Slide III

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Spring

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A quick Christmas moment.

Story Time #14: Owl Moon

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In casual conversation it is often difficult to explain life with a hyperlexic boy.

My wife's brilliant new blog has begun to open the eyes of more people to some of the particulars of our family's life together. And I have more than a hundred individual video posts that fill in even more detail.

But I've generally edited my "Story Time" series pretty tightly, to capture just the highlights of the boy's recitations. This time I'm inviting you to experience this family pastime in near-real time.

We tell people that he memorizes and recites stories, but those who haven't had (or taken) the time to really listen to him may not understand that this is not merely passive brain activity. Storytelling for him is PLAY.

The story, in this case, is one of the most beautifully written and illustrated picture books in our collection, OWL MOON, the 1988 Caldecott Medal winner by Jane Yolen. The boy knows it from a Scholastic video adaptation, and from the hardcover book. The audio from the DVD--read by the author--is also available as a download from iTunes.

It's the story told in the voice of a young girl walking in the snowy woods, the first time she's been allowed to accompany her father on a late night search for owls. The book makes for excellent bedtime reading, and makes an outstanding gift for fathers of young children (especially girls).

The boy and I have taken this walk many times after dark. On one beautiful evening back in August 2007, I brought my camera along.

Trike

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The big present from Santa this year was a 45-pound trike. just like the ones at his preschool.

Took the boy to the elementary school blacktop to give it a spin (our street is too hilly). He prefers to scoot, rather than pedal, and can move a lot faster than I expected. Didn't want to be one of those parents who puts a helmet on their kid on a tricycle, but um...

Week 1 of Semanal, a 52-week videoblogging adventure.