book report

I was as passionate about books when I was a kid as Katie is now. I love it when I recommend something I read years ago, and she falls in love with it too.

Katie's book report theme for October was "mystery". She chose Trixie Belden and The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell. The teachers have given them a variety of ways to present their information... this time, Katie chose a diorama. A classic, right? Well, the problem is, you have to have a shoebox. Ugh! I just threw a bunch out - doesn't it always happen that way. Well, in the process of brainstorming, we realized that we had this little wooden dollhouse that wasn't much bigger than a shoebox (and we decided to use some of the furniture too). The whole thing turned out quite cute, if I do say so myself.


(yes, she purposely placed the sticker on her forehead prior to the picture being taken... it was way past her bedtime the night before the project was due, so she was a bit delirious)

Here is the description she attached:
Trixie & Honey came into the Miser's Mansion to find a strange redhead boy sleeping on a dirty mattress with a shiny cup and a shotgun next to him. There was trash and debris all over the place & the upstairs was boarded up... The upstairs had an old fancy bed, rug, chair & wardrobe full of old fancy clothes. Next to the bed was an old ible with Mr. Frayne's will in it.

I really enjoy working on projects like this with the girls. I offer plenty of suggestions, but let them take the lead. I've noticed there are 3 basics groups of families... those who just do the work for the child; those that work with the child; and those (unfortunately) that just don't care. I hope we always fall in the middle somewhere.