The Challenge

It's so nice to have a child in the house who can read. Well, unless if you consider the fact that we can't spell things out in front of him anymore...

Me: "Hey Chris....do you want me to pick up some I-C-E C-R-E-A-M at the store?"

Noah: "Yeah! Get some strawberry!"

Arggggggg.

***

Anyhow. So, Noah can read, and has been reading for a couple of years now. Unfortunately, he's like his mother, and terribly picky on what will grace his shelves. Even though he reads at a 4th grade level, he insists on reading books designed for 2nd graders. And not just ANY 2nd grade book. No. He only really likes TWO kinds:

The Magic Tree House series, or the Jigsaw Jones series.

This is so frustrating to me. I love to read. I have read so many different books and kinds of books in my lifetime. It just bloats my brain to have to fight with him to get him to read books I KNOW he'll like.

Like The Hardy Boys. Or Charlotte's Web. Or The Black Stallion. I mean, AWESOME books! No, he'd rather stick with what he knows, even if it means reading the same book 3 times in one summer.

On one hand, I'm thankful that he's reading at all, and enjoys to read what he does. But this silly fetish just limits things so much. I mean, I go yardsale-ing, and I find great books for a stinkin' quarter, and all they do is sit on the shelf. Sooooooo annoying.

But I keep trying. As it is, I had to FORCE him to try the Magic Tree House books. He cried over that. Me making him read those. Now, I can't get his nose out of them! He loves them so much. Over his reading career, we've had a few of those, "I told you so" moments. Where he'd practically light up at the end of the story because he liked it after all. Through the dried tears he'd be beaming.

I try to remind him of this, but it never works. He just keeps fighting me.

The latest book ordeal is over The Secret Garden. A classic. Man, I love the classics. It's a good one. Why won't he give it a try? He's all but about to loose his composure over a GOOD BOOK!

***

So. I gave him a challenge.

Come to find out (thanks Aunt Becky!), The Secret Garden will be performed at a high school a couple of towns over. It runs this week and next week. Which means, if he started now, he would have a week to finish the book before the play.

He can do it. I know he can.

And we told him that if he gets through it before next Thursday, then we will take him to the play.

Noah loves to go out with me and Chris.

Noah loves to go to plays.

It's the perfect challenge.

We really hyped it up too. You could see his little mind just reeling from the peer pressure on this thing. He hated the idea of reading the book, but, but, the reward was soooo huge! You could see the battle raging right before your eyes. At first he said he wouldn't read it. Then I saw him pick it up. Then he put it down. Then he acted like it wasn't there. Then....

He went to bed and put on his book light.




......I really hope we go to the play.....