Madeleine Reports

Yep, Friday.  Madeleine reads me her first assignment, pictured - a three page story - about a creature she names 'Eric' : not quite human , not quite Stuart Little. Our dear still owes me a book report by this evening of the same length , which may prove problematic as she is (cleverly) at Zac's all-day birthday party.  Eitan, for his part, has yet to crack War And Peace (recall he is tasked with a five page written assessment on the first chapters) and he groans when I remind him it is also due today.  We haggle a bit (he, indignantly : "How can I write five pages about 50 pages ?") and I relent , allowing him to choose the book which will probably be "The Hunger Games" which he re-reads.

I had to do these sorts of things once or twice for Moe and Grace : I remember one miserable summer afternoon writing about the great white shark which was mostly a retelling of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Am I stronger for it today ? You bet.

"The great white shark is a species of shark.  This fish is a good swimmer and is the world's largest predatory fish.. Great white sharks have about 3,000 teeth, arranged in many rows. The first two rows of the teeth are used for grabbing and cutting the animals they eat, while the other teeth in the last rows replace the front teeth when they are broken, worn down, or when they fall out. The teeth have the shape of a triangle with jags on the edges. Great white sharks eat fish and other animals, for example seals and sea lions."

--The great white shark from the Encyclopedia Britannica