Day #14 Final Day of Felix's Read-a-Thon

Friday was the last day of the Bancroft Read-a-Thon, and, despite it being a Friday night, a night where exhaustion is elevated to new heights in our household, Felix decided he was going to end things out with a bang and read for 30 minutes.  We started off with Froggy Learns to Swim, which is about exactly that.  Felix has developed a bit of anxiety about swimming and being in deep water, so this book was a welcome find.  He likes Froggy books already - there is another one about inclusion that is a fave - so I was not surprised that he enjoyed this one. 

After that we continued on with "Splat the Cat Takes the Cake" (another favorite character), "Cat the Cat", "The Foot Book", and I think one more, but I can't remember what it was - I think I was more tired that Felix at this point!  All of these books are pretty light in content, but are books that Felix can either read on his own, or read along with me. And, I'm slowly realizing, like me, Felix has different capacities to absorb information on different days.  Sometimes it's a "Sula" kind of a day, and other days, "Hunger Games" is about where it's at.

But, Felix did it! He read for 30 minutes (more or less) each day, for 14 days! I don't think he even realizes was a huge accomplishment this was.  And we raised $300 to date...no small feat!

This weekend, I asked Felix to tell me his 3 favorite books during the Read-a-Thon.  We actually used this blog to go back and see what exactly he had read.  He told me "Captain Underpants" and "Henry's Freedom Box" were his faves, and that he liked the "Paint Box Kid" too, and "The Froggy Book".  So, there you have it.

I've really enjoyed this process of being a little more intentional about reading with Felix, and reflecting on the books he likes to read, and the kids books that I like to read as well.  While we are officially "done" with the Read-a-Thon, I hope this reflection will continue on, from time to time in this blog.  So stay tuned! And now, lets get that playground built and reform our educational system so all kids have decent playgrounds regardless of how much money their school can raise!

Read-a-Thon Days #11-#13

We are in the waning days of the Bancroft Read-a-Thon, and were fortunate to have Captain Underpants and Valentines Day swoop in to carry us to the finish line.  While there is not a lot of literary depth to Captain Underpants, it is funny in that 5-year-old way (yes, underpants, diapers, and poop are all featured), and kept Felix hanging on until the end.  He actually learned a lot of new words, such as "maniacal" and "ironic".

We also spent over an hour the other night reading and writing the names of all of Felix's classmates in Room 103 on their valentines day cards. Not necessarily reading "books" per se, but literacy, no less. I was impressed by how many names Felix could read, and how much he enjoyed deciphering the ones that were less familiar. We then spent an equal amount of time deciding which sticker to affix on which kids' card.  An intricate algorithm involving the color of the sticker (CS), how much he liked the color (FLC), how much the other kid liked the color (OKLC), and how good of friends they were (F). Or, CS=FLC/FLC+OKLC. 

Tomorrow is the last day of the Read-a-Thon, and we have some new books to celebrate with! Including a Spanish-English picture dictionary that Felix is super excited to read, and a coloring book challenging gender roles/gender expression that I am super excited to read to Felix. Tune in tomorrow for the final installment!

Read-a-Thon Days #8-#10

We came upon this book on Saturday at the Women's Prison Book Project pancake breakfast. I had no idea what it was about until we got home and started reading.  Low and behold, it's an amazing book about a working-class white boy in LA who befriends an older Chicano man in his neighborhood and paints a mural on his house...and fights a highway being built in his neighborhood! It's also a very sweet story. We read the first couple chapters on Saturday night, and then blew through the rest on Sunday night. Felix couldn't get enough of it! I am ordering the first book in the series, "The Chalk Box Kid" right now from the library. 

This evening we started another chapter book called "Captain Underpants" and got through the first few chapters.  It's light-hearted and funny - the exact opposite of "The Paint Brush Kid"  - but exactly what Felix needed after a long day.  He thought it was hilarious, and was fascinated by a scene in the book where the two friends sneak into their school office and make copies of their comic book on the school copier.  I can totally imagine Felix and his friend Spencer doing this in a couple of years!

Read-a-Thon Day #6 and #7

We are super psyched that we have raised over $350 for Felix's school so far.  It's awesome to have so many supportive friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors to help cheer Felix on! Thanks to the online fundraising site, Razoo, our Read-a-Thon donations have exploded!

Last night, we had a shorter reading night as Felix' grandparents had just gotten back from out of town, and we were visiting with them.  But, we did read an old baby book at bedtime that Felix is now able to read on his own, called "I am a Bunny". I have to admit I choked up a little. I have so many memories of reading this book to Felix as a baby, that it's hard to hear it now without being reminded of those baby-time moments in the past.

