We did it! Possibly in record time too.... We finished another Harry Potter book. This time it was "HP and the Order of the Phoenix." Things are definitely getting more intense, and Riley and I had a hard time putting this one down, even though it was the largest book yet, almost 900 pages! Now the debate is if we start the next one right away, or take a break since our schedules are so crazy right now..... I guess I'll let Riley choose. Here are his thoughts on HP5...in his own words.
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| At the beginning, Dudley and Harry are at the park when dementors attack Dudley and Harry. Harry stops them before one kisses Dudley. So then Mad-Eye, Lupin, Kingsley, Tonks, and other wizards come and bring Harry to Grimmauld Place, where the Order of the Phoenix headquarters for the Order and Sirius lives there. Then Harry has to go to a hearing at the Ministry of Magic and Harry doesn't get expelled from Hogwarts. When Harry, Ron and Hermoine get to Hogwarts, Umbridge from his hearing is now a teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts and the sorting hat has a new song. So later Sirius has a talk with Harry, Ron, and Hermoine. After that Percy sent a letter about don't follow Harry's steps. Then Harry, Ron and Hermoine went to the Hog's Head for a secret Defense Against the Dark Arts meeting since Professor Umbridge isn't teaching anything useful they become Dumbledore's Army. Then Griffendor beats Slytherins in Quidditch. Harry, Fred and George got banned from Quidditch. Later, Harry is sleeping when he has a vision of being a snake which attacked Mr. Weasley. Then Harry and the rest went back to Grimmauld Place then they went to St. Mungo's Hospital. Later Professor Trelawney gets sacked. During O.W.L.s Hagrid gets sacked too, but when they are trying to stun him when Professor McGonagall tries to stop them and the 4 stunners hit her in the chest. Then Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna and Hermoine go to the Department of Mysteries. Later there is a battler with the Death Eaters when Mad-Eye, Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, and Sirius show up. Then Sirius gets hit by a spell and dies in a veil. Then Voldemort and Dumbledore battle and Fudge now knows that Voldemort is back. The End By Riley |
Summarizing is a very hard lesson to learn, but at least I know he is paying attention when I'm reading an hour to him daily... if this confuses you, guess you'll have to pick up the book yourself.
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I had a "feel good" moment this past week at school. Due to budget cuts, McPherson has a lot of job sharing with Music/PE/Library and Art. So most of these positions have teachers working at 2 different elementary schools. Well, the music teacher that Riley had the last two years, is no longer at his school, but she does still work at my school. I saw her in the hall and she asked, "How that Riley boy was?" I, of course, said great and she went on to tell me what a neat kid he was and she missed him. I said it was so nice and sweet to hear that. I also mentioned I think he's going to have a good year, and 4th grade was slightly a rough year for him. And she just said he was a "trooper." Not sure what that meant, but I know it was a good thing.
Overall, Riley is in a great place. I think he is feeling more comfortable in his own skin. He even chose to do Strings this year, and he chose the Viola. Here, the 5th graders get this choice, and Riley doesn't like to try new things very often, but he did this time. He will have Strings twice a week, and a couple concerts this year. I think 5th grade is going to be a great year!
