xmlns:og='http://ogp.me/ns#' Yeah. Good Times.: I REALLY need to monitor this child's library usage better

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I REALLY need to monitor this child's library usage better

My kids both go to the same elementary school, which has a wonderful library with a wonderful librarian whom I adore. (On Child 1's first day of Kindergarten, I hid out in the library for hours after his day started so that I could spy on him, because the library is right next to the Kindergarten yard. She let me hang out as long as I wanted so we got to be friends. She's great; a total nutjob, though. You can see why we get along so well).

Child 1 has never been much of a library book checker-outer. In fact, he usually checks out a book and then it stays in the classroom. I'm fine with this. Seriously, we have enough books in our house, we are not wanting for any reading material. Every "occasion" they will both get massive piles of books; I swear, we've got them piled up in every corner of the house. So, we don't often find ourselves at the library, which is good, because I'm really bad at remembering to return them. However, the school has a library and every class goes there once a week (I'll keep my rant about local parcel tax funding to myself, thank you very much!)

Child 2, it turns out, is a fan of the library, and LOVES to check books out. Not much of a surprise considering that he basically taught himself to read when he was 4. The problem, though, is that he's in this dinosaur book phase, and the books he chooses out are waaayyyy above his (and my) reading level which means, unfortunately, the task of reading them to him falls onto me (or hubs, but unfortunately he works so much he doesn't often get the chance. bummer for all involved). I, however, am simply unable to pronounce the majority of the words in the books that he chooses. So, every Thursday, when he comes home with a new book, I always dread looking into his backpack and seeing what he's brought home this time, because I know it's just going to be a shitload of words that I can't say.

(Did you know that what they teach you about dinosaurs today are completely different from what we learned when we were kids? The Brontosaurus? GONE. WTF? Replaced by the Apatosaurus, which at least I can pronounce, but also about a hundred new ones that are SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO SAY.)

So, when I encounter an impossible to pronounce word, which I do... in every paragraph, I am quickly faced with one of three options.

EXAMPLE


The problem text: "Coelurosauravus had ribs that grew out from the sides of its body."

Option 1: I do my best to sound out the offensive word as accurately as possible. Except, I drag out every syllable because I'm being careful and I probably end up butchering it, anyway. Child 2 loves this option because I sound like an idiot and he thinks that's hilarious
Cooooo eeeeeee lllll uu rrrrrrr ooooooooo ssss aaaaaa uuuuuuu rrrrrr aaaaaaaa vvvvvvv uuuuuuuuuu ssssss had ribs that grew out from the sides of its body.
Option 2: I'm going to quickly spit out, to the best of my ability, whatever is the easiest way to get past that goddamn word
Coloravus had ribs that grew out from the sides of its body.
Option 3: Fuck it, I'm not even going to bother
This guy had ribs that grew out from the sides of its body.
I like that last one, and for some reason, he doesn't notice.

Seriously, though, kid. Is Go Dog, Go just not good enough for you? SHIT! Give a Mama a break, here, would you??



Comments (37)

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This is hilarious, I'm dying reading this. Hoping next library day Go Dog is in his back pack although that is probably not going to happen.
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1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
We already have 2 copies of Go Dog Go. For some reason Child 1 likes to stim with it and a flashlight.

Yeah, I have no idea....
Oh does this sound familiar. Thankfully my older child has decided he likes keeping his library books at school to read in class while he's waiting for the other kids to catch up than to bring them home. We already have enough books here he's chosen that I have no idea how ot pronounce words in them.
1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago
I'm hoping that when he's older he can start butchering the pronunciation all by himself
Bwahaaa! I'm going to be thankful that for the time being, I'm off duty, as WonderGirl, The Comedian & The Good Son all read to themselves and Mr. SwearPants still just likes me to make shit up (and since he can't read AT ALL, this is a win for me!)

Fucking dinosaurs.
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1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
I know, right??

