A very fulfilling weekAs many of you know, I take one kid a year in the public school and spend a minimum of 1 hour a week working with them to catch them up in their reading skills. This year, I had this wonderful little girl that just couldn't seem to connect with any books. Plus, her reading level was quite low, so it's hard to find any really wonderful books written at her level. Finally, she picked up "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens (the children's illustrated classic version!), and of all books, this one truly clicked! Somehow, in all her 8 1/2 years of life, she has never heard this story at all - she has never seen any movies or anything! Now, we all know it's a wonderful story, but if you ever get the chance to read it with someone to whom the entire concept is truly new, it makes the "rediscovery" of the story that much more enjoyable. I loved watching the emotions that came out of this child! She was so angry with how bad Scrooge was at the beginning! And the depression she felt when Belle broke up with him and at the death of Tiny Tim. This was the first book she read with voice, and it is also the first book she has ever picked up and started to read further by herself, because she just couldn't wait for me to come in for my hour on Friday! When we finished, we had to watch the movie, of course, and I loved how much she had remembered and got indignant over certain "missed scenes" the movie had skipped. Since the book belonged to the teacher and not the library, she gave the book to the little girl to keep. By the time I stopped by today, she had written her name, my name, and made lists of all her favorite parts inside the front cover. She asked me to write her a note and to sign my name so she could remember this book forever. These are the times that spending all my volunteer hours at school become immediately worth every minute. The time is truly not wasted. And to quote Garrison Keillor, "Nothing you do for children is ever wasted." I really felt that this week. | 