*sigh*

[shadesong]

I'm so tired. I just can't kick this exhaustion...

Things are slowing down, though. Life is less frantic. Which helps. :) I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, feeling like I'm going to be back in shape soon.

Elayna has discovered a new homework-delaying tactic - hugs. She'll just drop her pencil, run up to me, and hug me, or climb into my lap for cuddles. Which is damn hard to resist, let me tell you. I promised her that we could cuddle on the couch as she watched TV and I read, when her homework was done (that's one of her favorite things)... but she didn't finish it in time. She ended up doing it this morning. So. Wish she'd done it yesterday in after-school care (she did do half of her homework there, so I can't complain too much), but at least this time, she didn't rush through and get the wrong answers - she only asked for help once, and got every answer correct (this is the math homework; she did the spelling homework in aftercare). Could be better, but could be a *lot* worse, and I give her a lot of credit for not whining once.

Her Open House is tonight. Things to ask, things to ask... there's one topic I'm definitely broaching with her teacher. Library books. Last year, she gently requested that we try to get Elayna reading more advanced books than the Captain Underpants books she kept bringing in. I agreed; Elayna's capable of more than that. And she's now reading Judy Blume and Louis Sachar. But she continually checks out books from the school library that are way, way below her level. Pre-kindergarten picture books. So why isn't the teacher pointing out to her that she should be reading more advanced books? I talked to Elayna about it yesterday, and it seems that she's just confused - she doesn't know which books are "for her" and which ones are too hard. I told her to tell the librarian that she enjoyed "Sideways Stories from Wayside School" and "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing", and ask for suggestions, as that is what the librarian is *for*. Hopefully she'll remember that next time she goes to the library...

Comments

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

I'm not familiar with the way American elementary schools work - but in my school here, we could get any book we wanted from the shelves, and if we couldn't get through it, we could put it back and try another. I read Darwin's Origin of Species from there when I was nine - tough going, but I made it through.

Can Elayna not just pick up books and look at them before she takes them? If she ends up with something too hard, it just helps her know where her boundaries currently are.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

She tends to discount books without pictures unless we put them in her hands and tell her that yes, they're her level...

[mfree.livejournal.com]

One of the things I do remember about early elementary school was being herded over to the kindergarten/children's fiction section as late as 2'nd grade, and finally bringing up the courage to ask if I could go and look at the books "over there", in the nonfiction section.

I remember always checking out these small hardcover books that if I remember right were classic greek stories, and this one maroon book that was what I guess was 4'th grade level about the space race and rockets, the X-planes, etc.

Frightening to think where I'd be had I not had the courage to ask about the books "over there"... are your teachers encouraging a full roam-about of the library?

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how their library trips work; I'll be asking. This is a mixed 1st through 3rd grade class, so the librarian may assume she's a first-grader due to her height. Don't know if the teacher plays an active role at all. I may actually write a note to the librarian.

She loves Greek mythology...

[yendi]

Although she hates the monsters, alas. Which means that I've put a hold on most of the stories, as there aren't many myths left that don't have monsters (Atalanta is the only one left, actually), or humans who are even worse (I mean, Procrustes and the others that Theseus fought weren't exactly much nicer than Medusa).

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

She hates the monsters? Strange kid. The various monsters were always my favourite bits - I didn't like the heroes who killed them at all.

[azurelunatic]

Speaking of monsters, I need to seek out that book from Grendel's viewpoint.

[mfree.livejournal.com]

She gets the classic meanings then... monsters are indented to be hated, *especially* the ones in greek mythology.

If it's a matter of fear, nightmares, etc. then I wholeheartedly support sheltering her from certain tales until she's older.

**Talking in vague terms, I don't actually know enough (anything?) about child-raising yet to be trusted in my opinions. I fully accept that I could be wrong.

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

What about the Oz books? Has she read those yet? I remember reading those every year from 2nd to 6th grade -- our school library had 3 of them. My senior year, our drama club put on a play (The Little Foxes -- I was Xan) in my elementary school because the library had a balcony with a lovely spiral staircase to the lower (indoor) court. During most of the second act, I stayed in the library because I made my entrance from upstairs and those books were still there, with my name in them in progressively neater printing....

But. When I went to the public library, I used to consistently take out books for younger children, even into high school just because I liked the stories. Of course I also exhausted all the interesting possibilities in the adult sci fi section, too....

[fiddledragon]

*laugh* that's what I'm doing these days! I've read more young adult and teen sci-fi and children's fiction in the past 6 months than I have in a long time.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

She hasn't read them... we have *so* many books in this house! Working on Narnia. I have the first Oz book out for her to peruse. And then there's Little House and Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden...

[fiddledragon]

I wonder if that's something of a second grade thing? We noticed some of the same with Kritter. Especially with math homework and reading. She had a horrible time with subtraction in particular - or maybe it's got something to do with a Montessori background...I don't know - last year was probably Kritter's worst school year yet, she didn't try very hard, she kept rushing through things, kept reading FAR below her actual reading level, etc...(BTW, she just did an Advanced Reader test on "Sideways Stories from Wayside School" - apparently she loved that one too). She keeps trying to buy books below her level (Junie B. Jones books which she ADORES and Captain Underpants), I encourage her to check them out from the library instead - that if she's going to buy books she should buy ones she's more likely to reread even a couple years down the road.

