Every night, our fun loving and carefree first grader Ben does his homework of reading to us a “Book in a Bag.” It is what it sounds like, since he carries home the book, in a bag, reads it, we sign off with comments, return the book, and the next day Ben brings home a new book. In a bag.
Ben does a good job with his reading and after a while, I was getting a little silly with the comments section and taking the opportunity to review the books. One evening, I was cleaning dishes, so Charlene handled the Book in a Bag duties. I listened from the kitchen. It was a book about large animals and at the end of the book, it asked the question, “What animal is larger than you?” While Charlene filled out the form and Ben traveled into the kitchen, I provided my input, “Gorillas are bigger than me.” To which, I thought Charlene responded, “Your comments aren’t helpful.” Confused, I clarified that gorillas are indeed larger than me, but she meant the daily comments I had been filling out about the books. Well, okay, they probably aren’t that helpful. So for Ben’s next “Ten Book” sheet, I tried to turn over a new leaf and add a constructive comment. Therefore for “Shapes to Go,” I added, “Plus, Ben did well sounding out words.” After that, I lost interest for the most part in providing feedback on my child’s education and returned to reviewing the books. Here is a sampling, just in case you are into first grade literature…
Harsh review of “When a Storm Comes” – “I expected more topics than just erosion.”
Nugget of wisdom observation from “The Pancake Party” – “Plus, it also showed that flowers are a great way to say, ‘I’m sorry.’”
Truth based confession from “Peanuts” (not the comic strip, but rather non-fiction) – “I have never seen a peanut removing machine before.”
Follow-up anecdote from “You Can Recycle!” (yes, the book title included an exclamation point) – “After reading the book, Ben recycled a cream cheese container.”
Finally, this evening’s well researched via Google review of “Letter to a Friend” – “The letter in the book traveled a long way, over 2,000 miles!”
Yes, my comments really aren’t that helpful, but as Charlene pointed out, “They sure do help explain Ben.”
