Diorama Drama

3rd grade may kill me.

This months book report project was to create a diorama. Bennett had to read a 100+ page book, write a book report, and then recreate a scene in the story using a shoe box and other misc. items. Ben chose a Phineas and Ferb book to read. Once he was finished, I read it to get an idea of what items he needed for the box. This may surprise you, but turns out, Phineas and Ferb books are stupid. And this book had two different stories in it....two different very stupid stories. Not book report material and definitely not diorama material. So I told him I would find a different book and we would read it together. I decided to look for a Christmas book because it would be easy to find items to use. Cate and I took our weekly trip to Borders and I found what I thought to be the perfect book. Only 108 pages (!) and the title was The Worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Sounds great, right? Right. Except that it was written in the 1970's and things were written alittle differently then ;) This story is about an ill-behaved group of brothers and sisters who take over a church Christmas play. It's actually a really great story about the true meaning of Christmas....it's just a little colorful, that's all!

As Ben was reading the book aloud to me, I couldn't help but wince at some of the scenes..."you mean they tied him {Jesus} up in swaddled clothes and put him in a feedbox? Where was Child Welfare?"......"behold there came the Wise Men from the East"..."well, it's about time. Maybe they'll tell the innkeeper where to get off, and get the baby out of the barn"...."Oil! What kind of a cheap king hands out oil for a present?"

After Ben was finished, I asked him which scene he thought we should choose. His choices:

1-when the Herdmann kids burned down a toolhouse while trying to make bombs

2-when Imogene Herdmann was caught smoking cigars in the church bathroom

3-the church Christmas pageant

Um, let's go with #3.

So there ya have it...Bennett's diorama book report. So glad it's done and the next one isn't due until January!