AmaraLand

She did it again! Amara got the Author of the Month award. She received this honor before when she was in kindergarten last year. Last semester the school made a big deal of these awards. They were handed out in front of the entire assembly and any friend or relative could also attend. It was a wonderful moment for all of us. You can read all about it here.

This year the school board has decided to spend less time out of the classroom. I understand their intentions but I still liked it when it was a big deal, I felt it inspired the kids. Now the parents don’t know in advance. The principal does come to the classroom and present it to them but it’s not the same as the excitement of being on stage in the auditorium. We were proud when we found out even if we weren’t there to witness it. I should probably mention that Jenna found out when she pulled it out of Amara’s backpack!

Last weekend Mommy and I were at JoAnn Fabrics and found this wonderful spiral bound notebook designed for children to create their own storybooks! The bottom 3rd of the page is lined but the top two-thirds are for illustrations! It combined two of Amara’s favorite things — art and writing! I just had to get it for our little author.

I gave it to her when she came over to spend the night with us Friday night. Once I explained the idea to her, she was thrilled and ran to gather her pencils and her markers. At first, she had no idea what she wanted to write about but she finally decided it would be fun to write about all the things she loves — and then draw pictures of them. She plans to include all the people she loves, her animals, her friends from school. It is going to be an ongoing project that she works on while she is here. It was so much fun to have her at the table discussing with me what she was planning while I cooked dinner. It led to lots of interesting conversations and I know it will lead to many more.

She really liked that the title page had a place for “Created By” and not just author. She made a point to correct me when I told her Mom the story was “The Things I Like by Amara” — not by Amara — Created by Amara.

The first page is about the fun she has with me and Grandpa. I liked that she wrote about us first. She pointed out to me that she made my hair almost as long as her hair in the picture. I just asked her not to draw any of my split ends! Another interesting conversation ensued. I love that she made me tall and gave me 2 peace signs on my outfit, which she designed. I was wearing jeans and an apron. She always draws herself wearing a princess gown.

Next visit she will start working on her pictures for the page about her teacher. It was another fun evening and I just know that book is going to bring us many more memories and many more fun evenings!