Eep...I'm rambling again....but sometimes it helps to know your kid isn't the only one (wish someone could have told me that last year when I was ripping my hair out *laugh*)...This year she seems to be doing considerably better so far. I'm looking forward to talking with her teacher again about math. This year's issue seems not to be so much of subtraction, but of labelling word problems - she doesn't see the point *laugh* she's definitely her mother's daughter - I said the same thing way back when!

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Elayna's having difficulty with subtraction that involves borrowing. Or she was. She was doing division last year, but due to my parents not quizzing her over the summer, she lost it all... *growl* Anyway, she didn't have any trouble with the subtraction last night. Her one question involved a problem where she had to borrow not just from one column, but from two; once she understood that, it was a breeze.

Elayna's school does Advanced Reader too - she kicked ass on the Wayside school one. :)

Re:

[fiddledragon]

Have you seen http://www.bookadventure.org ? Kritter did that all summer long - they have a pretty extensive book list, and you can pick by grade level, etc...but they don't have some of the very new books (Judy Moody books in particular - which Elayna might like as well).

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow! That's so cool. I need to get her started on that... thanks!

[fiddledragon]

I don't know - Kritter can technically read anything put in front of her at this point, but she freaks out at the "scary" parts - most often surrounding monsters. Maybe Elayna's doing the same thing (they sound similar enough).

'Song, maybe if you tried what I did with the most recent set of books, it'll help her. I read the book first, told her ahead of time what the scary parts were, told her how that part was resolved, that way she knew ahead of time and wasn't surprised.

Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small: First Test was great in that respect - it only had two scary parts (ie., with monsters), and Kritter is REALLY enjoying it as a result. She's actively looking forward to the next books in the series, and she hasn't finished the first one yet.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

I'll look for the Tamora Pierce books! :)

[eilonwy.livejournal.com]

I so second that. I think she'd really like them, because, well, everyone really likes them. You might try the first series (the Alanna books) first, as they don't have monsters in them (in the classical sense.)

Oh, and YAY Trixie Belden!! I read all of them (two a night) in 5th grade, 'cause the teacher had them all, and I've been trying to collect them ever since. (The later ones are quite hard to find.)

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

How many Trixies are there in all? Do you know?

[eilonwy.livejournal.com]

I think there were 30 or so originals, that came out in the yellow hard covers and paperbacks. Those got reprinted a lot and are somewhat easy to find (depends on one's definition of easy.) Then there are about 15-25 other titles that were only printed in paperback and only in one edition. Most of those are really hard to find, and I've only even read a few of those.

This is off the top of my head, mind you, not looking at any lists, and it's been about a year since I've bought any Trixies.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

I *think* I have 34. I probably have all of the originals.

On a side note...

[avivasedai.livejournal.com]

. I just can't kick this exhaustion...

Have you had your blood iron level checked? Anemia can get a person really tired.

Re: On a side note...

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Nope... I hate doctors *so* much...

Doctors and all...

[avivasedai.livejournal.com]

Yes, the dislike, but if it's something like anemia, that can be dealt with in a number of ways that are relatively non-intrusive (spinach broccoli leafy greens yum!). It's little vials of blood, no pint donation or anything.

It'll make you feel better? *Sisterly nudge nudge* *as she makes her own appt to re-give blood for the tests the lab lost, rat bastard labs...*

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Thanks. :)

[skylion.livejournal.com]

hope you kick the exhaustion soon ::hugs::
is Elyna actually reading books at her level or above? if so, a little break to the below level stuff shouldn't be too hard. i would advise letting her advance at her own pace. but then again, i go by gut instinct there.

[azurelunatic]

I adored the books by Gordon Korman. Lots of wacky misadventures and pranks. Very little scary stuff, and advanced enough reading level for her, I should think. My personal favorite was I Want To Go Home!, about a kid who's stuck at camp when he doesn't want to be there, and tries to run away, amidst much silliness. He eventually decides that camp is a lot more fun than being home all summer, but still continues to attempt to run away just for the sport of it.

I wanted to read the silly picture kids books when I was that age, because I too had trouble with scary parts (my personal unfavorite was throwing up in books, which wouldn't seem like much to a grown-up, but freaked me out) and because all the other kids were reading those books, and I felt if I was reading the older books, I'd be missing out on what the other kids were reading. Might help, if that's an issue with her, to mention that the other kids will be missing out on the cooler stories in the more advanced books until they learn to read that well.

I was reading Anne of Green Gables and the rest of that series fairly early, after I tore through the Little House books. Diane Duane's Spiderman books might be too old for her, as might So You Want To Be A Wizard and the rest of that series, because there are monsters there.

I wish I had my bookshelf to read titles off of to help out more...