Workbooks?
Ellen LaFleche-Christian
My son and I had a discussion yesterday about me homeschooling him
and he seems quite excited about it. He's 8 - 9 in August and will
be in 4th grade.
He has asked me if I will get him "workbooks" for him to work in
because he likes doing them and I said sure if you want some I'll
get you some. I'll put them in with his coloring books & he can use
them when he wants to.
My question is, where do I find these? Since I'm not using a
curriculum, I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff I won't be using.
I will certainly keep my eyes open at tag sales & thrift stores &
2nd hand book stores but is there somewhere online that has non
curriculum workbooks? Or is it OK to buy say a Harry Potter
curriculum & simply make the pieces available to him when he wants
them?
What's the correct unschooling way to handle this?
Ellen LaFleche-Christian - Garden Zone 4/5
Moonlight Creations Jewelry & Gifts http://moonlight-creations-
jewelry.com
Receive a recipe every day http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARecipeADay/
and he seems quite excited about it. He's 8 - 9 in August and will
be in 4th grade.
He has asked me if I will get him "workbooks" for him to work in
because he likes doing them and I said sure if you want some I'll
get you some. I'll put them in with his coloring books & he can use
them when he wants to.
My question is, where do I find these? Since I'm not using a
curriculum, I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff I won't be using.
I will certainly keep my eyes open at tag sales & thrift stores &
2nd hand book stores but is there somewhere online that has non
curriculum workbooks? Or is it OK to buy say a Harry Potter
curriculum & simply make the pieces available to him when he wants
them?
What's the correct unschooling way to handle this?
Ellen LaFleche-Christian - Garden Zone 4/5
Moonlight Creations Jewelry & Gifts http://moonlight-creations-
jewelry.com
Receive a recipe every day http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARecipeADay/
Joanne
Hi Ellen...
You can buy workbooks anywhere. Walmart, K-Mart...all those stores
sell them. That was a good idea what you said...to put them in with
his coloring books. We have some also bt I noticed that they longer
we unschool, the less my kids need them.
~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (7), Shawna (10) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 30, 2003
http://anunschoolinglife.blogspot.com/
http://foreverparents.com
--- In [email protected], "Ellen LaFleche-Christian"
<scentednights2002@...> wrote:
You can buy workbooks anywhere. Walmart, K-Mart...all those stores
sell them. That was a good idea what you said...to put them in with
his coloring books. We have some also bt I noticed that they longer
we unschool, the less my kids need them.
~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (7), Shawna (10) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 30, 2003
http://anunschoolinglife.blogspot.com/
http://foreverparents.com
--- In [email protected], "Ellen LaFleche-Christian"
<scentednights2002@...> wrote:
>use
> My son and I had a discussion yesterday about me homeschooling him
> and he seems quite excited about it. He's 8 - 9 in August and will
> be in 4th grade.
>
> He has asked me if I will get him "workbooks" for him to work in
> because he likes doing them and I said sure if you want some I'll
> get you some. I'll put them in with his coloring books & he can
> them when he wants to.using.
>
> My question is, where do I find these? Since I'm not using a
> curriculum, I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff I won't be
> I will certainly keep my eyes open at tag sales & thrift stores &http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARecipeADay/
> 2nd hand book stores but is there somewhere online that has non
> curriculum workbooks? Or is it OK to buy say a Harry Potter
> curriculum & simply make the pieces available to him when he wants
> them?
>
> What's the correct unschooling way to handle this?
>
>
>
> Ellen LaFleche-Christian - Garden Zone 4/5
> Moonlight Creations Jewelry & Gifts http://moonlight-creations-
> jewelry.com
> Receive a recipe every day
>
Amy Bowers
We LOVE the KUMON workbooks - they are creative and fun (at least the
early ones - very crafty). Barnes and Nobles and teacher supply stores
have a good selection. I would take him with you and see what he
likes. Also, don't forget games (like word searches and suduko). Even
if you don't want to do workbooks, I would search for the best
quality, most interesting ones you can find. There is alot of crap out
there that really is a waste of time. Maybe he would like scrapbooking
his projects. That seems like a creative way to enter into
unschooling.