We also read a book that Felix got from his grandparents last night as a gift, titled "The Bear's Winter House". It's a sweet book about hibernation (kind-of) and friendship.  The hedge-hog is pretty cute. Felix's review of this book was that it was "funny".

Tonight, I asked Felix if there were any themes for what he wanted to read, and he decided on "Cats and Dogs that Run Away". Surprisingly, we have a number of books on this topic! But once we'd read the first book - "A Bad Kitty Christmas", which does have a cat and dog in it that run away, Felix wanted to read a book he checked out from the Bancroft Media Center today, that is from the Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends series. It is titled "Stumped". Felix told me he really enjoyed the book because of the drawings, and because it featured two bug-like creatures who got mad at each other, and then worked it out in the end.  Books about friendship issues seem to appeal to him these days.

Read-a-Thon Day #5

Tonight we read Bread and Jam for Frances, one of Susan's favorite books. Felix loved the menus of the different meals at the end, and said it made him hungry. He kind of reminds me of Albert.

 We also read a book called Henry's Freedom Box, a book about an enslaved African American who escapes to the north inside of a box.  This book elicited lots of questions, as it always does, about slavery, and what it would mean to be separated from one's family. It's a powerful book, and beautifully illustrated.


And finally, we read Six Dinner Sid, a book about a cat that lives with six different families.  This book always results in a lot of stories about our cat James.

So, to sum it up:
1. Bread and Jam for Frances
2. Henry's Freedom Box
3. Six Dinner Sid
*We did not get to the leveled reader tonight, as Felix was too tired:)

Also, I discovered, today, that there is a way to donate to Felix's Read-a-Thon online! Here is the link to do so!

Read-a-Thon Day #4

Felix is really getting into the Read-a-Thon!  In previous weeks, most nights we would be struggling over the transition from "video time" to "book time", and in particular, getting him to read his "leveled reader" which is his nightly homework from school - even though when we actually get to "book time", he has always loved it and wanted to read "just one more book". But over the past few days, he has been enthusiastically pulling books off the book shelf to read, including books that we haven't read in years.

Tonight, it was "Hello Kitty, Hello Everything", a book that is really more a catalogue of Hello Kitty products.  When Felix was little, I used to make up stories about the various items, which was very surreal. How do you tell a coherant story about a Hello Kitty toaster, computer, and hair dryer? But, Felix loved it, and the book was on frequent circulation for a long time.  We also read "Everyone Poops", another book we haven't read in years.  Felix's comment on this one was, "this book is totally disgusting"! I couldn't agree more.  Maybe we can finally pass this one on.

Books Tonight (including the exclamation points):
1. Hello Kitty Hello Everything!
2. Everyone Poops
3. Look What I Found! (Leveled Reader)
4. Sheep Blast Off!

Read-a-Thon Day #3

Tonight Felix was super tired after a long day at school and his after school program, and another bout of teasing on the bus from another child about his long hair. But, he rallied and managed to read 30 minutes with me, despite the exhaustion. Reading helps him get out of his head, and think about something else.  It's also a way for us to talk about challenging things. But, this was not one of those nights.  We were just reading to relax and power-down. After reading 3 books, Susan and I told some cat stories, from our long-gone kitties James and Bone, about cats pooping in the basement, and cats becoming friends with perfumey old ladies and eating tuna (all true).

Books tonight:
"In the Water" - Felix read this one himself
"Angus and the Cat"- A British book from my childhood. We can never get enough of this one
"Harry the Dirty Dog" - Another favorite from my childhood. Also British.
"Smash! Crash! in Trucktown" - A well worn book from the Bancroft School Library that Felix loves, and I could do without.  The only positive thing I can say about it is that there is gender parity among the trucks.

Bancroft Read-a-Thon Days #1 and #2

Felix on his first day of school

Felix is doing a Read-a-Thon at Bancroft! His goal is to read for 30 minutes each day for the next two weeks, for a total of 420 minutes.  He is getting sponsors to support his reading and has already raised $200!  We will be keeping track of the books he has read each day, and reporting on his favorite books at the end of the Read-a-Thon.

Books Read So Far:

Day 1 (Saturday February 2):

1. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2. Bunny Paint

3. Sleepy Kitty

4. Berenstein Bears Worst Vacation Ever

5. Pig Pig Goes to Camp

Day 2 (Sunday February 3):

1. Norman the Doorman

2. Row Row Row Your Boat

3. Paper Bag Princess

4. Mr. Rogers - Making Friends