!!!

[oloriel]

Must go and shovel snow (this night brought a lot of it; bets as to whether or not it'll stay till Christmas are now on), but first I must make this entry:

juno_magic!
Thank you so much for the lovely surprise parcel! I must admit that I opened it before Christmas eve. >_>
Incidentally, The Very Hungry Caterpillar happens to be the first book I remember reading on my own. Friends from the neighbourhood, who were attending Waldorf school and thus weren't even approaching literacy yet¹, couldn't believe that I was actually reading the book and thought I'd memorised it instead. (For a long time, I found it puzzling that they thought it was easier to memorise a whole book, even one as short and straightforward as The Very Hungry Caterpillar with its supporting illustrations, than to just read the letters. Now that I've learned all these exciting things about orality and literacy, however, it makes perfect sense. -- Anyway.) That's probably why it stuck in my mind. At any rate, I loved that book, but our copy did not survive my brother and me (or maybe my mother later gave it to one of our cousins, and it didn't survive them...), so the shiny new copy is much appreciated! And with matching toys, too. Eeee. ♥
Right now, the only thing Felix seems to like about books is that you can grab the corners and turn the pages, but he'll grow to appreciate the stories, too, no doubt. And then one of my own childhood favourites will already be waiting for him. ^^

There, you got a ramble all of your own! *shifty eyes* In short, thanks bunches. I'll keep the candle for Christmas eve, though. Still pondering whether or not to wrap the book and toys for Christmas, too...

*squees and hugs*

- - -
¹By now I am actually sympathetic to their reluctance to teach children to read and write. Now that I know how much literacy rewires the brain and changes the way our minds work, I'd want to put that off for as long as possible, too. When I read that some of the kindergardens around here have a "literacy education" programme for three- and four-year-olds, I shudder in horror. (Yes, I know that in some places this appears to be the standard. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.) It's one thing when kids decide that they want to read and write and start picking up letters - I did that when I was five, too, and accordingly spent my first year in school being bored - you can hardly stop them then - but actual, organised schooling? Damn, people, that's wrong. But I digress.