My School Fun Book

was created especially for

Larissa Marie Brown
at the age of 4

With love from
Aunt Sandy and Uncle John
September 10, 2003

 “Hello, hello, hello, Larissa. My name is Coco and I am the Clown with red hair and a very, very wide smile. I will try to guess your age and where you live. I guess you are 4 years old and you live in Waukegan, Illinois. Oh my, Larissa. I am so good at guessing, I should be in the circus!”

 “Larissa, I want to stay and play with you. Would you like to ask Amy to come and play?
Take your crayons and color my balloons, Larissa. Oh-h-h, I like the colors that you painted on the balloons.”

 “Please take me with you to AAUW Nursery School, Larissa. You and Amy will each sit at your own desk. I will have my own desk too. We will listen carefully to what the teacher, Miss Jones, is telling us. One more thing I must tell you, Larissa, don't chew on your pencil!”

 Miss Jones asked the children to repeat after her:
A , B, C, D, E, F, G
H , I, J, K, L, M, N, O

 P, Q, R, S
and
T, U, V
and W
“How are you doing, Larissa? Now do you think that you and Amy can read your A, B, C's?”
“Oops, we forgot the last three letters, X and Y and Z.”

 “Oh, this game looks new to me,” said Larissa. “I am only 4 years old. Will you help me?”
Coco the Clown replied, “Turn back the page and look at the letters again. Ask Amy to help you draw lines from the letter A to B to C. Keep drawing until you come to the letter O.”

 “What a great time we have had today at school,” said Coco. “Now it is time to go home. There we will run and jump and play outdoor games. It is good to get exercise every day, Larissa. It is not good to stay indoors and watch TV too much. Exercise keeps us healthy.”

 “Watch me brush my teeth, Larissa,” said Coco the Clown. “It is easier to brush your teeth when you have a big smile on your face. Larissa, make a big smile in front of your bathroom mirror every day. It will start your day right and make everybody else happy too.”

 “Oh-oh, raindrops!” moaned Coco the Clown. “I have on my long, yellow coat and my wide, floppy shoes and I will stay dry. I must be careful at the bus stop with no pushing or shoving other boys and girls. Remember this, Larissa, and remind Amy too.”

 “The sign reads, 'SCHOOL BUS'. Use a pencil, Larissa, and follow the dots to draw the school bus. Start with number 1. If you turn the page you can see what comes after number 1.”

 “Please ask Amy to read these numbers from 1 to 20. Larissa, can you make up rhymes to learn your numbers? I'll start,” said Coco the Clown.
“1, 2 What shall I do?
3, 4 Shut the door.
Let me see if you can do it, 5, 6....go ahead, Larissa, you try it.”

 “A birthday cake without any candles!” cried Coco the Clown. “Larissa, please draw candles on my birthday cake. Ask Amy to help you.”
“How many candles shall we draw?” asked Larissa.
“That is up to you to do the guessing this time. Guess how old I am,” giggled Coco the Clown.

 “Larissa, you are very smart. Are you ready for another guessing game?” squealed Coco the Clown. “When I call out the name of a food, you guess what color it is. Larissa, you point to the same color shown in the little square drawings. READY? GET SET! GO!”

APPLES GRAPES CHOCOLATE RAISINS
ORANGES BLUEBERRIES BANANAS LETTUCE
Red, Purple, Brown, Black, Orange, Blue, Yellow, Green

 “On page 30, you can see 4 shapes, Larissa. A circle, a triangle, a rectangle, and a square.
A circle has no sides and is round like a ball or pie.
A triangle ALWAYS has three sides.
A rectangle has 4 sides, but 2 of the sides are long and 2 are short.
A square has 4 sides, but all 4 sides are the same size.
Did you color the 4 shapes on page 30, Larissa?”

 “Larissa, color the pictures. Next, draw a line to connect one shape to another shape that looks just like it. Draw a line from the yellow square to the other square. Keep on drawing and making connecting lines, and soon your work will be done.”

 “Well,” said Coco the Clown. “It's time for me to go. I shall miss you, Larissa. I will take this very special book to remind me of you.”
Soon, colorful circus wagons came to pick up Coco. He ran as fast as his floppy shoes would let him. He hopped aboard, waving and shouting, “Good-bye, good-bye. I had a very nice time.”
Larissa knew then that Coco the Clown was a real circus clown after all.

Favorite things for
Larissa Marie Brown

_______________Book
_______________Game
_______________Song
_______________Food
_______________Color
_______________Movie
_______________Friends