Weekly Questions and Progress
The Robber Hotzenplotz
Week 26, 6/07: (no reading this week)
← The kids consumed one apple today at CRC.
It was a beautiful summer afternoon here so we dispensed with any
notion that reading might happen and went outdoors. Unfortunately,
this will be the last meeting of the Caterpillar Reading Club for
the year. It was been a wonderful year and we had a lot of fun.
On the summer reading list is: The Girl Who Drank The Moon,
Edgeland, and 5 Worlds Book 1: The Sand Warrior.
Have a great summer!
Week 25, 5/31: (no reading this week)
← The kids consumed one apple today at CRC.
We spent the afternoon outside at the Wallingford Farmer's Market.
Summer is almost here and after a long year indoors reading, the
reward for the kids is to be set free outdoors to run around
and play.
Week 24, 5/24: Pages 98..121
← The kids consumed four apples today at CRC.
We finished The Robber Hotzenplotz! We spent the remainder of the
time making plans to hold the remaining CRC meetings outdoors and drawing.
Week 23, 5/17: (no reading this week)
← The kids consumed three apples today at CRC.
We did a cool craft project in lieu of reading. The kids made elephants,
complete with a partially working trunk (there's a straw you can blow
through to make the trunk waggle).
Week 22, 5/10: Pages 92..98
← The kids consumed four apples today at CRC.
We managed to squeeze a bit of reading into this meeting of the CRC.
Most of the time was spent playing Unnatural Selection and
painting.
Week 21, 5/03: (no reading this week)
← The kids consumed two apples today at CRC.
Big changes this week for the CRC. After an irresolvable conflict with
Historic Seattle, we're vacating Room 221 for a new meeting space (the
Alki Room, safe within the warm embrace of The Meridian School).
The conflict began when we decided to display all of the posters we
had made at the same time (which is a lot of posters).
We had been displaying posters each week for many weeks without
incident, sometimes as many as a dozen.
For some reason, not only was it was not okay to display our plethora
of posters this week (as shown in the photo below),
it wasn't okay to display even one. My claim to the
fascist building manager was that
this new "poster rule" was both arbitrary and capricious (and
therefore i wouldn't take them down).
(... and let's not forget these are the posters of a group of 3rd
graders)
Suffice it to say we could not come to an agreement (that's putting
it rather mildly).
(It did not end well?).
(We agreed to disagree?).
I'm doing a fair amount of thinking about what i learned this past
week. Here's what I have so far:
- Some adults simply do not understand children, and that oftentimes they [the children] act like, well, like children. While there's no need to tolerate a bunch of schenanigans from the kids, there's also no need to treat them with contempt when they're behaving exactly as expected [read: like children].
- You can't make other people behave the way you want them to, and in this case, i was thinking of parity in communication, which i can explain further.
I pointed out just how far away from parity the
fascist building manager
was in terms of his communication with us as tenants.
Absent was any of the following (and/or any form/variation of the following):
- "How are you?"
- "How is the room working out for you?"
- "Can we do anything to make the room better?"
- "Thanks for being part of the GSC/Historic Seattle community"
- "Thanks for always leaving the room cleaner than you found it."
- "Have a good day"
- "We're glad to have you as tenants"
Instead, 100% of the communication we recevied was critical, negative, and hostile. It
became clear over time that we were an irritation, an imposition, an
inconvenience:
- "The kids are talking too loud"
- "The kids are walking too loud"
- "The kids can't sit on the lower windowsills"
- "The kids can't be out on the deck"
- "You can't open the windows"
- "The kids can't sit on the upper windowsill (on west wall) [see photo from Week 11]"
- "Take these posters down immediately"
I'd like to conclude this update with a link to
"Authority Song" by John Mellencamp,
which seems particularly relevant here, plus some lyrics from the song.
They like to get you in a compromising position
They like to get you there and smile in your face
They think, they're so cute when they got you in that condition
Well I think, it's a total disgrace
I fight authority, authority always wins
I fight authority, authority always wins
I been doing it, since I was a young kid
I've come out grinnin'
I fight authority, authority always wins
They like to get you there and smile in your face
They think, they're so cute when they got you in that condition
Well I think, it's a total disgrace
I fight authority, authority always wins
I fight authority, authority always wins
I been doing it, since I was a young kid
I've come out grinnin'
I fight authority, authority always wins
Only one photo from this week: of two great kids and many rad posters, in full effect:
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Week 20, 4/26: Pages 80.. 92
← The kids consumed three apples today at CRC.
