The Last Song- Movie Watching with the Girls

As you know, Auntie CC and I took all the girls to see, The Last Song, starring Miley Cyrus. We all loved it. Most of us cried. After the movie we had to discuss the events of the movie.

After I read, watch a movie, or even go on a vacation, I like to retell it and remember and linger upon the best parts. It's an important skill to be able to identify significant parts and be able to analyze why they are significant- both to the text and to our own lives.

I don't want to give away our favorite parts and significance that we found in the movie- trust me, our car load of girls came up with many. So I will just describe the conversation and how it went. It took some of us awhile to really decide which parts meant more to us than others and why. It is easy to say, "I like the part when.... happened." It is harder to then explore, "Why?" It is in this next step that leads us to a more interpretative understanding of books, characters, movies or even life.

As we turned the corner to the nieces' house, Little A said, "Wait! I have a fourth favorite part!" Before we emptied ourselves onto the sidewalk, we all pondered this next part of the film. Remembering our predictions and lingering on what actually happened in the movie. We all talked about this last part. Then we ran into the house and ate Easter supper!

After watching a film or reading a book, find out from the people in your Literary Family, what are their favorite parts and why?

Enjoy the reading!

Writing is the New Reading

Auntie CC and I were having a great couple of days with the nieces and god kids! Before we went out on our next excursion, we had some time to kill. While Auntie CC and Teenager A were getting ready (Oh, how aunties love Spring Break) Little A and Little K were hanging out with AB and I.

Little K drew a portrait. I asked her, "Is that Auntie CC?" It was a portrait of a girl with long hair in a cute little red dress with heels. Little K said, “No. I don’t know who it is.”

I suggested to Little K, "You could make her a character! You could write a book or better yet a comic strip!" She loved the idea, but with trepidation. How was she going to write a comic strip? She never had done one before. "Isn’t that too hard?" she said me. Many 7 year olds would love the opportunity to write their own fiction. All they need is a little structure and some quick encouragement. I showed Little K how she could fold her pages, number her boxes, and where to draw and write her tale of the Lady in Red! She took off and began to write.

Little A, 3 years younger, in pre K, also wanted to make her stories. She quickly ran over to me and showed me her story, “The Vampire Girl and the Vampire Dog”.

“Wonderful!” I noted, “Now what about the words? How will we remember that is what it is?” Little A said that she would just tell everyone! I smiled. “I think you should write the words in case someone wants to read it and you are not here! Or you could give it to Auntie CC as a gift!”

“I want to give it to Auntie CC!”

“So, let’s write her some words,” I suggested.

She looked at me and said, “But I don’t know how to write it. Can you write it?”

I told her that she could and that Auntie CC would looooove it!”

I helped LA stretch out the first word. I said the word super slow so she could hear each sound and then she recorded the letter. LA has great letter/sound knowledge but lacks the confidence to do it on her own. For her second word she looked at me to do the same. This time I had her say each sound slowly. With hesitation she said the word slowly and then looked up at me and say, "G?" I confirmed with a slight nod and smile. She continued through and when she got to the end of the word, I gave her a high five and showed her how she did both on her own! Then she went on!

She made three stories before Auntie CC and PTA came back ready for our next trip. Little A and Little K showed their auntie their "hard" yet "fun" work they did on their own!

Writing is fun! We just need to encourage and remember that making books is just as fun as reading them! Have fun writing some books together!