Amy
early ones - very crafty). Barnes and Nobles and teacher supply stores
have a good selection. I would take him with you and see what he
likes. Also, don't forget games (like word searches and suduko). Even
if you don't want to do workbooks, I would search for the best
quality, most interesting ones you can find. There is alot of crap out
there that really is a waste of time. Maybe he would like scrapbooking
his projects. That seems like a creative way to enter into
unschooling.
Amy
On 4/13/06, Joanne <billyandjoanne@...> wrote:
> Hi Ellen...
>
> You can buy workbooks anywhere. Walmart, K-Mart...all those stores
> sell them. That was a good idea what you said...to put them in with
> his coloring books. We have some also bt I noticed that they longer
> we unschool, the less my kids need them.
>
> ~ Joanne ~
> Mom to Jacqueline (7), Shawna (10) & Cimion (13)
> Adopted into our hearts October 30, 2003
> http://anunschoolinglife.blogspot.com/
> http://foreverparents.com
>
>
>
>
> --- In [email protected], "Ellen LaFleche-Christian"
> <scentednights2002@...> wrote:
> >
> > My son and I had a discussion yesterday about me homeschooling him
> > and he seems quite excited about it. He's 8 - 9 in August and will
> > be in 4th grade.
> >
> > He has asked me if I will get him "workbooks" for him to work in
> > because he likes doing them and I said sure if you want some I'll
> > get you some. I'll put them in with his coloring books & he can
> use
> > them when he wants to.
> >
> > My question is, where do I find these? Since I'm not using a
> > curriculum, I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff I won't be
> using.
> > I will certainly keep my eyes open at tag sales & thrift stores &
> > 2nd hand book stores but is there somewhere online that has non
> > curriculum workbooks? Or is it OK to buy say a Harry Potter
> > curriculum & simply make the pieces available to him when he wants
> > them?
> >
> > What's the correct unschooling way to handle this?
> >
> >
> >
> > Ellen LaFleche-Christian - Garden Zone 4/5
> > Moonlight Creations Jewelry & Gifts http://moonlight-creations-
> > jewelry.com
> > Receive a recipe every day
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARecipeADay/
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Deb Lewis
***What's the correct unschooling way to handle this?***
Couple of thoughts. If you are busy and having fun and going places and
playing he might not really want workbooks. His request for workbooks
might be him choosing the lesser of two evils regarding schooling;
Curriculum vs. workbook. He might not have a picture in his head yet
of what life without school can look like. Workbooks might be as close
as he can come, in his mind, to "no school."
I'd wait on the workbooks. I'd get a new video game first, or go ten
different places this week or go camping. I'd fill the next month with
adventure and fun. I'd let the workbook stuff simmer. It might
evaporate altogether. <g>
If not, Barnes and Nobel have a table with crossword puzzle books and
sudoku, and sometimes the magazine racks at grocery stores have word
finder or jumbles or the like. Dover sells cool and inexpensive stained
glass coloring books or famous paintings coloring books, etc.
Deb Lewis
Couple of thoughts. If you are busy and having fun and going places and
playing he might not really want workbooks. His request for workbooks
might be him choosing the lesser of two evils regarding schooling;
Curriculum vs. workbook. He might not have a picture in his head yet
of what life without school can look like. Workbooks might be as close
as he can come, in his mind, to "no school."
I'd wait on the workbooks. I'd get a new video game first, or go ten
different places this week or go camping. I'd fill the next month with
adventure and fun. I'd let the workbook stuff simmer. It might
evaporate altogether. <g>
If not, Barnes and Nobel have a table with crossword puzzle books and
sudoku, and sometimes the magazine racks at grocery stores have word
finder or jumbles or the like. Dover sells cool and inexpensive stained
glass coloring books or famous paintings coloring books, etc.
Deb Lewis
Sylvia Toyama
My question is, where do I find these? Since I'm not using a
curriculum, I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff I won't be using. I will certainly keep my eyes open at tag sales & thrift stores & 2nd hand book stores but is there somewhere online that has non curriculum workbooks? Or is it OK to buy say a Harry Potter curriculum & simply make the pieces available to him when he wants them?
