The Great Brain (but not for math)

Mark was astounded to learn that as a fifth-grader, he's expected to write a book report every month.

"EVERY MONTH!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "Can you believe that?"

I could. And as an avid reader, it didn't sound unreasonable to me.

Mark loves to read, too, but his method is a bit more...cavalier. He loves Calvin and Hobbes books, mostly because he identifies with Calvin and has a wily feline sidekick himself. He also likes to read chapter books, but he's more of a drop-in visitor than a long-term guest. Which is why he likes Calvin and Hobbes--he can pick up and leave off at any page.

He frequently starts books, but he doesn't always finish them. (The exception being the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. We read those entire books. Seven. Times. In. A. Row. EACH.) It drives me a bit batty--I'm a total linear girl, and I like to start a book at the beginning, and read through until the very end. None of this constant-flipping-through-every-TV-channel-with-the-remote kind of reading for me.

But hey, I don't really care how or what (within reason) he's reading as long as he's reading. I have suffered through my share of Captain Underpants books all for the sake of childhood literacy.

However, the thought of a monthly report has Mark running a bit scared. He's currently reading "Flush" by Carl Hiassen, and he informed me the book is a whopping 200 pages. He is sweating about it, worried he won't finish it by the end of September.

So he came up with an alternate solution. He shared his plan at dinner last night.

"Hey Mom, I'm reading 'Me and My Little Brain,'" he told me. "It's only 176 pages."

"Oh," I said. "You changed books?"

"No. I'm still reading 'Flush,'" he said. "But in case I don't finish it in time, I'm also reading 'Me and My Little Brain,' because it has less pages."

"Good idea," I told him. He didn't realize he's actually reading twice as much as he has to, not half, but I wasn't gonna be the one to tell him that. I know he's interested in both books, so I figure whether he reads two books or only one, it's still a win-win situation.

"That's very smart," I told him. "You'll really improve your reading comprehension that way."

He nodded, and smiled, proud of himself.

And I smiled, and made a mental note to myself. I'll definitely be helping Mark with his math and reasoning skills this year.