To slow read Shakespeare, or not to slow read Shakespeare, that is the question...

Over the weekend, Gemma told me that she doesn’t like the way we do Shakespeare.

At that moment, she was sprawled out on her tummy on the bed with two books open in front of her. One book was Usborne's Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare and the other was a book in Bruce Coville’s Magic Shop series - The Skull of Truth. The skull, she said, was the skull from Hamlet, the “alas, poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio” skull.

"Really?" I said.

"Really."

"Ooh," I said, "do you want to read Hamlet as our next Shakespeare tale?"

"No. I like reading Shakespeare. I just don't like the way we do it - three pages a week. I like reading a whole story."

Ugh. I get it. There is part of me that wants to do Shakespeare the way Gemma wants to do it because, ultimately, the goal is for her to have a good relationship with Shakespeare. But the other part of me sees the importance of slow reading.

Does everything need to be read slowly?

Do we need to continue slow reading Shakespeare tales because, in a couple of years, we'll be slow reading the full-length plays? Is it a habit-thing?

Gemma's Understood Betsy Narration

This is Gemma's final narration from Understood Betsy. She dictated it to me while looking over my shoulder. The parentheses, sighs, arrow, bolded letters, etc. are all Gemma's.

Betsy, I know this is going to be hard to tell you but I'm going to have to take you away from Putney Farm. I'm coming to get you today...(sigh)..I've married someone. We are going to travel around the world. My husband's business, and your father's, is going to be worldwide because it moves place to place. Love, Your Aunt Frances

Eleanor gave birth to kittens and Molly went to give Betsy the letter (which you can see ↑). Betsy opened the letter and almost started crying and she ran out of the barn.

Betsy told Uncle Henry what had happened and he was filled with tears too.

He helped Betsy into the wagon and then he and Betsy went to meet Aunt Frances.

Aunt Frances's train pulled up and Aunt Frances stepped out.

Aunt Frances said, "My Betsy, how you've grown so much!"

Then they went to meet Uncle Henry in the wagon and they just kept looking at each other all the way home they didn't see anything outside the trees kept trying to get their attention because they kept waving their branches but all they saw was the inside of the wagon.

When they got back to Putney Farm, Aunt Frances said hello to Aunt Abigail and Cousin Ann, and when Shep came over from the couch she was like, "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!"

And she said to Betsy, "How can you live with that big dog around?"

And she told Aunt Frances that it was just Shep, a lovable dog.

And then the big cow came out and she hit the cow and she told Shep to take the cow into the barn.

Then Aunt Frances said that Betsy could stay here if she liked, and Betsy said, "That would be wonderful!" And Aunt Frances asked the Putneys if they wanted to keep Betsy with them, and they said, "Well, we've sort of gotten used to having her around and we'd love to."

Aunt Frances said, "Well, it's settled, Betsy. You're staying here. Well, I'm going to miss you very much." (sigh)

Then Betsy said, "Don't worry, Aunt Frances, when you're close by I can always visit you."

Then Aunt Frances hugged Betsy and said, "I would love that."

THE END

By Gemma

Once upon a time there was a village that was under attack by a dragon.🐉
the draginn🐉 (<--get it) was a nice dragon🐉 . the villagers👨👩👫 didn't know that the dragon🐉 was a nice dragon🐉 . the king told the villagers👫👪👴👵 to attack the dragon🐉 .  the villagers👧👦👮👶👷👰👱💃 accepted this task gratefully.
the villagers did what the king 👸💂told them to do . 🏰🏯🏤🏣🏡🏢🏬🏫🚀🚁🚁🚂🚃

Year 2: Week 11

Friday was “Admission Day,” which meant that I had the day off from work, and Gemma got an extra day with mommy. I surprised Gemma with a trip to the Science Center to see the IMAX movie Pandas 3D.

It was wonderful! Yes, it was about pandas, and yes, the pandas were too too cute, but it was also about the humans who have made it their life’s work to care for pandas and black bears. It’s a must-see.

After the movie, we spent the rest of the day in the Science Center. 

Here is Gemma checking out a cockroach’s circulatory and respiratory systems...

...in the kelp forest ecosystem exhibit...

...drawing with heat...

...building with Tinker Toys...

A teeny tiny little sample of what we read this week:

• Bedtime: The Hobbit
• Genesis 16
• Luke 7
• Understood Betsy ch 11 (the end)
• Discovery of New Worlds (ch 15)
• Hillyer’s Sculpture ch 11
• 50 Famous Stories Retold (Alfred and the Cakes)
• Trial & Triumph (Alfred)