u11 soccer has May Madness.

And Panda Power!

A photo recap of the season:

• Oakaloo
• Malouda
• Spinosa

No blue suede shoes….but Oakley did put on her purple cleats

No plane to the land of the Delta Blues…a 3½ hour car ride instead

No pouring rain…mid-80′s and sunny

No ghost of Elvis…but we did meet the son of Elvis’s dentist at our hotel

But girl, we had a prayer in Memphis…placed 2nd, losing only to our sister team.

She was the pea from “The Princess and the Pea”. It was completely her idea. She even designed the costume herself, drawing on her experience as a plump turkey to become a plump pea.

When Lou got to the second question on the second page of her character study (the one concerning the character’s problem), she faced her own dilemma – was the pea actually a character? She paused for a moment and then reasoned that while the pea itself doesn’t have a problem, it helps solve the problem, so it must be a character. Whew – “homefun” crisis averted!

They all (the princess, the pea, and the Lou) lived happily ever after.

The End.

You see, kids who are going to get better at something, kids who are going to maximize what they become in any context, they have to be challenged.  They have to be reaching for something more all the time.  In order to become great, and brilliant, and willing to fail, kids have to be faced regularly with things they can’t quite do yet.

I’ve been blessed with incredibly smart kids, and a wife who has always challenged them.  Sometimes, we’ve been blessed as a family with amazing teachers, too.  (See Gilliland, Reneta or Drury, Megan.)  If you have any doubt about the impact these teachers can have, just go watch Oakley tell you about it; the child still knows she’ll be a writer someday because of 1st grade.

One of my cues that things aren’t going quite right in a classroom is if my child is coming home with papers that all say “100%” on them.  I want my kids to be learning so much that they can’t quite keep up with it.  Similarly, I want my whole soccer team to be playing just beyond their edge of control, always faster and crazier.  (I will spare you a rant on the fact that grades in Williamson County are based on a fixed percentage scale.  94 – 100 is an A, for example.  Doesn’t a scale like that really assess the teacher’s ability to create a test that slots people appropriately?)

That said, let me present you with Lindy Martin, and her magical kindergarten teacher, Miss Choate.  When we learned that Lindy wouldn’t have the honor of following in Oakley’s kindergarten footsteps with Ms. Gilliland, we were a little bit heartbroken.  You see, Oakley’s kindergarten experience was fantastic.  We managed, though, to keep our mouths shut and see how it went.  And oh, how it’s gone.  Lindy was sad to learn, yesterday, that this school year has only 9 weeks left in it.

Last night, she shared with us this nugget (mostly verbatim).  ”You know, I’m always around great teachers.  Daddy is a great soccer teacher, and Mommy used to be a real teacher.”  Of course, she didn’t even have to say a thing about where she spends her days.

As proof, I’ll share the work that Lindy brought home with her from school yesterday.  Mind you, Lindy didn’t know how to read or write when she started kindergarten.  We read to our kids every day, but we don’t teach them this stuff.  We leave that to the school, and the right time.  As you read it, check out how Lindy’s living on the edge here.  It’s clear that she isn’t copying something off the board, or asking for help with every word.  She’s pushing it all the time.

Lindy’s words, verbatim.

He fotoh in the Revolutionary War.  He is on the Quarter and Dollar Bill.  He is the Father of our Conuntry.  We love him.  I love him!  He war a wig.  He was very nice.  He was a good led ere.  he worked hard.

Thanks a million, Miss Choate.  Maybe you’re the one who deserves 100%.

“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

My daughters have a great love of books. In fact, they were convinced that the “JK” on their Valentine conversation hearts referred to JK Rowling. (They also thought that “Chicks Rule” referred to their chickens! And, no, I didn’t correct them – on either account.) When this list of 100 great children’s books appeared in USAToday last week, it generated a lot of discussion at our dinner table. “Why is Harry Potter only #6?!” “How didCaptain Underpants make the list?,” my girls implored. I challenged them to compile a list of their own. And last night, with soccer practice rained out, this is what they came up with. (Note: these aren’t ranked and instead are listed alphabetically by title. Why? Because it was 10 Minutes Till Bedtime!)

 Our Favorite Picture Books:

• Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
• Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry (be sure to find the hidden Goldbug)
• Chester the Wordly Pig by Bill Peet
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (and all the pigeon books) by Mo Willems
• The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
• The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
• Knuffle Bunny trilogy by Mo Willems
• Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
• Miss Nelson Is Missing! by Harry Allard
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
• Olivia series by Ian Falconer
• Pretend Soup by Mollie Katzen (a cookbook for little chefs)
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth
• Strega Nona by Tomie dePaula
• Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
• Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
• The Tale of the Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
• Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• The Wingdingdilly by Bill Peet

Our Favorite Chapter Books:

• Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• The BFG by Roald Dahl
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (1st chapter book that I read to the girls)
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker
• Finally by Wendy Mass
• Frindle by Andrew Clements
• Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
• Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Gossamer by Lois Lowry
• Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
• The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
• The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks (1st chapter book that Tim read to the girls)
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• A Long Way from Chicago trilogy by Richard Peck (what we’re currently reading)
• Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Messenger by Lois Lowry
• The Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM by Robert C. O’Brien
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall
• Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
• Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
• The Princess Bride by William Goldman
• Ramona the Pest series by Beverly Cleary
• Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Shiloh trilogy by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Fudge series) by Judy Blume
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
• The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene Du Bois
• Warriors series by Erin Hunter
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Our Favorite Authors (anything by them is worth reading):

