Friday afternoon, I ventured down to the After-School Academy to say hi. As I walked in the door, Hayzul jumped up, waving her arms in uncontainable excitement...then composed herself as she realized she needed to greet me first.
She composed herself long enough to look me in the eye, give me a firm handshake, and say, "Good afternoon, Ms. Janet." Then immediately started waving her hands excitedly, with her eyes squenched in excitement, and mouthing the words (that would have been a screech if she had allowed sound to come out), "We're going to see Junie B. Jones!!!!!!!!"
I love exposing kids to new opportunities. I love when they get excited as they discover something they'd never been exposed to before. Because of the Free Night of Theater offered by the City of Dallas we are able to do this with the kids.
Hayzul has been with me before so she knew what she was getting into...and she couldn't wait! We carefully chose our seats and Hayzul settled in. I watched her throughout the play. About a quarter of the way through the play I realized why Hayzul loves Junie B. so much. Hayzul *is* Junie B.!
Hayzul was so into the play, I don't even know if she realized she was rolling her eyes and sighing when Junie B. got sent to the principal's office for "no apparent reason"...as if she, herself, were the one marching to the office. I watched Hayzul growl in frustration and exasperation at Junie B.'s best friends. (I got the feeling that Hayzul felt she was watching her life being acted out on stage).
It was a great evening that we topped off by stopping by 1/2 Price Books. I had to find her an Anne of Green Gables book. I'm guessing Hayzul will be able to identify with "Ann with an 'e'" pretty well, too. She said she was going to start reading it this weekend. I can't wait to hear what she has to say.
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