Glisteny Red Tops
I am feeling calmer this morning. Instead of coming home with the usual Thursday night nursery rhyme school-made books to read, Dusty had a Junie Jones book in her bag. So her teacher gets it. Which is a relief.
That said, Dusty was not entirely willing to read to me so we played a game. She read every word on the page that started with �s�: sweater, somebody, situation, etc. Then, I had her read funny sentences like, �The principal had a baldy head that looked like a rubber ball.� So progress is being made and I�m not going to sweat it.
And to answer readersguide�s question: yes, her teacher does have Dusty read to herself and then answer questions to test her comprehension. I have a feeling, though, that she�s just not sure how extensive Dusty�s vocabulary � and ability to read big words � really is. It�s hard to tell which words she�s skipping over. Clearly, she understands what she�s reading, but at what level?
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In other pursuits, Dusty�s back on her sewing kick. Last week, the lining in one of her new skirts ripped along the seam. The thread had come unraveled and I said it would be easy to repair.
�I want to sew it,� Dusty said.
I thought for a second and realized that there was absolutely no reason why she couldn�t take a stab at it. If she made a mess of it, I could always go back and redo it later. As it turned out, she did an amazing job. Fixed up that rip like a pro. Her talents never cease to amaze me. I would not be surprised if she asked for a sewing machine next year.
Of course, it would have to be kept far away from me since I�m allergic to sewing machines, just like I�m allergic to knitting and crocheting. Just never could do any of those things. The worst fits I ever threw as a child were over a sewing machine that wouldn�t act right. Thread always got tangled up in all the parts. I couldn�t press on the pedal steadily � always too slow or too fast. Or both at once. Grrr.
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Last evening after dinner we all went outside and took full advantage of the last bit of warm weather. Today it�s quite chilly and we had to dig around for heavier jackets. I don�t know how we accumulated 35 small coats and sweaters and not one of them exactly right for late fall.
But yesterday, the kids ran around and swung on swings and peeled the bark off a tree stump. We found the wagon and Red began to fill it with rocks. Then Dusty pulled her around in it � surrounded by her precious rocks - through the barn which slopes down so the ride�s filled with thrills and chills, and around the yard on a mushroom hunt.
I�ve never seen so many different variety of mushrooms before. My favorite ones reside at the bottom of the driveway. They are white with flat glisteny red tops like pomegranate jelly spread or something. They also look deadly poison. Nature usually makes the most beautiful things the most deadly.
