After last week's success, I was eager for a new theme and more excitement. I had picked the book Blueberries for Sal. I had wanted to read this book for some time now. It's a classic! And it has two "B's" - Blueberries and Bears. So we sat down, read the book, and had no reactions good or bad (not too unusual). But on day two, Adam didn't want to read the book again. We didn't read it again the entire week! I liked the story. It's a simple tale of a child following his mom on a hill picking blueberries and a bear cub following his mom on the same hill. The children somehow switch places and follow the wrong moms. All I can figure is that Adam doesn't like blueberries. We read other books during the week including a Berenstain Bear book and some non-fiction bear books. He enjoyed those books so bears weren't the problem. I didn't worry too much about it. This was a busy week with doctor's appointments and many errands to run. Besides, Adam had to take a break from his preschool time to be the "sun" for Jason and Beth as they were learning about the Earth and Moon rotating and revolving around the sun.
We also made a patriotic bear. (I thought I took a picture but you'll just have to imagine a bear made of circles with a flag on his belly). This was especially appropriate as Jason and Beth are learning the Pledge of Allegiance as they start their study of US History. They love participating in Adam's activities. They definitely put more energy into coloring a bear than finishing their math, hmmm...Although the book wasn't a hit, we had a great week. Adam even drew this fabulous self-portrait, and as he himself stated, "aren't I cute?"
Zack gets an alligator keychain from his uncle in the mail and is told to water it. When he waters it, the alligator grows and comes to life. It's a cute story of a boy and his alligator. The best part of having this book is that Adam actually owns an alligator that grows in water. It's starts out smaller than his hand and grows and grows slowly in water (see picture above). Adam loved this story. We read it each day. I also had a bunch of non-fiction books on alligators, reptiles and amphibians. Adam loved looking at the pictures and having Jason read things to him. 
A visit to the zoo would have been appropriate but we're still getting settled and it's just not the time. But we could take a visit to the mall and see an "alligator" at the Rainforest Cafe. It's been years since we've been to this mall but visiting the animatronic animals and fish tanks was always a regular event when we lived here years ago. Well, when we moved away, Adam had just turned 2 and this now four year old wanted nothing to do with the hissing alligator that was not safely in a cage! 
I decided to ruin the magic and explained to him that they are just robots made by people to look like animals, and all they do all day is lay there opening their mouths. He totally believed me and took a closer look. He looked at me and said, "it's just a robot." He's so tender!