reading aloud
 

I feel so guilty that I haven't been as much of a book-pusher with the younger kids as I was with the oldest. Reading from the earliest possible age is great, I think (and I'm sure there are studies about this -- I've read of them, but damned if I'm going to go looking for them...), and it's also important for kids to see their parents reading too. (Of course, that makes them want to do it.)

I thought Ty was asking about slightly older kids, and when they can begin to sit through books that don't have pictures. Sorry, Ty, if that wasn't the question (that was the question I answered, though -- if anyone is interested in THAT particular subject...).

reading aloud
 

I realize that was the question that Ty was asking. The reason I responded the way I did, and I apolofgize if I was unclear, is that I don't recall specifically when we moved from mostly picture books to books without pictures. I do recall that both kids were reading chapter books when they were 6, so obviously, I had begun reading them to them well before that.

The Princess began to read the Little House on the Prairie wseries when she was about 6. She read books like Beverly CLeary's Ramona series when she was 5. The Monster began to read about animals when he was 5. He became an animal a week later.

reading aloud
 

You sick, sick bastard. I'm calling CPS.

Sicko.

You make me puke.

reading aloud
 

I always give the best advice on this board, yet have never had anyone respond. Are you jealous folks?

reading aloud
 

That was my question, although the broader topic is a fine one, too.

My son is enjoying Calvin & Hobbes right now, though I suspect most of it is way over his head. I'm wondering if Charlotte's Web is worth a go.

reading aloud
 

I would respond, but my reading comprehension is having trouble with your posts. Maybe if you kick it down a notch or two, say from Bukowski to Salinger or something?

reading aloud
 

He's pushing four, right? Or am I confusing you with all the others, along with me, who have kids that age (Weed, Sidd, Ollie, and I think Pony)?

We haven't started chapter books yet, though now that you mention it, it's not a bad idea. Magnus is very advanced academically, but not so much socially, so we've been working on cooperative play with others, etc. His reading hasn't improved much in the last few months, because he's gotten on a geography sidetrack. He had already mastered US states and capitals (hooray for puzzles!), and now he's rapidly mastering continents, countries and their capitals, plus the states of Mexico and provinces of Canada and their capitals.

Hmm, maybe a chapter book with lots of geography? Anyone have any ideas? Around the World in 80 Days?

tm

reading aloud
 

That's a good suggestion, but really Ty is wondering more about political blogs. Ty most of the one's you follow could be read by a 4 or 5 year old.

reading aloud
 

Native Son is an animal fanatic, loves them loves them (get your minds out of the gutter, we're talkin kids here). Thus, he couldn't handle Charlotte's Web until about 10.
I read Harry Potter books to him starting at about 5 or 6 years. But, I read the book ahead of time so I casually skipped over some parts.

This wasn't any of you , was it?
 

Police: Mom Threatens Chuck E. Cheese
Jun 29, 1:53 PM (ET)

MACON, Ga. (AP) - A teenager dressed as pizza mascot Chuck E. Cheese was pelted with pizza and threatened with a beating by an angry parent who said the mascot wasn't paying enough attention to her child, police said.

Macon police reported that the 17-year-old female employee was dressed as the character - a gray cartoon-like rodent with large front teeth - when a 31-year-old Macon woman threw a piece of pizza at her Sunday afternoon.

The report stated that the mother then threatened to "whip" the girl when she changed out of costume.

No charges were filed in the incident, so the name of the mother and employee were not released by police.

LINK

reading aloud
 

You know, after meeting you and determining that you were, in fact, a male, I assumed that my initial fear that you were fringey's sock was allayed. However, your obssession with reading pedophilic intent into absolutely everything you see has finally betrayed you. You clealy ARE fringey's sock. Which means that fringey is acutally a pudgy, rather pale, feminine-looking man.

THE TRUTH IS FINALLY REVEALED!!!!

Stay away from me and my kind, you sick little fuck. You and your crazed ramblings belong in a padded cell.

No wonder you only get laid when you have roofies on hand and you can find some poor drunken SA to prey upon.

reading aloud
 

It's good that you recognize the threat I/we pose, but I bet you are regretting spontaneously outing yourself to me/us in the past.

Given that you seem to want your kids to stay happy and healthy, perhaps you should stop throwing random insults at people who know who you are and more or less where you live.

And keep a close eye on those kiddies.

reading aloud
 

Please -- otnay inway ontfray ofway ethay ildrenchay!

reading aloud
 

I recall reading that book once (and only once) to my elder son. I admit, I felt some of the uneasiness that site is referring to. (But without the humor, as I am humorless.)

reading aloud
 

Of course you realize you will have to have "the talk" (no you pervs, not THAT talk) about death -- but I suppose it's not a bad way to introduce it. I remember my teacher reading it to my class in first grade (public school), where most the kids are six. So, as we all have academically gifted children, and needn't trouble ourselves with the LCD problem, at least two years prior, wouldn't you say?

Along with Magic Treehouse, another pretty good series for easing into chapter books is the Magic Schoolbus. If your child is interested in a particular subject, they probably have a MS book about it.

I should point out here that I had to cut off reading Magic Treehouse, because they are actually pretty lame stories (for me, that is -- he rather liked "Night of the Ninjas" -- basically anything that involves hand-to-hand combat, he's up for).

But Junie B. Jones is really funny for parent and child.

Baby Spears?
 

I heard a rumor that Britney Spears is engaged to Kevin Federline and may be pregnant. Is this true? Did we already discuss this but I am too lazy to scroll then post?

That dude is NOT hot. Britney is not looking all that great these days either.

Baby Spears?
 

The rumour was mentioned on the fashion board.

Baby Spears?
 

How did I get on the Mom & Dad board? Very strange. No wonder nothing was appealing to me today.

