Maine Minutiae:Toby Went to School Yesterday (UPDATE)

In this post from yesterday, I told you about how I was the guest reader in my 8 year old daughter's second grade class. I read Merry Christmas, Curious George to the students. I knew a few of the kids because they live in our neighborhood. So, I wasn't too much of a fish out of water.

The children seemed to enjoy my rendition of the book because I changed my voice to match the characters in the book. It seems the kids love a little ham  :)  I kept them in rapt attention.

Upon finishing the book, I opened up the floor for questions from the class. The first question came from Jade. "Will you come back again?" After exchanging a "what do I say here" look with the teacher who nodded her approval, I said that I'd love to come back anytime it was OK with the teacher. The kids seemed to like that answer. I'm thinking to myself at this point, "I got 'em eatin' outta my hand". As it is wont to do, with the next question, reality slapped me up side the head with a clue by four. A cute little girl asked me, "Issy said you brought gingerbread, did you?" A vicious blow to my ego. They just loved me for the gingerbread I brought along for a treat. Ah, what the heck. It's a small price to pay to see all those wide-eyed kids hanging on my every word as I read to them.

I'd like to thank Ms. Smith and her students for having as a guest reader yesterday. It was privilege and an honor to be a part of your class for a few minutes. next time I get the chance to read to you all again, I'll try to make it closer to recess time, so us kids can go out and play kickball together. :)

Maine Minutiae: Toby Goes to School (Again)

Monkey Business in Second Grade

I am going to do something today that if you'd have told me I was going to do it a few years ago, I would have told you that you were nuts. I would have been wrong and you would not be nuts. This is momentous occasion, not only in my life, but in the life of my 8 year old daughter, Isabella. Dear Old Dad (that would be me), is going to Grant Avenue Elementary School this afternoon to read to Isabella's second grade class. For such a special event, Issy her own self, after much study and thought, has chosen for me to read Merry Christmas, Curious George. I was thinking more along the lines of a couple of articles from Bassmasters Magazine, but Issy failed to see the educational value of tying Palomar knots or working a spinner bait parallel to a weed bed. At any rate, Curious George beat out the Bassmasters. I've got to have a long talk with that kid about priorities. Sheesh.

So at 12:45pm EST, I will stand in front of Ms. Smith's second grade class and extol the virtues of Curious George and Christmas for a little while, I'll be coolest Dad in the whole dang second grade. It may not be my rendition of Merry Christmas, Curious George that wins the day with the class, but the chocolate fudge brownies I'm taking with me should earn me a couple of "cool Dad" points.

I have done this sort of thing before, many years ago when I was a radio DJ kinda guy, but oddly enough, I've never done it for one of my own kids' classes. I'm sure it'll be a load of fun.

Now, I've just got to figure out how to incorporate spinner baits and palomar knots into a story about Curious George and Christmas.

***Some names were changed to ensure privacy and safety***