A Day in the Life 26: These are the moments I live for
Today was our big shopping day. Rachel decided to join me on the trip to Sam’s Club and Target (Target sells Propel packets which is my husband’s addiction for $1.20 less than the only grocery store around here that carries it!)
In the car on the way there she asked me how segregation came about. Mind you I didn’t teach her about segregation–she had read about Ruby Bridges that morning on her own and wondered about it. This led to a long discussion about how slavery came about, about Great Britain’s Empire, Eugenics and evolution, family history, the fifties, the Ku Klux Klan, the civil war, and eventually into a discussion of the middle ages, Teutonic Knights, and the crusades. She wanted to learn more about the civil war so we added Eugenia Price’s books to our queue of read alouds–after we finish the Enchanted Forest series, The next two Madeline L’Engle books after a Wrinkle in Time–I don’t like Many Waters so we won’t read that one, and Gerald Morris’ Squire Tales which I just recently read and want to share (they have just enough magic with a hefty dose of the middle ages to make a nice transition into historical fiction –my kids like a bit of magic mixed in to make things palatable.) We decided that maybe we need to add another reading time to the day so we can get it all in–with her dyslexia reading for long times isn’t very comfortable for her but she adores listening to books. I had been planning on starting The Lord of the Rings trilogy after my list but we will see if I get a hold of some Eugenia Price as right now I only have one of the series.
It was a great conversation and she asked some very good questions (making me very glad I read a lot.:))
At Sam’s Club she decided that when she is older she needs to grow and make organic food stuffs with no preservatives to sell to people like her who couldn’t eat all that other stuff. With all the time she has spent cooking, building stores, and running businesses in play I wouldn’t be surprised if she managed it. (I guess I should mention that she spent most of the time in Sam’s Club comparing the prices to those at Aldi, “Let’s see if we buy the raw almonds at Aldi they are $3.00 for 8 oz but if we buy the roasted ones here they are 48 onces for $10…..”)
When we finished, got home, and put everything away we settled in to watch a movie. The kids had been asking about my copy of “Much Ado About Nothing” for a while so I watched it with them skipping a few bits that weren’t suitable and teaching them where to skip so they can watch again on their own. They LOVED it. I was amazed at how much they understood and were able to follow–though I did have to explain the bits I skipped so they understood the plot and they were perfectly happy not to sit through what they decided would be the boring bits anyway. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that they loved it. First they knew Emma Thomson from “Sense and Sensibility” and Keanu Reaves they recently saw when we rented “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”. I also have spent the last few years indoctrinating them into Shakespeare (my husband and I LOVE the comedies and Hamlet–hate the rest of the tragedies). We have read Lamb’s Shakespeare in part and they have listened to it on cd more than a few times. They also love Jane Austen films though I have not read any aloud to them. Anyway, I shouldn’t be surprised but I am thrilled. I love sharing my favorite movies with them and this is one of them. Now if I could just get a hold of my absolute favorite, “Twelfth Night”.
Boy do I love days like this.
My oldest is growing veggies this year to sell for her fundraiser to go camping out of state next year! I’ll have to tell her about this.
That’s some discussion!
Thank you for your comments today. The moment did pass…but I have had to crack down on the back talk I’m getting lately…and my son, he seems to have earplugs in…so we’re cracking down on him as well. It’s not easy, but it will GET easier.
Ah, wonderful. This is what I needed to hear right now, as you know. You left a wonderfully encouraging comment on my blog, thanks so much! I love this day with your daughter.I liked your comment that you listen to a lot of books on tape because of your daughters dyslexia. We do that alot here, but I really need to make it more of a habit to sit and listen to them together. We are also on a special diet right now. My daughter has fun making up recipes that go with our new lifestyle.
We LOVE Much Ado. My daughter has requested more Kenneth Branaugh films. Perhaps another Shakespeare? I haven’t seen Henry V and don’t know how well that would go down. A bit intense methinks. We also love Sense and Sensibility and have seen Becoming Jane. But what I really want is an Alan Rickman Netflix Festival!
Well, lots of digressions in this comment…thanks for the great post!
Tell Maria that Love’s Labour’s Lost is a blast (although a few sections should be skipped for being racy). We also recently watched As You Like It – it was good but perhaps too racy and too violent.
I too love Hamlet and Henry V.
Isn’t cool when kids start putting things together. DQ has recently started putting a lot of Bible together in ways that are quite complex for her age (everyone who teaches her from school to Sunday School to Kid’s club say her Bible knowledge is remarkable – we try but honestly we feel like it is a brick wall because it seems she doesn’t feel the need to share all she learns from the Bible with us in either word or deed).
Teaching kids to think is the coolest thing.
Oh, I love those kinds of conversations. It takes a good 20 minutes for us to get into town, and we either listen to books on tape or have these wonderful talks about life. I live for these moments, too.
Literary days are fun, aren’t they? Sister and I began reading long books aloud several months ago. It usually takes us a week or so to get through one (I’m a speed reader of sorts so a week is a long time for me.) but it’s worth it. I love watching her world expand through books.
I love days like this, too … I wish they were more common around here 😉