Friday, December 02, 2011
Chapters 6, 7, and 8 OH MY!
Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! All of the Thanksgiving leftovers have been eaten, our Charlie Brown Christmas tree decorated with our favorite wiener dog ornaments is on the mantle, we're checking off our list for Santa Paws, and we're making sure we are on our most terRUFFic behavior! Add that to my library job, band practice, school visits, and regular chores, and sometimes it doesn't seem like there are enough hours in the day. No worries - Chloe and I still have plenty of time to play and rest. You know the ol' saying, "All work and no play makes Woody a dull dog!"
Chloe and I had the most fantastic surprise last week! We found out that on Thursday, December 15th, we will be spending the day at Simmons Elementary. We are FINALLY going to meet Ms. Logan, Ms. Hisle, and all our faithful friends who have emailed us during Doghouse Divided.
As usual, I'm a weenie bit behind in posting their emails so I thought I would post 3 chapters this time. We love opening our mailbox on the computer and seeing the name Ms. Hisle and Ms. Logan! We have heard from many of our blog readers that you love reading their comments too. Well you are going to enjoy a triple dose today! Are you ready? Are you set? Here we go:
Chapter 6:
Hi Woody!!
We agree with your mom, you shouldn't jump to conclusions! We thought she may want something simple like you and Chloe running an errand. :) We bet you are relieved that it didn't have to do with the drumset...or the broken window. Is it fixed yet?
Our school library has a great book about Abraham Lincoln. We are going to check it out the next time we visit the library. We are sure it will have information about him being called 'Honest Abe' and the Civil War.
Your mom is right - just because something doesn't directly affect us doesn't mean we let it happen. Lots of students in our class have taken a stand against something. We all take a stand against bullying and stand up when people are being teased, even if we don't know the person. One student took a stand against people using bad language and other have taken a stand against animal abuse. We are sure you wouldn't sit back and let that happen!
Most of us think Bark is one of your and Chloe's dog friends who is coming over to ask them to play. A few think Bark may be a neighborhood bully or a dog who is going to give Woody drum lessons. One student thinks Bark may be a friend of yours who is a cat! Bark would be a funny name for a cat!
We hope to hear from you soon and are looking forward to chapter 7!
Thanks,
Ms. Logan's 3rd Grade Reading Class
Simmons Elementary
and...
Dear Woody,
We're so glad mom wasn't calling to ask you to sell your drums! What a relief! We predict Bark is your friend (who is a dog) that lives down the street. We think Bark may have come over to play with your drum set. Does Bark also have a drum set? Maybe you two could start a band together!
We are enjoying learning about the Civil War. We're learning lots of new things and we think it's awful that slavery existed. We never knew that people traded other people!
We can't wait to hear Chapter 7.
Megan Hisle
3rd grade teacher
Simmons Elementary
Chapter 7:
Hi Woody!
We are so excited about your opportunity to play in a band! That is going to be so much fun! We can't wait to read about your experience!! We think the perfect song for The Barkstreet Boys to play is Who Let the Dogs Out? We would love to hear that.
We are learning so much about the Civil War. We knew Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky but didn't know that Jefferson Davis was. We looked up Fairview and Hodgenville on the map. You would need to travel southwest to get from Fairview to Hodgenville. What city do you live in?
We think volunteering is so important and a way to be a good citizen. Some things that you and Chloe could do are pick up trash, plant trees, and grow a garden. We bet you like to dig so a garden would be so fun for you! You could give the vegetables to people in your community.
We are looking forward to chapter 8.
Thanks,
Ms. Logan's 3rd Grade Reading Class
Simmons Elementary
By the way, I was born in the city of Paducah, but I live in the city of Shepherdsville! I don't know what happened to the email Ms. Hisle's class sent regarding Chapter 7. Our cat Dolly must have been chasing the mouse again and deleted it!
and Chapter 8:
Hi Woody!
We were excited to hear from you! We understand about being busy, we get that way too sometimes. You sound like one busy dog! We're sure you get excited to crawl into your doggie bed every night.
Table manners are very important. We don't like eating lunch at a table where people have bad manners. We thought of some suggestions of how you and Chloe can improve your table manners.
1. Don't talk with your mouth full - Chew and swallow before you speak.
2. Don't talk about disgusting things - make sure the topics will not make anyone sick, or spit their food out!
3. Be polite
4. Take small bites - don't stuff your mouth full.
We are so worried about your drums! While we realize you panicked when they were not in the living room, we don't think you needed to call the police. We are thinking that your mom and dad may have placed them in the garage, the attic, or on the patio. Maybe they were getting in the way. Or, we are thinking that Bark came and took them for the band. We really hope you find them and nothing serious has happened to them. The best thing you can do is ask your mom and dad if they moved them.
We look forward to hearing from you and listening to chapter 9!
Sincerely,
Ms. Logan's 3rd Grade Reading Class
Simmons Elementary
Thanks! These are great suggestions on how to improve my table manners. I'm getting better. However, I got in a little bit of trouble at Thanksgiving for forgetting Rule #1 and Dad said, "Dogwood, we would hate to ask you to leave the table at Thanksgiving." I remembered your suggestions and didn't have any more problems!
and...
Dear Woody,
We were so glad to hear back from you. We figured the library job was keeping you pretty busy. We just finished listening to chapter 8 of Doghouse Divided. We have some suggestions on how you and Chloe can improve your table manners. First off, you should always say "please" and "thank you". It's also VERY important to not speak with your mouth full -- no one wants to see your chewed up dog food - YUCK! :) Also, you shouldn't talk about eating rats at the dinner table. That might make people lose their appetite.
We also know five rivers in Kentucky:
1. Ohio River
2. Kentucky River
3. Dix River
4. Green River
5. Barren River
Woody, if you think you were robbed you should first call the police. If something has really been stolen, they need to know. We also think that you're drumset is missing. Maybe it isn't stolen, maybe Bark borrowed it or mom moved it to the garage (if you have one).
We can't wait to listen to Chapter 9! AND we would love to meet you in person (and dog) too!!
Megan Hisle
3rd grade teacher
Simmons Elementary
Wow! You guys know your Kentucky Rivers - and your manners too! I think I've got "please" and "thank you" mastered, but those table manners are still getting me from time to time. I never knew people didn't want to see my chewed up dog food. I think seeing any kind of food is exciting and I thought everyone else did too! Thanks for pointing out my mistake!
Well, it's 7:30 in the morning. That means it's time for our morning walk and then breakfast! I just saw Chloe prance through the house with her sweater on (we don't want to be chilly dogs) so I better skee-daddle! By the way, we will be speaking and signing books tomorrow at the Ridgway Memorial Public Library tomorrow here in our hometown of Shepherdsville. If you are anywhere in the area, come see us! The program starts at 1:00, I think! If I find out I told you the wrong time, I will post a correction after breakfast. I'm starving and I've got to, well, let's just say I must go outside for my morning walk. (I'm trying to remember not to talk about disgusting things like going to the bathroom!)
Have a great day, stay warm, and Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!
WOODY