Q1. Petrosilius Zackelman is in a very foul mood indeed. ("Thunder and lightning!"
/ "Sulphur and brimstone!" /
... and he ends up turning Hotzenplotz into a cukoo). Why?
Q2. What does Petrosilius Zackelman plan on doing with Kasperl once he finds him?
Week 19, 4/19: (no reading this week)
← The kids consumed three apples today at CRC.
We took a break from reading this week. Instead, we made some posters,
played some games, ate some apples, drew some wacky characters on the
whiteboard, and ran around.
Three photos from this week:
Week 18, 3/29: Pages 62.. 81
← The kids consumed four apples today at CRC.
This week, we continued our exploration as to what's allowed in the
space where the CRC meets and what's not allowed. We explored three
more topics, and captured brief video footage of each.
- Silent conga lines in the lobby (27MB, mp4 movie)
- Walking backwards while dancing (in the lobby) (33MB, mp4 movie)
- Playing a quiet game of duck-duck-goose (also in the lobby) (86MB, mp4 movie)
These all seemed to be okay (mostly in the way that we didn't get in trouble at any point, which the CRC decided to interpret as "those three activites are allowed").
Week 17, 3/22: Pages 45.. 62
← The kids consumed five apples today at CRC.
This week, we began to explore what's allowed in the space where the
CRC meets and what's not allowed. Up to this point, we've found that
there are an awful lot of things that are not allowed,
among them are:
- Running, jumping, playing, making loud noise(s) of any kind.
- Climbing on the windowsills.
- Standing on/near the roots of the large tree outside.
- Standing on and/or near the light poles outside.
- Roughhousing and/or the appearance of having too much fun.
- So much as looking in the general direction of a garden area is strictly forbidden.
- Posing, motionless and silently, as statues in the lobby.
- Displaying posters on the doors of the CRC classroom.
We explored the first option during our regular break. All of the kids (and myself) went into the lobby and struck the pose of their choice. Some of us were sitting, one was laying down, and some were standing up in various states of arrested motion.
We then waited (silently, and motionless), for a Historic Seattle (HS) staff member to tell us we were breaking some kind of rule. The main rulemaker did walk through the lobby and did not point out any errant behavior!
We explored the second option by making posters and taping them to the doors of the CRC classroom.
Here's a photo of our puff advocacy posters:
Incidentally, we also made a highly scientific chart that rates various apple varieties vs. the individual tastes of the CRC members. The three apple varieties are Pacific Rose, Pink Lady, and a mystery apple I referred to as Kamikazee. The chart turned out like so:
PS: If you see this guy, you know you're in trouble:
Week 16, 3/15: Pages 28.. 44
← The kids consumed three apples today at CRC.
(There's only one question this week because it's a tough one).
Q1: On page 31, Kasperl and Seppel flip a coin three times
to see who would go left and who would go right. The question is:
did flipping three coins change the odds [of who would go left
and who would go right] vs. flipping a single coin once? [where
the chances are 50:50 for left:right].
Week 15, 3/08: Pages 5.. 28
← The kids consumed five apples today at CRC.
Q1: Using only the context within the sentence, what does
the word quelled mean? (p14)
Q2: What are "grampuses"? (p18) Please draw one
in your notebook.
Q3: There are a lot of colloquial expressions in there,
e.g.: "turn the tables" (p25), "stuck to their guns" (p16), "he could
not make head or tail of it" (p17). What do these mean? If you have time,
research their origins.
The Princes and the Goblin
Week 14, 3/01: Pages 8 .. 12
Note: The CRC is if anything, a co-op and a democracy.
Ater today's meeting
we held a vote (Yes/No) on whether The Princes and the Goblin was
too difficult a book for the club to read right now. The majority
won with "Yes", and so we've tabled this book for another day
and will choose a different book next week.