Fucking dinosaurs.
This is such an easy fix!! Just replace all the big, scary words with "bacon"!!!!!!
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1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
Dude. That's BRILLIANT.
Bwaahh, that's good. And to think I had it rough with parts of a compressor/ AC unit...
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1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
LOL does your kid make you read to him from manuals? That is SO Aspie of him!
Yeah, I've been looking for the brontosaurus too. I mean, did they just up and change his name, or replace him with some other dinosaur, with a harder name? Also, steer clear of Little Red Riding Hood. Did you know the wolf ate Red and Grandma, then the hunter came and CUT THEM OUT OF THE WOLF'S STOMACH? Apparently I had not read that as a kid, or forgot, but was recently reminded. Now there's a feel-good story for a kindergartener if I ever heard one.
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1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
OMG! Okay....

1. Yes, they replaced Brontosaurus with Apotosaurus. Why? WHY???

2. I once bought The Boy Who Cried Wolf to read to Child 1 because I thought it was a good kind of lesson he needed to learn, but not only does all that gory stuff happen, the kid learns a lesson about crying wolf, and then the wolf ends up eating the kids AND the parents in the end, anyway. WTF????
I suppose it is too late to go back and take that Latin class in college we all turned our noses at.
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1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago
I was forced to take Latin in 3rd grade, I think, for some reason. I still know how to conjugate "to love." It doesn't help me with dinosaur names.
Ha Ha! You have books in your house! Good one! Oh. Wait. You were serious? Ha Ha! You read those books! Oh. Wait. Serious again?

I always go for Option 3.
1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago
Option 3. Definitely.
Reminds me of a time recently when my 15 year old had to translate Romeo and Juliet he was totally stressed with it and I gave him a speech about how it was easier then it seems and he could do it. we have all had to do it blah, blah, blah. then he gave it to me to translate a passage and I was fucking clueless. I perpetrated my way through it and hoped when he got it wrong he would not remember who did ithat particular verse.
1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
HA! That's awesome!
I'd totally go with 'this guy'.
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1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
"This guy." Definitely.
Little known facts:

1) They used to think Stegosaurus had a brain in its butt.

2) I can recite Go Dogs Go from memory. :-)

Great post, Jill
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Oh, yeah, I remember those days with my kids! Book after book of dinosaurs! We had crates of them as well! But the duty of reading those books fell on me and my husband. We were asking the kids how to pronounce half of those names!

It'll pass.
2 replies · active 735 weeks ago
I like it in theory, though. If only I were smarter....
I'm sure we touched on this stuff in school when I was little. Unfortunately, stuff like this won't help them in life. They may know everything about the Stegasaurus, but I don't think it's a requirement for college. It's just so funny how at this age they're so obsessed. The mere mention of dinosaur gets them all excited! ^_^
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THis is why I love being married to a science major! Go ask Daddy how to pronounce that word~ :)
1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
That's awesome! I so wish I had that option.
I recommend Dinosaur Time. It should be at your reading level and it has a hand pronunciation guide on each page! http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Time-Can-Read-Book...
1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
SWEET, thanks Cherie! :)
It should be illegal to give a dinosaur a name longer than six letters.
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1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
Let's start a drive to get all those stupid paleontologists arrested. Stupid paleontologists.
Hilarious! And seriously, the target DINOSAUR audience? NOT ABLE TO READ WORDS LIKE THAT. No offense to any Paleontologist readers.....
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1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
I would be very surprised if I had any paleontologist readers....
I would substitute a historical figure just to confuse him. Like Thomas Jefferson had ribs that grew out from the sides of its body. That should make looking at his test results interesting at least.
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1 reply · active 735 weeks ago
HA HA HA HA HA!!! THAT IS AWESOME!!!!
My daughter helps me out with the pronunciations! LOL
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K A B L O O E Y's avatar

K A B L O O E Y · 717 weeks ago

I'm all for the bacon idea. Except she'd surely tell her teacher I do it and then I'd have to write another damn note explaining my parenting choices. So maybe no. But it IS an excellent suggestion. Mmmmm, bacon.
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