******
I wouldn't bother to spend money on a whole curriculum, especially if you don't expect to use it. Workbooks can be bought at Walmart, Target, teachers' stores, second-hand bookstores -- heck, my local grocery store usually has a few. They seem to be everywhere. I've noticed that most every store that sells school supplies will put out some 'summer study' sort of workbooks designed for school kids so they don't forget what they learned in school. Some poor kids never get a break!
We usually have one or two around, because my mil or an auntie will send one for Andy. I suppose now that Dan is school-age, he'll probably get a few, too. The boys like the early ones because they're filled with hidden picture or 'what's wrong in this picture' kind of games. As the grade-level increases, tho, the books seem to be more about math and grammar, and my kids toss them aside almost immediately.
Sylvia
Mom to
Will, 21 and out on his own
Andy, almost 10 and Dan, 5
Let the beauty you love be what you do -- Rumi
---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
curriculum, I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff I won't be using. I will certainly keep my eyes open at tag sales & thrift stores & 2nd hand book stores but is there somewhere online that has non curriculum workbooks? Or is it OK to buy say a Harry Potter curriculum & simply make the pieces available to him when he wants them?
******
I wouldn't bother to spend money on a whole curriculum, especially if you don't expect to use it. Workbooks can be bought at Walmart, Target, teachers' stores, second-hand bookstores -- heck, my local grocery store usually has a few. They seem to be everywhere. I've noticed that most every store that sells school supplies will put out some 'summer study' sort of workbooks designed for school kids so they don't forget what they learned in school. Some poor kids never get a break!
We usually have one or two around, because my mil or an auntie will send one for Andy. I suppose now that Dan is school-age, he'll probably get a few, too. The boys like the early ones because they're filled with hidden picture or 'what's wrong in this picture' kind of games. As the grade-level increases, tho, the books seem to be more about math and grammar, and my kids toss them aside almost immediately.
Sylvia
Mom to
Will, 21 and out on his own
Andy, almost 10 and Dan, 5
Let the beauty you love be what you do -- Rumi
---------------------------------
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Sylvia Toyama
All this talk about workbooks reminds me of a question I've had about my own kids from time to time. Coloring books. My kids have zero desire for them. They love hidden pictures, what's wrong with the picture, and which two are the same kind of books and puzzles, but will skip over the coloring pages every time.
They don't often use crayons at all, tho we have a big box of them. Most of their artwork is free-form, in pen or pencil and uncolored. I remember loving coloring books as a kid -- I still love them, but as I think about this more I realize that I don't remember doing as much free-form art as they do.
Is this difference an unschooling thing? Or are my kids the only ones who simply don't do art designed by others? If it is an unschooling thing, then for me it's another reason to unschool my kids -- to preserve their own sense of creativity and art, and not let them have it determined by others.
Looking at myself, I know my perceived lack of creativity in most things is because of school. I was the smart one, and not the artistic one -- art was for my brother, who was flighty and moody and all things creative. I quickly began to think of myself as not creative. Now, 40 years later I'm still trying to find my own creative spark.
Sylvia
Mom to
Will, 21 and out on his own
Andy, almost 10 and Dan, 5
Let the beauty you love be what you do -- Rumi
---------------------------------
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They don't often use crayons at all, tho we have a big box of them. Most of their artwork is free-form, in pen or pencil and uncolored. I remember loving coloring books as a kid -- I still love them, but as I think about this more I realize that I don't remember doing as much free-form art as they do.
Is this difference an unschooling thing? Or are my kids the only ones who simply don't do art designed by others? If it is an unschooling thing, then for me it's another reason to unschool my kids -- to preserve their own sense of creativity and art, and not let them have it determined by others.
Looking at myself, I know my perceived lack of creativity in most things is because of school. I was the smart one, and not the artistic one -- art was for my brother, who was flighty and moody and all things creative. I quickly began to think of myself as not creative. Now, 40 years later I'm still trying to find my own creative spark.
