My Fort

I've recently figured out that I can go in my closet, shut the door, and read. It's very fort-like, and now it's one of my favorite escapes.

Mommy shot this video for Dad, but it was too big to send as an email attachment. Here it is, Dad!

Song for Daddy (but others might like it, too)

Breakfast Menu

This is what I asked for (by name) for breakfast this morning:
Chicken, Banana, Orange, Graham Cracker

This is what I got:
Banana, Orange, English muffin with jam

Indoor Fun

After a beautiful week, it rained ALL DAY on Saturday. I made my own fun (see below), but by late afternoon, Mom and I were going a little stir-crazy.

So Mommy packed me into the car and we drove to a restaurant that has an indoor playground! Mom would not let me eat at this restaurant (something about clogging arteries and childhood obesity), but I didn't care because I was having too much fun! In fact, it is questionable as to whether I ever realized that they served food at this establishment. A short video is below.

Crazy Aunt Katy Shines Again!

My Aunt Katy got "Teacher of the Year" at her school! Since she's not going to brag, I'm going to brag for her! Way to go, Aunt Katy! As our economy continues in a downward spiral, I hope that school districts will put a priority on keeping qualified, certified librarians in the school, so that when I get to school, librarians continue to add to the curriculum. I don't think many people understand how valuable a good librarian is to a school. My grandpa, who was a school principal for 18 years, used to say, "Give me a good librarian and a good custodian, and I'll turn it into a good school."

Things you may not know about your local certified elementary school librarian:

1. They must be certified librarians, meaning they need a "library media endorsement" which is equal to 45 quarter credit hours. Many have their Master's degree.

2. They must also be certified teachers. Therefore, certified teacher libarians are assisting other teachers by augmenting their curriculum with what is being taught in the library. Librarians also assist teachers in finding resources for what they are teaching in the classroom. Further, they are the critical link to teaching research skills and what are usually refered to as 21st century literacy skills, which include understanding how to find, evaluate and use materials for research using print, database, and web resources.

3. Librarians are often the school's technology expert, and are instrumental in assisting teachers with how to effectively use technology in their classrooms.

4. In districts that do not have certified librarians, the equivalent of an aide (non-librarian, non-teacher) oversees library services, which greatly reduces the amount of teaching that can occur at the library, and the support that can be given to teachers. In fact, it is not legal for a certified aide to teach students without the guidance of a certified teacher.

My future is at stake! If you are a registered voter in Washington, and feel strongly that our schools should keep certified librarians on staff, you can follow this link to sign a petition supporting school libraries and information technology. You can also go one step further and write to your representative using some of the points I listed above.
http://gopetition.com/petitions/world-class-education-for-washington.html

P.S. Aunt Katy is going to be REALLY surprised when she sees this!

We miss you, Daddy!

Tent Day

It rained today, so mommy and I set up our new tent in our living room.

Not realizing that there was more fun to come, I hung out on top of the tent.

Now this is fun! I spent a lot of time running around in circles and running from "wall" to "wall". This is so much bigger than our 2-person tent!

It's so big I could bring my tunnel inside and really have fun! (video)

We need you, Daddy!

Tonight I wanted to ride with Mommy in our sled. Mommy had to push us around on the carpet with her arms. That's hard work! We sure could have used the extra set of hands to give us a pull!

Crazy Driver On The Loose