow outside.  Eventually, Gregory realizes that Shadow is missing and goes in search of him.  Once Gregory and Shadow are reunited, they need to decide whether or not the farmers will see Gregory's shadow.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Some books will always be enjoyed no matter how old a child grows.  My eldest son enjoyed listening to this book, too, and I enjoyed reading it.

Hana in the Time of the Tulips by Deborah Noyes

When one of my children pulled this book off the shelf, I noticed that Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China was sitting next to it. Knowing that we had enjoyed reading Red Butterfly, I checked to see whether Deborah Noyes was the author.  After confirming that this was the case, I added the book in my child's hand to our growing stack of titles to check out.  I am glad that I did.

Deborah Noyes writes in the "time of Rembrandt" about a young girl, Hana, and her father's tulip prospecting. Hana wants to be a doctor and tends to her father's ailments, but as her father worries about his "tulip business", he seems to grow farther and farther away from her.  Hana tries to cheer him up with a sprig of rosemary, fireflies, and by weaving nature's simple smile out of daisies.  Eventually, Hana (Rembrandt's student) paints a beautiful tulip for her father and succeeds in drawing him out.

Patrick has listened to this book at least twice this week and seems to really like it.  I am looking forward to checking it out again in April and studying a little bit more about Rembrandt.