Sylvia
Mom to
Will, 21 and out on his own
Andy, almost 10 and Dan, 5
Let the beauty you love be what you do -- Rumi
---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Deb
My DS preferred/prefers using pens and fine markers from the get go to
do line drawings-coloring pages tended to be glossed over with one or
maybe two colors scrawled around. He uses more colors now because I
get to be one team and he's another team (so we have different colors)
and the explosions and battles are usually red (for blowing up stuff)
and sometimes yellow too. Still mostly line drawings but more colors
(thank heaven for big Sam's Club packs of colored pens!) Crayons get
used sometimes but not a whole lot and rarely for coloring in someone
else's picture. One thing we like crayons for is when we cover the
kitchen table with brown paper sheets (rolls of it are cheap) and then
keep crayons, pens, markers, pencils on hand in a big bowl or bucket
to draw and write at will.
Even in Bible class, DS rarely colored the coloring pages - just not
interested in them I guess. And that's okay with me.
--Deb
do line drawings-coloring pages tended to be glossed over with one or
maybe two colors scrawled around. He uses more colors now because I
get to be one team and he's another team (so we have different colors)
and the explosions and battles are usually red (for blowing up stuff)
and sometimes yellow too. Still mostly line drawings but more colors
(thank heaven for big Sam's Club packs of colored pens!) Crayons get
used sometimes but not a whole lot and rarely for coloring in someone
else's picture. One thing we like crayons for is when we cover the
kitchen table with brown paper sheets (rolls of it are cheap) and then
keep crayons, pens, markers, pencils on hand in a big bowl or bucket
to draw and write at will.
Even in Bible class, DS rarely colored the coloring pages - just not
interested in them I guess. And that's okay with me.
--Deb
Joyce Fetteroll
On Apr 13, 2006, at 11:32 AM, Sylvia Toyama wrote:
making her own drawings. I think it has always been part of story
telling to her.
But I think coloring books are a different form of art than freeform
drawing and they're going to appeal to different artistic talents.
They're more like graphic art, playing with color without having to
concern yourself also with something that looks like you want it to.
There might be a technological reason too. There are just so many
things available that are more fascinating to kids. Even in the world
of art, It's lots easier to play around with color using a paint
bucket in an art program -- not to mention you can change things
instantly if you don't like them -- than to color things by hand! ;-)
Joyce
Answers to common unschooling questions:
http://home.earthlink.net/~fetteroll/rejoycing/
Blog of writing prompts for speculative fiction writers:
http://dragonwritingprompts.blogsome.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> Or are my kids the only ones who simply don't do art designed byMy daughter did some coloring books but she has generally preferred
> others? If it is an unschooling thing, then for me it's another
> reason to unschool my kids -- to preserve their own sense of
> creativity and art, and not let them have it determined by others
making her own drawings. I think it has always been part of story
telling to her.
But I think coloring books are a different form of art than freeform
drawing and they're going to appeal to different artistic talents.
They're more like graphic art, playing with color without having to
concern yourself also with something that looks like you want it to.
There might be a technological reason too. There are just so many
things available that are more fascinating to kids. Even in the world
of art, It's lots easier to play around with color using a paint
bucket in an art program -- not to mention you can change things
instantly if you don't like them -- than to color things by hand! ;-)
Joyce
Answers to common unschooling questions:
http://home.earthlink.net/~fetteroll/rejoycing/
Blog of writing prompts for speculative fiction writers:
http://dragonwritingprompts.blogsome.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
trektheory
--- In [email protected], Sylvia Toyama <sylgt04@...>
wrote:
zero desire for them. They love hidden pictures, what's wrong with
the picture, and which two are the same kind of books and puzzles,
but will skip over the coloring pages every time.
Bad Mom Admission coming up:
My son didn't color in them when he was little. Anytime I would
suggest it, he would say, "You can color if you want." What he would
do is ask me to read them. (They are books, ya know....) Do you
have any idea how BORING the average little-kid coloring book is? I
used to hide them, because I couldn't stand reading them, then feel
guilty, put them back on the shelf, thinking maybe he would like
coloring now, then hide them again.... It's not that I minded
reading to my son (I still do for some things, and he is 14!), it was
the mind-numbing content. I can handle Dr. Suess, I can handle a
lot, but....
