part evil genius, part deer in headlights

(Evil genius part first) Ha HA! My nefarious scheme has worked. Okay, that's a lie. It should actually read "The universe aligned to make my nefarious scheme work." The former implies an intentionality that didn't really exist. If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.

You see, it's like this: I have always loved children's middle readers. (You know, the 5x8 paperbacks 100-300 pg except for Harry Potter books that are aimed at 4-9 graders.) I should really say that I LUST for them since I'm not content to just read them; I simply must HAVE them. Hope that's not too icky of a juxtaposition, but, there it is. :tongue: The kids' section is usually the first place I visit in a bookstore, and I regularly get my fix at our wonderful, just-up-the-street, INDEPENDENTLY OWNED, children's book store, [Cover To Cover](http://www.covertocoverchildrensbooks.com). I am such a junkie that I have a waist-high book case (but NEED a 5 shelf one) to hold all my paraphanalia. Alright, I guess that I've milked the addict analogy enough. :evil:

And I didn't start buying these when I had kids either. My first purchase was the Little House boxed set when I was in grade school. Perfectly understandable, I know. Then there was Little Women and all the Alcott books. Jenney and Katherine even abetted me by getting the Wrinkle In Time Trilogy for my 18th birthday. (It was still a trilogy that long ago.) :shocked: I took the books to college, and they moved with me everyplace I went, in stolen milk crates that I can't even remember stealing now, much less worrying about the statute of limitations on petty theft. And I just kept adding to the collection when I had some spare $$, and sometimes even when I hadn't. Coming from a small town whose library was not that of our great [Columbus Metropolitan Library](http://www.columbuslibrary.org/), I found books whose titles had tempted me, but weren't available. (It took me awhile after college to get hooked into the library here.) So, when I saw them again, I HAD to buy them.

Of course, it wasn't just about the having. I'd read and re-read them. It was a great way to pass an afternoon, deal with PMS or the aftermath of a bad day. And they were a sanity saver after the girl was born and I was spending so much time breastfeeding. (She was one of those live-to-nurse gourmand babies and it took 8 weeks for her to give me a 4 hour block of sleep.) Reading the Narnia Chronicles (which was all I could process whilst so sleep-deprived, and hadn't already read as a child) to her aloud helped me feel I was doing something constructive during those hours of nursing. Yes, it took me a while to deprogram our society's bias against nursing; now I roll my eyes at the former me and say "As if breastfeeding wasn't productive enough!"

And I have been reading these 'chapter books' (the kids' appellation) to them ever since. The boy would even stay still in utero while I read to the girl, and that continued once he was born. (One of the few times that he would, and will, be still and quiet.)

Interrupting your featured programming to bring you the latest overheard comment from the girl. "Turn off the lights and watch zombie ballet!" This issues from the mouth of a child, wearing only pants, who has covered herself, her brother and her 2 yr old cousin in grey facepaint crayons with blotches of bloody red spots. Interesting things happen when I ban them from the toy room. Okay, back to your regularly scheduled blog.

So what's the big deal, besides a 6 yr old who listens to middle readers and an almost 9 yr. old who is reading at least 3 yrs beyond her grade level? Hey, I get to crow since we homeschool. Two things: 1) she has chosen a theme of "Come As Your Favorite Storybook Character" for next week's birthday party and 2) (the one that really gets me) She's now voluntarily reading 'my' books!!!! She started with [Snow Treasure](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780590425377&itm=1) which my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Stern (and she was) read to the class. And now she's reading [The Great Brain](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780142400586&itm=1) which I picked up after my sister chose it from a Scholastic Book buy at school.

So, my nefarious scheme did work, albeit un- or semi-consciously planned.

*******

Now onto the deer in headlights part. That was how I felt this afternoon while helping the boy with his 1st grade math. The worksheet was introducing the concepts of 'greater', 'greatest', 'smaller' and 'smallest'. and had two numbers printed, with instructions to circle the smaller number. As he was, easily, completing this task, he was also breezily verbalizing the amount needed to subtract from the larger number to get the smaller. ("6 take away 4 = 2", when only 6 and 2 appeared on the page.) Even though we have already introduced addition and subtraction within 10 in the last week, I was taken aback by how effortlessly he was doing it, as if he had known it forever. I started to wonder if we needed to get him into a gifted program, if we should have his IQ tested, if I would be capable enough to help him, whether he was a 'Numbers'-type genius etc. (Can you feel me hyperventilating?) :lol: I was able to talk myself down by realizing that he could go through the math curriculum that we have as fast as he wanted to since the girl is 2 'grades' ahead of him. And Mama Dee did some more soothing with the succinct reminder that it wasn't like he was going to get behind in some genius competition for goodness sake; if he truly were a genius, he could learn just as fast at a later time as well, which definitely took away the frantic feeling for me. (Thank goodness for your common sense, dear)

And now I have to go, because the boy is in the bathroom saying "I am Lt. Geordi Laforge" while the girl is shrieking, "Take off my hair band!!!" with the 2 yr old grand-niece (she's a loaner for the night) is seconding her. Never a dull moment around here.