Week 13, 2/22: Pages 4 .. 8
Q1: The author alternates between telling the story
and talking to the reader (examples on 7 and 8). Why do you think
he does this? Does it make the book better, or does it distract
from the story?
Q2: On page 7, the author repeats a sentence
("She ran for some distance, turned several times, and then begqn to be afraid.
She ran for some distance, turned several times, and then begqn to be afraid.")
Why do you think he did this?
Q3: Please draw a goblin based on the description on
page 6 (e.g.: "They were now, not ordinarily ugly, but either
absolutely hideous or ludicrously grotesque in both face and form."
"they grew misshapen in body". "Although dwarfed and misshapen,
they had strength equal to their cunning."
Q4: Define "globular" (pg 8).
My Side of the Mountain
Week 12, 2/08: Pages 161 .. (end)
Q1: What do you think the lyrics to "The Cold Water
Song" might be? Please provide a verse or two. (p162)
Q2: Do you think everyone could live like Sam?
Why or why not? (p165)
Q3: Do you think that, ultimately, Sam was
happy that his time alone in the woods was over or would
he have kept going [if his family had not shown up]?
Week 11, 2/01: Pages 144 .. 161
Q1: Why do you think that Sam, after initially
saying he had not seen "the wild boy", eventually tell Matt Spell
that he had seen him? (p153: "Matt, I have seen that boy.")
Q2: How do you think Matt Spell knew that Sam
was really describing himself the entire time that Sam was trying
to mislead him (and say things like "I think the wild boy wears
newspaper on his feet")?
Great photo from this week:
Week 10, 01/25: Pages 131 .. 144
Q1: What's the definition of the word
copse (pg 133).
Q2: What's a barometer, and what does
it measure? (pg 134)
Q3: How do birds keep their feet from
freezing in the winter? (pg: 135-136)
Q4: How thick is "Indiana Pea Soup"?
(pg: 139)
Week 9, 01/18: Pages 116 .. 131
Q1: What's the definition of the word "cache" as
it applies to Sam's food stores ("I checked my cache
of wild onions to see if I had enough to make onion soup")
(pg 118).
Q2: What's the definition of the word "ingenuity"
(pg 124, top)
Q3: Why do you think that some of the people
who have seen Sam on the mountain describe him as "crazy"?
("This wild boy has been seen from time to time by Catskill
residents, some of whom believe he is crazy") (pg 121).
Q4: When Bando was leaving the tree after Christmas,
the author describes this as follows: "Bando started off
reluctantly one morning, looking very unhappy about the way
of life he had chosen." (pg 130). What specific regrets do
you think he was having at this time?
Great photo from this week:
Week 8, 01/11: Pages 101 .. 115
Q1: What is the definition of the word "irony"?
Q2: On page 109, when Sam goes into the store
in town and a kid his age remarks (about his deerskin jacket):
"My kid brother has one that looks more real than that
thing", do you think his remark was ironic?
Q3: On page 110, Sam shares the following
thoughts regarding "Mr Jacket": "I never asked his
name. I had liked him although we hadn't even had
a fight. All the best friends I had, I always
fought, then got to like them after the wounds
had healed." Why do you think Sam felt it necessary
to have a fight with someone in order to become
friends with that person? Has this ever happened to
you?
Week 7, 01/04: Pages 89 .. 101
Q1: Who is Henry David Thoreau?
Q2: What book was he most known for?
Q3: Cite another one of this works
Q4: What is civil disobedience?
Week 6, 12/14: Pages 74 .. 89
Q1: Why did Bando want to give Same the nickname "Thoreau"?
Q2: What was going on with the Baron Weasel that Same
described him as looking "mouldy"?
Q3: Can you name any other animals that undergo the
same changes as the Baron Weasel when winter arrives?
Q4: What kind of insights did Sam gleen about the upcoming
winter from watching the animals around him preparing
for the cold winter weather?
Week 5, 12/07: Pages 62 .. 74
(no questions this week)
Great photo from this week:
Week 4, 11/30: Pages 46 .. 62
Q1: What do you think the main character's top
five concerns and/or worries should be?
asked another way: what are the most
important things he should be thinking
about andor doing?
Q2: Sam used a deer hide for a door to his tree.
why do you think he chose this, and if
he wasn't able to trap a deer, how do you
think he could have made a door?