That said, when he went to K, he became PASSIONATE about coloring,
carefully chosing what he felt was the exact right color. I pulled
out my old box of 64 (I'm a pack rat, and it was from the days that
that WAS the Big Box!), and he happily sorted through the colors,
walked around commenting things like, "That car is a nice cerulan."
(I admit, I don't have a normal child!) People who knew him got him
crayons for his birthday (those who didn't, got him cars....)
I think it is less an unschooly thing than a personal difference.
Why should ALL kids enjoy exactly the same things, and exactly at the
same time?
uncolored.
When my son was little, his usual medium was sidewalk chalk on the
driveway. He made BIG pictures, usually his version of a vacuum
cleaner (a big circle with a stick at either end -- it was a bag, a
nozzle and a plug in his mind) or a carpet sweeper (a big circle with
lots of little lines off it).
He did some drawing on paper at some point, but not a lot.
The really really ironic thing is -- it turns out, he has quite an
eye for shading. Last summer, he decided he was going to make a
comic strip out of legos taking pictures with his digital camera
because, "I can't draw; I'm no good at it." Exact quote. A month or
so later, he was taking a class, once a week (with a homeschool
educational support thingy) called the creatives. The first class
was actually not much, but he ended up with a sketch pad, and started
sketching. I was SHOCKED. He drew very well, with great perspective
and shading. Makes me wonder what other things he may be hiding in
that noggin of his!
artistic one -- art was for my brother, who was flighty and moody and
all things creative. I quickly began to think of myself as not
creative. Now, 40 years later I'm still trying to find my own
creative spark.
I hear you! I am the same way -- I was a total klutz, had lousy fine-
motor coordination. I think I'm a REALLY late bloomer. As an adult,
I have done some fun and (if I say so myself) not too bad things with
polymer clay (my son and I were really immersed it that for a while),
and lately I've been trying to teach myself one-stroke painting. I'm
having so much fun experimenting!
Man, imagine what we will be like when we are 80! ;-)
Linda
wrote:
>about my own kids from time to time. Coloring books. My kids have
> All this talk about workbooks reminds me of a question I've had
zero desire for them. They love hidden pictures, what's wrong with
the picture, and which two are the same kind of books and puzzles,
but will skip over the coloring pages every time.
Bad Mom Admission coming up:
My son didn't color in them when he was little. Anytime I would
suggest it, he would say, "You can color if you want." What he would
do is ask me to read them. (They are books, ya know....) Do you
have any idea how BORING the average little-kid coloring book is? I
used to hide them, because I couldn't stand reading them, then feel
guilty, put them back on the shelf, thinking maybe he would like
coloring now, then hide them again.... It's not that I minded
reading to my son (I still do for some things, and he is 14!), it was
the mind-numbing content. I can handle Dr. Suess, I can handle a
lot, but....
That said, when he went to K, he became PASSIONATE about coloring,
carefully chosing what he felt was the exact right color. I pulled
out my old box of 64 (I'm a pack rat, and it was from the days that
that WAS the Big Box!), and he happily sorted through the colors,
walked around commenting things like, "That car is a nice cerulan."
(I admit, I don't have a normal child!) People who knew him got him
crayons for his birthday (those who didn't, got him cars....)
I think it is less an unschooly thing than a personal difference.
Why should ALL kids enjoy exactly the same things, and exactly at the
same time?
>them. Most of their artwork is free-form, in pen or pencil and
> They don't often use crayons at all, tho we have a big box of
uncolored.
When my son was little, his usual medium was sidewalk chalk on the
driveway. He made BIG pictures, usually his version of a vacuum
cleaner (a big circle with a stick at either end -- it was a bag, a
nozzle and a plug in his mind) or a carpet sweeper (a big circle with
lots of little lines off it).
He did some drawing on paper at some point, but not a lot.
The really really ironic thing is -- it turns out, he has quite an
eye for shading. Last summer, he decided he was going to make a
comic strip out of legos taking pictures with his digital camera
because, "I can't draw; I'm no good at it." Exact quote. A month or
so later, he was taking a class, once a week (with a homeschool
educational support thingy) called the creatives. The first class
was actually not much, but he ended up with a sketch pad, and started
sketching. I was SHOCKED. He drew very well, with great perspective
and shading. Makes me wonder what other things he may be hiding in
that noggin of his!