Baby Spears?
 

When did you go Canadian (or brit)?

Baby Spears?
 

Classic symptom of morning sickness. Mazel tov!

Baby Spears?
 

when I read the rumour was posted in the Sun or some other limey tabloid.

reading aloud
 

I'd recommend poetry as some good early non-picture book reading. Dylan Thomas' Xmas in Wales, TS' cats, a little Lewis Carroll or some Kipling.

Dude, You are Married, OK?
 

I am encountering a strange phenomenom (sp?). Sometimes I meet men in the park, grocery store, etc., and we both have our respective kiddies and we chat. Now mind you I'm not on the lookout for Vietdad or anything, but if the guy's cute I admit to checking out the ole ring finger. Some interesting things that are occurring:

1. First, so many married men don't wear their ring. Don't tell me all the bonafide reasons you don't wear it. It's annoying and that's that.

2. For men that DO wear the ring: At first I thought, with some men, "Gee, isn't it strange that it's 1/2 hour into the conversation and I still can't get a view of that ring finger." Now however, I realize it's intentional. Mind you, the guy is NOT hitting on me (I have yet to have a married man hit on me while out with Vietbabe). We're talking diapers, daycare, very basic things, and the man is acting very very proper and not being flirtatious at all. But he's still hiding the ring.

3. Same as above - he is married but either isn't wearing a ring or is wearing it and is hiding it -- but additionally, he is conversing in such a way that I have no way to tell if he's married. At first I thought it was just an unintentional thing, kind of like "Pat" from Saturday Night Live saying/doing gender neutral things so you can't figure out her gender. But THEN I realized these guys are using awkward terminology in trying to have a big conversation without disclosing their marital status. This peculiar phrasing goes beyond the classic resort to using the word, "they" when the man has to refer to "the other person" but doesn't want to say "she." They also say stuff like "I read him to get to sleep" or "I use such and such daycare center" and in many cases if the guy has a wife, it would be much more normal to say "We".

So....given that these men are not hitting on me, they for some reason don't want me to know they are married unless it ultimately has to come out in the conversation. The only thing I can think of is that they know I'm single (it comes up with the obvious adoption a lot when they ask me about the process, which is different for singles) and they don't want to rub it in my face that they are not single (or they are showing some camaderie of a sort). Or maybe instead....although these men are not hitting on me at all and seem like dedicated husbands and fathers, a teensy part of every man has a hard time giving up the allusion that they are single.

Viet Mom
(Men should have to wear that marital-status-conveying-dot between their eyes that women in South Asia wear. Apologies to DTB for the hyphens).

"Or maybe instead....although these men are not hitting on me at all and seem like dedicated husbands and fathers, a teensy part of every man has a hard time giving up the allusion that they are single."

Assuming they are happily married, I'm guessing they think it is kinda fun to see if they still have "it" while not actually doing anything horribly offensive. Entertainment more than anything else - and a little ego boost to boot. Either that or it is a giant conspiracy against you.

-TL

Man, TL, motherhood has made you way too nice.

Miss Manners (the real one, not BRC) has written about the lost art of flirting. Once upon a time, in polite society you could safely flatter and hint at (or even feign) attraction despite being married. Nowadays, any married man who doesn't respond to the presence of a pretty girl as if he is p-whipped is seen as a lech and a cad.

Flirting is a valuable way to remind oneself and others that you, and they, are attractive. I feel free to flirt because Mrs. Grinch knows exactly where I keep my nutsack, and we both know what lies in store for it if I stray. But she doesn't mind overmuch if I bat my eyelashes at some PYT.

The guys who are hiding their rings, I don't understand. Chicks dig guys who can commit.

I agree with TexLex's theory. The men are justing seeing if they still have "it".

And like Atticus, I too am bewildered why men would hide the ring. Christ, I flaunt the ring. I think it enhances the illusion of the flirtation. I.e., "this chick is so into me that she doens't even care that I'm married."

Also, if the woman herself is married, maybe she would feel more comfortable flirting with a married guy (who, in theory, is not a threat to actually hit on her) than a single guy.

Bottom line: dudes who hide the ring are either losers, are looking to get a piece, or borh.

Concur. From what we're seeing in the Petersen trial, I'd run, not walk, from any married man who lied about his status.

Why? He was cute, and he offed the wife, not the mistress.

Exactly, plus when you think about pulling away from a psycho guy, don't forget what we learned from OJ, not to mention going out of your way for customer service being outdated.

Eewwww. He's not cute, he's icky.

Homophobe!

Just For Hank
 

an update
 

Started reading Charlotte's Web this weekend. Two chapters in, and it seems to be going well. Yertle The Turtle is also a hit, but that has more pictures.

L'il Ty to his mother this morning: "What are you doing with your boobies?"

Oh. My. God. For Chrissakes, the kid is not yet four years old. Where did this come from? I thought we'd have a little longer.

What WAS she doing with them?

i may have posted this one before but, walking throught a huge Christmas store (Bronner's Frankenmuth Mi) when daughter was like 3, we're all relaxed, the peaceful XMAS music pulling us to think of December displays only 5 more months. Daughter is running ahead a little, when coming at us is a pretty big woman, not gilbert grape huge but big. Daughter stops looks at her and says to us "She has funny nursies" we all freeze and wait- Daughter reloads and POW "she's fat!" She was on the she's fat thing for a few months.

An dat, chillun, wuz how Sistah Fringey come to hate 'cha like a cat hate a firecracker en 'is cornhole. Lawd, lawd.

The cat, unlike all other mammals, is singularly repulsed by a firecracker in the rectum. Imagine this being said in a voice not unlike the guy from Animal Kingdom's...


[What was that movie called -- wasn't it "Morons" or something? -- where a guy actually put a firecracker in his butt?]