Q3: Is it okay for the main character to trap,
kill, and eat animals while he is living
in the forest, yes or no and why?
Consider that, if you live in Seattle, you get to choose whether to eat meat from animals or whether you only eat plants and vegetable (vegan/vegetarian) or seafood (pescetarian).
Consider that, if you live in Seattle, you get to choose whether to eat meat from animals or whether you only eat plants and vegetable (vegan/vegetarian) or seafood (pescetarian).
Q4: What does it mean to "lope around"? What
creatures/animals/etc do you most associate
with "loping around"?
Q5: What does it mean to scuttle? What creatures,
aniamls (etc) do you most associate the
scuttling?
Week 3, 11/23: Pages 32-46
Q1: What does it indicate, about how some adults
view 15 year-olds, that the old woman thought
Sam was "playing mumbly peg with sticks" when
he was really making a bed for himself?
Q2: What does it indicate about Sam, that when he
1st saw a falcon, he thought "I will get
one. I will train it to hunt for me"?
Q3: What are the definition of the words "stroobly"
and "nubby"?
Week 2, 11/16: Pages 17-32
Q1. How did the narrator know, when he left Bill's
house, that he would not return? (why was
he so sure of his decision?)
Q2. How old is the narrator, and how do you know?
Q3. How many mussels are there in a peck?
Q4. Do you think it is sufficient to watch what animals
eat to know what is safe for people to eat,
or do you need more information?
Week 1, 11/9: Pages 3-17.
Q1: Why do you think the main character left his house to live
in the woods?
Q2: Do you think you could live in the woods? If
so, for how long and what would you bring with you?
Schedule
Nov 2016:
- 11/09 - meeting #1
- 11/16 - meeting #2
- 11/23 - meeting #3 (at Tom's house)
- 11/30 - meeting #4
Dec 2016:
- 12/07 - meeting #5
- 12/14 - meeting #6
- 12/21 - no meeting / winter break
- 12/28 - no meeting / winter break
Jan 2017:
- 1/4 - meeting #7
- 1/11 - meeting #8
- 1/18 - meeting #9
- 1/25 - meeting #10
Feb 2017:
- 2/01 - meeting #11
- 2/08 - meeting #12
- 2/15 - no meeting / break between books
- 2/22 - meeting #13
Mar 2017:
- 3/01 - meeting #14
- 3/08 - meeting #15
- 3/15 - meeting #16
- 3/22 - meeting #17
- 3/29 - meeting #18
Apr 2017:
- 4/05 - no meeting / spring break
- 4/12 - no meeting / spring break
- 4/19 - meeting #19
- 4/26 - meeting #20
May 2017:
- 5/03 - meeting #21
- 5/10 - meeting #22
- 5/17 - meeting #23
- 5/24 - meeting #24
- 5/31 - meeting #25
Jun 2017:
- 6/07 - meeting #26
- 6/14 - no meeting / summer break
About the Club
What is it?:
An after-school reading club.
Who is invited?
Anyone in 3rd grade who loves to read.
When do we meet?
Weekly, on Wednesdays, from 3:30 to approx. 4:15
Where?
Meridian HQ, room 221 or 223.
Why Wed?
Because that's the day homework is due, so the club won't interfere with school.
What's the weekly agenda/itinerary?
- . Welcome! (~2 minutes)
- . Review answers to last weeks question(s). (~10 minutes)
- . Read! We take turns reading. This will be voluntary. We can form a voluntary queue and everyone who wants to read can get into the queue and take turns. (~20 minutes)
- . Discuss what we've read. (~10 minutes)
- . Assign a question to ponder for next week, possibly writing down notes in response. (~5 minutes)
What will we read?
Delphine wants to start with My Side of the Mountain, but we've also discussed:
- Finn Family Moomintroll
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
- The Thirteen Clocks
- The Princess and the Goblin
- (..and some others)
How much will we read?
If there are ~25 weeks in the year (Nov-May), we'd need
to cover around 10 pages/week, give or take.
What if someone cannot join in Nov but would like to join later?
If someone can't join in Nov, but would like to join anytime later, i can
send where we in the book each week, so they can join later without missing anything.