Coming This Week...

It's Arthur Week around here! We are doing our first author study on Marc Brown this week. (We aren't calling it that--you try explaining an AUTHOR study on ARTHUR to a 2nd grader!) Sweetheart loves Arthur and always tries to catch it on PBS in the afternoons. It seems like we've read all the books, but I just read tonight that there are over 100 of them, not including the new chapter books, so I guess we have a few to go.

Arthur has been a favorite around here for several years. When Sweetheart was in 1st grade at public school they sent a note home about "character dress up day." Boy was I excited!! Here was the school that never did anything fun. We knew what Sweetheart would be immediately. My mom actually sewed the jumper for her with one week's notice. She's such a gem! So here was my own little D.W. on that day. (And on a side note: only 2 or 3 kids in her class dressed up and no one said a word about the costumes all day. Yeah, it was a blast.)

There is one sour note in our Arthur plans this week. Little Bit (3 years old) was traumatized by meeting Arthur at our local bookstore for storytime last year. Sweetheart has always enjoyed going to character storytimes. But then she has never been afraid of costumes. When she was 2 or 3, the babysitter dressed her up for me to pick up after work and rush over to the bank to get her picture made with the Easter Bunny. She knew where we were going. She marched into that bank with her little purse on her arm and said, "Where the Hop?" She looked around. Then, "Oh! There the Hop!" and proceeded to priss right over and climb up in his or her lap for a visit. So, character in costume are Sweetheart's friends.

But not so with the younger one. When I saw Arthur was coming to the bookstore we made plans to go. Little Bit even seemed excited. After all, Sissy watched Arthur every day on TV, so Little Bit knew all about him. I kind of forgot she's not a fan of the costumes. She had her back turned when Arthur came out and when she turned and saw him she ran to us, crying. Folks, he WAS big. His head was huge! Daddy rescued Little Bit and they left to go to another section of the store.

I thought that was it, but boy was I wrong. "Big Arthur" will probably never leave our conversations. We discuss how they took off the costume and probably put it in a box. Every time someone mentions Arthur she makes us clarify..."Little Arthur." Sweetheart gets in trouble for whispering "Big Arthur" when she wants her sister to leave her alone. And? The funniest was the day we used our little stuffed Arthur doll to terrorize the baby in her doll house. (Watch out baby! Big Arthur is coming!!!!) I thought Little Bit would fall down laughing. I had taken pictures of the costume from the bookstore and oh how I wish I could download them--but true to my word I deleted them after the unfortunate foxhole episode.

Little Bit was standing by me at the computer one day while I searched through pictures for something. "Big Arthur" suddenly popped up on the screen and I am not exaggerating when I tell you that she DOVE under the computer chair HEAD FIRST. Exactly as a soldier would dive into a foxhole. I promised deletion after I finally calmed her down and that is what I did. So, I have no pictures to show you.

I will be very careful this week to only study about "Little Arthur." AND--we will have fun!