A Precious Gift

What was supposed to be a totally hectic week full of pre-holiday school festivities has instead turned into a week of being cooped up at home with a sick little girl. Sophie started to feel bad over the weekend, and we're now on day 5 of fever and sore throat. Needless to say, she hasn't been to school all week, and I'm thankful for Liz, who has shuttled Jack to school and home so that I could avoid dragging Sophie out in the unseasonable 30 degree cold temps.

Today was truly the first day that Sophie seemed to perk up a little, finally eating a bit and not requiring motrin to keep her fever at bay. I've recently started letting her use the computer to browse some websites that were recommended by her Kindergarten teacher. This has become a morning ritual for her this week, and today she spent her time looking at the PBS website and printing out some pictures of the characters from one of her favorite shows, Super Why.

It's been evident for quite awhile that reading and writing is one of Sophie's favorite activities. She conquered early writing assignments in Pre-K with gusto and has been reading chapter books for months now. I am amazed by her progress and am glad that she's so enthusiastic about books.

This afternoon, she decided to use the pictures she had printed out earlier in the day to write a book for Jack. On each page, she imaginatively wrote her interpretation of what was likely happening in each picture, and bound each page together with glue, staples and tape to create a special gift for Jack that she read to him upon completion. Granted, the words are not all spelled correctly...something that I've learned is part of the normal developmental process for this age. But if you look closely at these pictures, you can read the story she put together which really blew me away. I will save this book forever and cherish her great imagination and the sweet spirit in which she decided to create this for her brother.