Places to Go - Christmas in Washington D.C. - Trains at the Botanic Gardens & "Wondering" through Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery of Art

WONDER

I'm probably the last DC blogger to post on this, but F, T, and I FINALLY made it to the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery to check out Wonder and we all were in complete awe. T literally gasped each time we entered a room, then exclaimed, "wow, look at this!" Let's keep in mind that T is 6. And a boy. And he didn't want to leave an ART MUSEUM. That alone is crazy impressive.

The FREE!! exhibit runs through July and is (literally) amazing. Click here for more info.





Bugs = Art, T was enthralled.









After the exhibit, we ran into a demonstration about the persecution of Ethiopia's Oromo people. Sad stuff, but also great to be in a city where you can educate yourself about the world's problems just by walking down the street.
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TRAINS AT THE BOTANIC GARDENS

Last week, the kids had an early release day from school, so I decided to take seven children to the Botanic Gardens to check out this year's seasonal train exhibit. I like to think that I'm capable of great feats, but seven children might have been overplaying my hand. Oh well, each and every child loved the trains and had fun collecting the scavenger hunt stamps located throughout the building. Perhaps a little too much fun as they ran from room to room. But oh well, its hard to stay home when this crazy warm weather begs one to explore.

How about everyone else? How have you been holiday-ing lately?

Things to Read - Chapter Books for Kids - Wonder

F is my kid who loves to read, almost too much. The other day at a children's birthday party I found her in a corner with a book. Seriously? Actually, I probably spent most of my childhood in corners with books, apparently antisocial tendencies run in our blood.

Anyways, F loves Junie B Jones, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Judy Moody, and the overwhelming number of offshoot series these books seem to have generated (the Stink Series, the Dork Diaries, etc.). And while this is all fine and good, I suggested that maybe she could try reading something a little less sarcastic for a change (i.e. a book where the sole purpose is not making fun of life, school, adults, friends, etc).

A neighbor recommended the book, Wonder and F practically inhaled it. Now she can't stop talking about it. So I asked if I could interview her for the blog about why she loved Wonder so much, here's what F had to say:

Me: Please tell me about the book.
F: It's about this boy with a deformed face and it's all about everybody getting used to it and learning how to be nice to him. His name is August.

Me: What did you like about the book?
F: I really liked that August had a bunch of adventures and he even disobeyed some rules but at the end of the year he got an award for being the kindest boy in the school, kind of the best. Usually he got in trouble because someone was making fun of him but he learned how to stand up for himself. And i also liked how one of August's friend's, Jack, even though he once said something really mean, he realized how sorry he was.

Me: That sounds like a sad book.
F: It was both funny and sad. It was funny when they go camping and pee on trees. It had a lot of parts that made me laugh.

Me: Anything else you want to say?
F: All of the book is about August, but some of the chapters are told by his friends and family. I really liked the book because it shows that no matter what you should always try to get along with people and stand up for yourself, even if you have to break some rules sometimes.

Me: Would you like to read more books about August?
F: Yes, I really liked him.

Does anyone have any suggestions for similar books? Before bedtime, Dan's been reading Little House on the Prairie to the kids and their response has been somewhat lackluster, with comments like "their lives seem really boring and hard." But he's pushing through and they're slowly learning to love the story. Anyways, we could use some good new books around here. I think I need to scan the archives of this blog for awhile (great suggestions over there).