Iris is on a two-week-long summer break from homeschool before we resume the 1st grade. We are letting her have limitless tech time, days to blob out and say, “I’m so blobby, can you please get me water?,” episode after episode of My Little Pony, Spongebob and PeeWee’s Playhouse til her eyes fall out, and I even logged into my old Neopets account to show her my pets from 2004. She’s consuming so much insane content, but there’s nostalgia in it for me: the days of mindless, cartoony boredom! I love it. I love it so much because I’m still a kid inside and there is a strict allowance of tech consumption for pretty much the rest of her days apart from this break.

She is also in a two-week long art camp. I wanted her to relate to the other kids when they talk about being on summer break. I considered just keeping her math lessons going so we don’t have to repeat anything, but then I just “what-the-hell”-ed it and I couldn’t even tell you where her schoolwork is right now. Weee!

My intention with today’s post is to share content that Iris enjoys consuming. A time capsule of jpegs with brief notes. Please share your own kid’s lit and video favorites. If your kid’s favorite videos are of people opening eggs on Youtube, I’m so sorry. Unless that’s a thing you love, too, in which case, share it in the comments and do it with gusto(I WONDER WHAT IS INSIDE THIS KINDEREGG!).

Summer Reading: Favorite Books

What Do You Want to Eat, Pascal? by Magali Le Huche. It’s about a hungry platypus who tries to hit up all his friends for food but he hates all their suggestions. This book is one that she has read probably thirty times in the last couple of months and I enjoy to hear her read it just about every day because it’s relatable material.
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen. A bear goes looking for his hat to discover someone stole it. Jon Klassen’s artwork is dreamy and engaging, I personally enjoy We Found A Hat the most, that one is about two turtles who find a hat and don’t know what to with this thing they both love but don’t have enough of. Iris thinks this one is hilarious, though.
Chi’s Sweet Home manga by Kanata Konami. It’s a bunch of adorable artwork about a kitten and their new family, and approximately fourteen million “myaaa” cat noises Iris loves reading. Iris has read about half the series and the artwork makes me feel good.
Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter graphic novel by Atelier Cento (Cecile Brun and Olivier Pichard). A couple of teens go exploring iso ghosts, each chapter is punctuated with a photo of yokai they captured on camera. The artwork makes this story. Translated from French, so it’s a little weird occasionally but it reminds me of being 16 and exploring.
Amulet graphic novel series by Kazu Kibuishi about a girl who learns she is meant to save another planet. Bizarre creatures, powerful visuals. As I share all these graphic novel series, I wonder what Iris enjoys about them now versus what she will enjoy about them in five years, ten years from now. As an adult, I feel compelled to read them with her and wish I had them in my own youth. My favorite reads growing up were Calvin and Hobbes, Harry Potter, and Blankets.

From Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter — From *Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter*

Movies on Repeat

The Labyrinth
Neverending Story

Television Binge: Besides the Spongebob and the Ponies

Nailed It! —Total crap. Reality TV where contestants compete to replicate baked goods.
Masterchef Junior—Iris said she wants to be a cook when she grows up. Also she told me I am her favorite cook and I make the best food which is all I ever wanted to hear my kid say. I make really good oatmeal with toasted steel cut oats and I’m glad it’s being noticed.
Chef’s Table—High quality, Netflix documentary series about incredible food being cooked. Note: We are making great efforts to cook almost all our food at home, not just watch other people cook food on tv. I feel I need to qualify this because it makes me sad to think about all the things people enjoy watching but never bring themselves to experience. Proactivity is key here with all these cooking shows.
Stranger Things—I started proud-parent crying when the Neverending Story musical interlude happened and Iris knew what they were singing. Allude to all things 80s, not only do I not mind but I dig it. My wife digs it.