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I've been working on a long piece of work, so I wanted to bring you something a little lighter for this week's newsletter. I'm reading Arnold Lobel Owls at home I recently realized that my 2 year old and ever since he had been thinking about it.
Owls at home Although Lobel is less well-known than the frog and toad books, it has always been a favorite in my house. The book tells five very short stories about owls.
Until recently, my six-year-old requested to read the second story, “Stranger Bump” every night. The owl, fearing the sight of his feet under the blanket, ends up destroying his bed and sleeping. chair.
In contrast, my 2 year old is biased towards “tear water.” This causes the owl to cry at the tea kettle as he thinks of a “sad” subject, while the owl to cry at the tea kettle as he thinks of a “sad” subject, like a “too short pencil.” use. ”
At the end of the story, the owl boils his own tears and takes a sip. “It tastes a little salty,” he says. I like to think of this as an owl's own little meditation practice. He considered all the sorrows in his life, allowing them to pass through his body, then reabsorbed them into himself, transforming them into a now delicious (I guess) drink.
This particular dark and threatening February is not the worst time to remind yourself of your child or yourself that you have creative power within yourself.
For Frog and Toad fans, Owls at home – Published in 1975 after the first two frogs and toad books. The story of the Frog and Toad is all about the deep friendship and love between the two main characters. Lobel never fully stated that they were meant to be a couple, but his daughter pointed out that the two were “same-sex and love each other,” The story said, “His beginning comes out.” “As a gay man.
However, if an owl has a frog in his life, we will not see him – in fact, the owl does not interact with another sensory being throughout the book. There is a school of that idea Owls at home On the loneliness, the owl doesn't seem to be angry with many of him in his life.
Instead, he forms a variety of friendly and controversial relationships – on his feet, the winter season (he'll have to kick it out of his house), and my favourite In the story, there is a moon.
The final section of the book, “The Owl and the Moon,” finds an owl staring at the sky. We have to be very good friends. ”
Friendship bumps into several obstacles – the moon tries to chase the owl's house, and the owl worries that it won't fit in his door – but in the end everything is fine. As the moon watches from outside, the owl enters his bed and closes his eyes in peace.
“The moon was shining through the window,” writes Lobel. “The owl felt no sad at all.”
For me, this story – certainly everything Owls at home – It is about the joy of inner life, and can thrive with little external input. All of the needs of the owl can be made with the moon, kettle, strange ideas about tea and sadness, cozy beds (he must have rebuilt after the “strange uplift”) and the whole world can be made.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy people. And I don't insist on retreating from society from living in a fantasy world inhabited by seasons and heavenly objects (or do I do that?). But this particular dark and threatening February is not the worst time to remind yourself of your child or yourself that you have creative power within yourself.
Read it today and I will meet you next week.
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In addition to Owls at homemy little child and I are reading Previously, nowthe beautifully drawn story by Daniel Salmieri grows and connects both in the future and in the past.
Last week I wrote about the rise of universal preschool policies across the country. This week, instead of reader emails, we will be entrusting this recent poll by the Fund for the first five years that demonstrates the bipartisan nature of the issue. Care is a problem, with 55% of Republican voters saying that increased access to quality childcare is just as important as border security.
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