• Blume, Judy
• Dahl, Roald
• Henkes, Kevin
• Lowry, Lois
• Peet, Bill
• Rowling, JK
• Van Allsburg, Chris
• Willems, Mo

Our Favorite Resources for Finding Good Reads:

• our local library and its childrens’ librarian extraordinaire, Miss Pat
• The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
• 100 Best Books for Children by Anita Silvey
• 500 Great Books for Teens by Anita Silvey
• Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-Present
• Newbery Medal & Honor Books, 1922-Present
• Common Sense Media’s Best Books

That’s our list, so far. We’ll call them “Martin Medal” winners. By next month, I’m sure we’ll have more titles to add and realize ones we’ve omitted. We haven’t yet read two of my all-time favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I even lobbied to name our firstborn “Scout”) and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I can’t wait to share these with the girls as they get a bit older.

So, now that you have our list, it’s your turn. What children’s books do you love? Which ones should we read to enlarge our world?

The Bee Who Loved to Sing

Yay! Horay! It is my beeday!

The bee’s name was Tim. Tim loved to sing. All he ever did was sing.

Tim was trning 37 on his Beeday. Tim’s Beeday was the 16^th of Febeeary. I love Febeeary. I love Febeeary. I love Febeeary. That is what the other bees sang to Tim. Yay! Horay! It is my Beeday! Febeeary is 2^end month of the year.

He has sky blue wings. He has a sky blue dory with gold stripes. He usually where’s sky blue shoes. Sky blue is his favoret color. He loves his shoes! I love Tim’s shoes too! I love Tim with all my hart! If you met Tim would you like him? (Antsir by circling yes or no.) YES or NO. (Whell, I would circle YES and not NO just so you know.) My Dad is nice. I bet he would love you.

Daddy is playful. He is the best daddy you could ever have; even if you searched the whole entire world.  Daddy is the man of the family, just like our chicken Solo is the man of his roost.  Sometimes, though, he will beat up the lower man of the roost, Loyden.  Loyden is the perfect chicken.  Daddy is very kind, and thinks well.  He is very good at math.  He is married to my mommy, Jennifer Haile Martin.  She makes good Breakfast Sandwiches.  She is good at cooking.  I am very thankful for my daddy.

As of today, you’re not 10 anymore. At least not in years – just in volleyball. Every year on your birthday I entertain thoughts of writing you a letter, but as you know, that hasn’t happened. I’ve been afraid to write one, scared that the words won’t come out right. But as you turn 11, I realize that it would be worse if the words didn’t come out at all, so here goes…

Do you know that I prayed for you before you were born and have prayed for you every day since?

Do you know that Daddy received his best birthday present ever at 8:58 pm on February 16, 2001? That’s the moment you were born. Every year you two get to celebrate your birthdays together. He’s one lucky daddy.

Do you know what a good big sister you are? Oakley and Lou proudly wear your hand-me-downs, and Lou insists on sleeping in your old soccer jerseys. They want to be just like you, Aspen. When you decided to stop eating chicken when we got our own chickens, they showed their solidarity by also giving it up. When you’re at volleyball practice, they play their own version of volleyball at home, complete with their panties serving as make-shift spandex shorts. Oakley has already asked if she can have your uniform when you outgrow it. Can she?

Do you know how smart you are? You’re a reader and a thinker. Not many other 11-year-olds start sentences with “As Barbara Kingsolver writes…” or can give insight into which varieties of tomato to grow. I often have better, more interesting conversations with you, my child, than with adults 3-4 times your age. Even though you’re quite a capable reader, you still let Daddy and I read to you each night. Thank you for that. Reading together brings us closer and makes our world bigger. I can’t wait to learn what Grandma Dowdel does tonight in Richard Peck’s A Long Way from Chicago trilogy, can you?

Do you know how beautiful you are? Even though most of the other girls in 5th grade wear make-up (!), I’m proud that you choose not to. I hope you never feel the need to cover up your freckles. Embrace them. They’re your kisses from the sun, and your eyes are the cloudless sky.

Do you know how loved you are? “To the moon and back” and as I sing to you each night, “I love you forever. I like you for always. As long as you’re living, my baby you’ll be.”

Aspen, I hope you know all these things, but just in case, I want to tell you on your birthday. And again tomorrow and the day after that because you’re worth celebrating every day, not just today. More importantly, I hope you believe all these things. I do.

Oh, one more thing – be bold. Be brave. Go for the “ace in your face!” Even if you don’t get it, I’ll be here, on the sidelines, cheering you on – no matter what.

Happy 11th birthday! I love you.

xoxo,

Mama

Oakley’s 10th birthday party plan: Repeat.

• 8 games in 29 hours!
• 2 medalists (both Aspen and Oakley)
• 1 semifinal of the NCAA Women’s College World Cup (Stanford v. Florida State)

Was it worth it? Just look at their faces below: