Sept. 9, 2006
Return to C.S. Lewis

After two nights of being too busy, I overruled the boys' strenuous objections and said we were going to read a lot and then go to bed early. (Usually on Friday nights we watch movies in English) We're on the sixth book of the Chronicles of Narnia, El Sobrino del Mago (the Magician's Nephew). It's not easy since even the English terminology in these books can be a little archaic. But the stories are good and the kids have been able to follow along even though there are lots of words we don't know.
I used to stop and ask questions that checked for comprehension. But I read somewhere that it's better to grapple with the story by asking what will come next, or what you would do in situations like that. So I try to do that and tonight when the boy and the girl protagonists released a queen from a spell and she immediately wanted to know who had done it, I asked my sons what they would say. I had to help Mario formulate the sentence from beginning to end, but he understood what was happening and knew what he wanted to say. That's good. I can't believe we've almost finished the series. It's taken about two years, but it's been worth it. Although Gabriel once said, "Reading the Chronicles of Narnia is supposed to be a wonderful experience for children, and you're ruining it by making us read them in Spanish." I hope he does not still feel that way.