Tag Archives: harry potter

Supermom

Who wants to hear a stupid story? Ready? Scarlett is Superstar of the week at school, which means she filled out a questionnaire about herself, decorated a poster with a life-size tracing of her body, and brought numerous items in to show the class, including her favorite book, which is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7), but she had to bring in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Book 1), because 7 is not really appropriate for a class of six- and seven-year-olds. Exhibit A: The first chapter is called The Dark Lord Ascending, and the teacher reads part of the book to the class. Also, a lot of the girls are reading this series, and we didn’t want to ruin anything for those who hadn’t finished yet. So we compromised and sent the first book.

That’s not the stupid story. It’s just the build up.

She’s had a great week as Superstar. Being the center of attention has helped her behave and listen well in general, which she has trouble with, but she’s also six years old so I don’t think that’s terribly abnormal. And last night at dinner she decided she wanted to decorate a small piece of paper with stickers for each girl in her class. There are 21 of them, so not including Scarlett we needed 20 pages.

She set to work and finished 13 last night. This morning she was to do the remaining seven before school. As her carpool was coming, she triumphantly announced that she had 20 pages done. And then she told me she had included the teachers. Which means, for all you math geniuses out there, that two girls were missing. Read More>

On and Off…and On Again

Rob and Scarlett and I watched the first Harry Potter movie this weekend. I didn’t realize that it was over 2 1/2 hours long, so it was by far the longest movie she’s ever seen. I also wasn’t sure if maybe she was too young for it, because I don’t think that your average five-year-old is out there watching Harry Potter. Three-headed drooling monster dogs and a scary snakelike wizard whose evil face is coming out of the back of someone else’s head…it’s quite a step up from The Octonauts and Frozen.

But it’s an example of something I occasionally find myself doing, which is introducing her to a book, a movie, or a concept a little early just so that I can make sure I get to share it with her. We read Charlottes Web when she was four, even though I thought that might be a little bit early to deal with the themes and storyline. I think her mind probably strayed a little during the book, but ultimately she declared that she loved it, and she was especially fascinated when I started crying at the end. She brought Charlotte’s Web home from the school library this week. She wants to read it again.

Likewise, she really loved Harry Potter and didn’t seem at all afraid, and I think it helped that we had listened to the audiobook first, so that she knew the story and what to expect. When the hideous troll lumbered into the girls bathroom, Scarlett burst out laughing. Read More>