>things is because of school. I was the smart one, and not the
> Looking at myself, I know my perceived lack of creativity in most
artistic one -- art was for my brother, who was flighty and moody and
all things creative. I quickly began to think of myself as not
creative. Now, 40 years later I'm still trying to find my own
creative spark.
I hear you! I am the same way -- I was a total klutz, had lousy fine-
motor coordination. I think I'm a REALLY late bloomer. As an adult,
I have done some fun and (if I say so myself) not too bad things with
polymer clay (my son and I were really immersed it that for a while),
and lately I've been trying to teach myself one-stroke painting. I'm
having so much fun experimenting!
Man, imagine what we will be like when we are 80! ;-)
Linda
Michelle Thedaker
This bit made me chuckle. :-) My older son is mostly interested in
non-fiction reading. When he was about 4 years old he was very interested
in the user manuals for video games. I read how to play Super Mario
Sunshine a million times. He has the official guide from Nintendo in a
3-ring binder with sheet protectors - that was the bedtime story for about a
year. I did it, but there were nights when I would ask if we could please
read a Disney story or *anything* else, lol!
Now that I have another kiddo, I get both types of reading during the day,
so I'm somewhat balanced out. :-)
Shell & Da Boys
Drew, 6.5 and Josh, 2.5
Life is like riding a bicycle. You don't fall off unless you stop pedaling.
http://thedaker.blogspot.com/
_____
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of trektheory
Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 10:42 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Workbooks?
It's not that I minded
reading to my son (I still do for some things, and he is 14!), it was
the mind-numbing content. I can handle Dr. Suess, I can handle a
lot, but....
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
non-fiction reading. When he was about 4 years old he was very interested
in the user manuals for video games. I read how to play Super Mario
Sunshine a million times. He has the official guide from Nintendo in a
3-ring binder with sheet protectors - that was the bedtime story for about a
year. I did it, but there were nights when I would ask if we could please
read a Disney story or *anything* else, lol!
Now that I have another kiddo, I get both types of reading during the day,
so I'm somewhat balanced out. :-)
Shell & Da Boys
Drew, 6.5 and Josh, 2.5
Life is like riding a bicycle. You don't fall off unless you stop pedaling.
http://thedaker.blogspot.com/
_____
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of trektheory
Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 10:42 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Workbooks?
It's not that I minded
reading to my son (I still do for some things, and he is 14!), it was
the mind-numbing content. I can handle Dr. Suess, I can handle a
lot, but....
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Su Penn
On Apr 13, 2006, at 2:14 PM, Michelle Thedaker wrote:
read him our Cooks Illustrated magazines! I would keep saying, "Are
you sure this is what you want? I'd be glad to read something else,"
and he'd say, "No, read the rest of this article." So I'd sit there
reading, "The winning brand of canned whole tomatoes from our 2005
tasting was Progresso," or "With the tomato flavor under control, it
was time to develop more depth of flavor. Onions added a pleasant
sweetness..."
Sometimes he really wants to read a certain thing, and it's not clear
to me what he's getting out of it. So I remind myself that I don't
have to know. My job is just to read it to him.
Su, mom of Eric, almost 5 now, and Carl, 2.
> This bit made me chuckle. :-) My older son is mostly interested inOur son Eric went through a phase when he was four of wanting us to
> non-fiction reading. When he was about 4 years old he was very
> interested
> in the user manuals for video games. I read how to play Super Mario
> Sunshine a million times.
read him our Cooks Illustrated magazines! I would keep saying, "Are
you sure this is what you want? I'd be glad to read something else,"
and he'd say, "No, read the rest of this article." So I'd sit there
reading, "The winning brand of canned whole tomatoes from our 2005
tasting was Progresso," or "With the tomato flavor under control, it
was time to develop more depth of flavor. Onions added a pleasant
sweetness..."
Sometimes he really wants to read a certain thing, and it's not clear
to me what he's getting out of it. So I remind myself that I don't
have to know. My job is just to read it to him.
Su, mom of Eric, almost 5 now, and Carl, 2.