Drum Roll, Please
Sniff
We are so Proud. Monday, Colin received his Major Award in an assembly in front of the whole school.
Yes, our own 6 year-old son is the proud recipient of the first (and only) annual award for the collecting of pop-up bug books. Thank you. Thank you. We are overwhelmed and would like to thank the academy and all the little people, including Mr Carter for the writing of these books, without whom this award would have been considerably more difficult to achieve.
It was really pretty great being greeted at the door by a glowing boy with his hands held behind his back so we could play "guess which hand" as he displayed a slightly torn (due to much handling) certificate suitable for framing and a new red pencil (unsharpened) complete with school logo. Much ooohing and hugging ensued. We then gently taped the tears in the paper and proudly hung the certificate over his bed, above the collection of said bug books.
All joking aside, it was great to see him so proud. Once again, we are thankful for his consistently wonderful teacher, Mrs B. Now, we know that each month in turn, two kids from his class get an award at the school assembly, but for her to take the time to come up with this particular award, is just really cool.
You see, he is so very proud of his bug books. He reads them constantly. He has amassed about 6 of them, including Hanukkah Bugs and the new one, Easter Bugs. If you come over to our house, he will corner you at the earliest possible opportunity, usually at the kitchen table where there is plenty of room to spread them all out and read them to you in super-slow-mo so you miss not a single nuance of these beloved books. (If you do come over, consider this your formal warning.)
Personally, I am thankful for two things. First of all, I am delighted he loves books. Secondly, I am happy that if he had to love bug books that they are of the goofy made-up sort of bugs not the enlarged, true-to-life photos of bugs. You see, I have a rather severe bug phobia. I hate the creepy, crawly, flying, crunchy creatures. I know they serve all sorts of necessary functions but they just wig me out. I also can't kill them, so I have to do the capture and release thing when they make their way into my house in the country. The buggy country.
I also suspect that as soon as I release them to the outside, they immediately use every opportunity to regain entrance to my house in a sick game of "freak out the harmless giant". When I was younger and living at home, I used to pay my sister, Gail, the stout of heart, a quarter to remove bugs if there were no grown-up around to do it for free. Now I must deal with them myself if Charles isn't there. I have also resorted to sucking up large numbers of them with the vacuum, but now that we have the new bagless vacuum cleaner, I am not sure if I can face them all crawling around in concentrated fashion in the see-through receptacle. I mean, don't you think they will compare notes and spawn some sort of bug coup?
Maybe I can pay Colin a quarter a bug this summer. On second thought, perhaps I'd better make it a nickel a bug. Given the amount of bugs in our back room, he should have enough money for his college tuition by August.
We are so Proud. Monday, Colin received his Major Award in an assembly in front of the whole school.
Yes, our own 6 year-old son is the proud recipient of the first (and only) annual award for the collecting of pop-up bug books. Thank you. Thank you. We are overwhelmed and would like to thank the academy and all the little people, including Mr Carter for the writing of these books, without whom this award would have been considerably more difficult to achieve.
It was really pretty great being greeted at the door by a glowing boy with his hands held behind his back so we could play "guess which hand" as he displayed a slightly torn (due to much handling) certificate suitable for framing and a new red pencil (unsharpened) complete with school logo. Much ooohing and hugging ensued. We then gently taped the tears in the paper and proudly hung the certificate over his bed, above the collection of said bug books.
All joking aside, it was great to see him so proud. Once again, we are thankful for his consistently wonderful teacher, Mrs B. Now, we know that each month in turn, two kids from his class get an award at the school assembly, but for her to take the time to come up with this particular award, is just really cool.
You see, he is so very proud of his bug books. He reads them constantly. He has amassed about 6 of them, including Hanukkah Bugs and the new one, Easter Bugs. If you come over to our house, he will corner you at the earliest possible opportunity, usually at the kitchen table where there is plenty of room to spread them all out and read them to you in super-slow-mo so you miss not a single nuance of these beloved books. (If you do come over, consider this your formal warning.)
Personally, I am thankful for two things. First of all, I am delighted he loves books. Secondly, I am happy that if he had to love bug books that they are of the goofy made-up sort of bugs not the enlarged, true-to-life photos of bugs. You see, I have a rather severe bug phobia. I hate the creepy, crawly, flying, crunchy creatures. I know they serve all sorts of necessary functions but they just wig me out. I also can't kill them, so I have to do the capture and release thing when they make their way into my house in the country. The buggy country.
I also suspect that as soon as I release them to the outside, they immediately use every opportunity to regain entrance to my house in a sick game of "freak out the harmless giant". When I was younger and living at home, I used to pay my sister, Gail, the stout of heart, a quarter to remove bugs if there were no grown-up around to do it for free. Now I must deal with them myself if Charles isn't there. I have also resorted to sucking up large numbers of them with the vacuum, but now that we have the new bagless vacuum cleaner, I am not sure if I can face them all crawling around in concentrated fashion in the see-through receptacle. I mean, don't you think they will compare notes and spawn some sort of bug coup?
Maybe I can pay Colin a quarter a bug this summer. On second thought, perhaps I'd better make it a nickel a bug. Given the amount of bugs in our back room, he should have enough money for his college tuition by August.
Labels: The Small-Handed Ones
posted by Diana at 10:25 AM
10 Comments:
Capitalism will always defeat arachnophobia
-GF
Congrats to Colin, and thanks for visiting my blog. I have a feeling I know where you are commuting to -- it's where I live. And I see you're also hooked on infertility blogs like they're your personal cocaine. I UNDERSTAND.
Gail, erm, I mean GF, you mean it was just for the jingle of silver? And you were the one who used to pick up worms with your bare hands and save them from certain death after it rained. I had to use sticks and leaves to do it.
Molly, loved reading your blog. I work in Freeport, IL. It has no Barnes and Noble but boasts 2 McDs and 2 Burger Kings and one of each of every other fast food chain. And a K-Mart and a Wal-Mart. When those who live there go to The Big City, they do go to Rockford, which does have a B+N. So, maybe? And, yes, addicted like crack. I even met Julia S. She had us over to her fab house when we were in the Twin Cities a few years ago. Now I don't feel so ALONE. (cue organ)
Colin sounds like a sweet and talented kid! That's great that his teacher takes the time to come up with customized awards for the kids in her class. That sort of thing means a lot to kids. Heck, who doesn't like getting an award, even as an adult? My "Certificate of Triumph" for completing the Bridge Pedal bike ride (three years ago) is still proudly displayed on our fridge.
Rozanne- Yeah, he is a pretty great kid. The Bridge Pedal was one of the things I always wanted to get around to doing when I lived there. One of many I never got around to. I still haven't made it to the Kennedy School, even when we went back to visit. Next time.
The Kennedy School is a 10-minute walk from our house. We go *often.*
Cajunized tator tots. The best.
Okay, maybe it should be "Capitalism will always defeat an opportunity to torment your sister”
Gail
Congrats to Colin! You should be able to work out a deal for a nickel a bug, I would think. The kid's getting hot meals and place to sleep, right? :-)
Piffle-head:
Kudos to Colin and a big hug for Mrs. B and a nomination for teacher of the year. And this is from a crusty old vet of 25 years in the classroom. After a negative reaction in 3rd grade, I didn't read again for pleasure until after college.
Rozanne: Bridge Petal is a blast--put it on your calendar!!!
GF: Give you sister back the money or at least give me my normal 10% or I'm tellin'...somebody.
RF
Yay.. for Colin. Do you have a scientist in the making?
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