Astonishment

Too much bragging is obnoxious.

I know this
and am often guilty of it,
so I try to keep
myself in line.

Reasonably.

But today,
man,
I am blowing it all out of the water.

I am so astonished
by my middle child.

Let me back up a bit
and set the scene.

I want the kids
to do some reading this summer.

They do read,
don't get me wrong.

When we are in the van
you will see three little heads
tipped down,
reading something or another.

Kate and Chris always read
half an hour at night
etc.

But, I wanted to
encourage them
to read some challenging books this summer
and also keep their writing skills sharp.

So, for each difficult book they read
(as judged by me)
and turn in a summary book report for,
I will give them a dollar.

I would be very poor,
except they will be in day camp
for the next three weeks
starting next week,
which will cut down on their
free reading time significantly.

Okay, so now you are up to speed.

Chris checked out a book on a Titanic.
This is a factual book written as an
accompaniment for a Magic Tree House book.

Chris is 8 years old
and a good solid reader
so I don't consider Magic Tree House
challenging for him,
but since it was a fact based book
rather than a Magic Tree House story,
I accepted it.

What has blown me away, though,
is his first summary report.
He has thus far worked on it
for a good half hour and he
will continue it tomorrow.

This is what he wrote, verbatim.
I think it is pretty amazing for an 8 year old boy.

Titanic by Chris The book I read was Titanic. Titanic was a ship built in 1906 and was finished in 1908. It was owned by the White Star cruise line and had a captain named Edward Smith, also known as the Millionaire's captain because so many rich people sailed on his cruise liners. On April, second, (sic), 1912 the ship was ready for sea trials. Sea trials are drills were (sic) they practice turning the ship, decreasing and increasing it speed and emergency methods. Finally on April , 10, 1912 the ship was ready to sail. Titanic would stop at France and Ireland to pick up and drop off passengers before starting it journey to New York.

Isn't that amazing?
His writing seems so clear and
his grasp of what he read so solid.
Phrases like "emergency methods"
aren't even in the book- those are his words.

I am just so proud of him.

Also, since writing tends to be
much more difficult for Kate,
it is so exciting to see this be an area of
ease and success for him.

So, tonight, cheers to Chris.
You are fantastic, kid.