Shame on you, Library

I hope I've been clear about how much I love the public library. Until recently.

Summer reading program. For this girl, who was never athletic, summer reading was my opportunity to shine. I could outread all my peers, win the prizes, and submit my name for drawings repeatedly. I couldn't wait to pass on this time-honored tradition to my kids.

Numbers 3 and 4 had to read 600 minutes (in increments of 10) in order to win a "prize" and be entered in a drawing. They both completed the task in three weeks, six weeks earlier than the deadline. Here they are with their filled-in sheets.



We rode our bikes to the library and walked up to the counter as a family. We wanted the children involved to feel the gravity of their achievement. The passionless volunteer cut off the entry portion and pointed to a box. The contents in the box were remnants of a local school book donation. There was nothing classic, nothing interesting, and frankly, nothing worth reading.

But the bigger point...a crummy, thrift-store book as a library reading program prize? My amazing readers were beyond disappointed. Number 3 said, "We get better prizes at the dentist, and that's for the pain we have to go through." I looked at my husband with horror. If we didn't get this kid a prize, and I mean a prize, she would probably never pick up a book again. Our school curriculum is only about 90% reading so this could be a problem later.

Dejected, we walked down the street to a little toy shop. It's the kind where the owner works the counter and knows about every toy in the place. It's a shop for brain candy. We told the girls they could each choose something for under $10 as a prize for all the reading they did. Number 4 chose a reusable sticker doll book. Number 3 chose a Magic 8 Ball. I'm not sure why that fits into the learning toys, but she's wanted one forever and the guidelines were clear. I immediately asked the ball if Number 3 would read books again. It said simply "It is certain." We bought it.

A few weeks later, we returned to the library to turn in Number 1 and 2's reading logs, four novels each. Here's how the librarian reacted;

"Wow! Great work!"
"Do we get a prize?" asked Number 2.
"Unfortunately, the prizes were returned due to a safety issue. Check back next week."

Since Number 2 had seen the drill earlier, he requested a specific toy at Target that was exactly $9.99. We went, bought the toy, and went home. Number 1 simply asked for $10 to be transferred to her bank account. Wise child.

So, to sum it up, the FREE reading program at the Library this summer cost me $40, an uphill battle for book-reading motivation, and maybe future counseling. Shame.

First of Many

A wise friend passed on some marital wisdom to me. I will share the basic gist with you.

One person has to be in charge during an outing. If it's his idea, he can plan meals, prepare for tickets, make arrangements etc. If it's her idea, she charts the map, packs the sandwiches, etc. If it goes wrong, you know who is responsible. If it goes right, you know who to thank.

This has worked so well for myself and my husband! I used to hate outings because he always had the good ideas and I was the pack mule and logistics planner. It wasn't fun. I already spend all of my days teaching the kids and then trying to navigate weekend "field-trips" became exhausting.

This past Friday night, we looked at the forecast and saw another sunny Saturday ahead with no plans. He started looking around and came up with a plan. We told the kids to be ready at 10 AM the next morning. I had the responsibility of getting myself dressed, applying sunscreen, and grabbing the bug spray (because he NEVER gets bit). Well before departure, my delightful travel agent had already been to the supermarket for Saturday doughnuts, had packed lunch and snacks, and got the address to our location in the GPS.

There was no arguing, no disputes.

Our destination was Rock Creek Park in the heart of the District. We parked at the Nature Center to begin a two mile hike around the northern half. Some of our company was not excited about hiking for fun, but we set out anyway, determined to prove them wrong. A little ways in, we stopped for lunch on a rocky landing in the middle of the creek. Number 2 was in heaven skipping from rock to rock and teetering dangerously on a fallen log seven feet above the creek!



Number 1, being cautious as ever, fell in anyway and got soaked up to her middle. Numbers 3 and 4 couldn't be convinced to keep moving. They took their sweet time looking at tadpoles, frogs, and arranging rocks in a decorative way. The lunches my husband packed were delicious and filling.



When we continued on, we enjoyed the company of one another amidst the sound of the babbling creek. The boys' heads were sweating and we were all smiling from the exertion.

When we got back to our car, we drove to the South Side of the Park (this took 10 minutes) to see the Peirce Mill. It looked unpromising until we got nearer to the entrance. A volunteer helped my girls make corn-husk dolls while my son played in toy water locks. This cost us nothing.

After this, we watched a video about the family who owned the Mill (back in the late 1800s) and got to see the mill in action. My husband, who grew up working his Grandfather's farm, reveled in showing the kids all the gears and mechanisms of this primitive tool. At the end of the tour, we discovered that Rock Creek Park is a National Park, the first we've ever enjoyed as a family. We purchased a National Park Passport and can't wait to see some more.