Meet Rhodes. (Yes, he’s the newest addition to Ari’s burgeoning stuffie collection.) Apparently, he’s interested in learning about Russia. (We’ve been reading books about countries at bedtime. Not my preferred reading, but this is what happens when you give your kids choice… they choose what they want you to read to them!)
Ari expelled maniacal laughter after I shut the door behind Isabelle.
“I got a video of you,” he said.
Why was that funny? Well, it wasn’t because it took Isabelle forever to walk down our driveway with her backpack and science project. No, no. It’s because Ari caught my hurry-up-so-the-driver-doesn’t-leave message along with an extra long shot of my tush after I shut the door behind Isabelle. Yes, he’s a six-year-old boy, alright!
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Ari grabbed my phone without me realizing it AGAIN this evening while I was reading to him. I knew he was pretending to listen to the book as if he were his stuffed dog, Rhodes. What I didn’t realize is that Ari was videotaping me reading to him.
If this keeps up, I’ll have to remove the camera icon from my iPhone’s lock screen!
Head over to Two Writing Teachers for more slice of life stories.
I am a literacy consultant who focuses on writing workshop. I've been working with K-6 teachers and students since 2009. Prior to that, I was a fourth and fifth-grade teacher in New York City and Rhode Island.
I'm the author of Craft Moves (Stenhouse Publishers, 2016) and the co-author of Jump Into Writing (Zaner-Bloser, 2021), Welcome to Writing Workshop (Stenhouse Publishers, 2019), and Day By Day (Stenhouse, 2010).
I live in Central Pennsylvania with my husband and children. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, doing Pilates, cooking, baking, making ice cream, and reading novels.
View all posts by Stacey Shubitz
Stacey, Ari has me chuckling this morning. Kids and phones! I’m so glad he wants to preserve the memories of your reading to him! I’ll never forget Christmas when I was asking my three year old grandson what he wanted. He persuaded me to let him look on Amazon so he could show me. My son and daughter in law reacted with urgency for me not to let him hold the phone. I asked why. Seems even three year olds know how to place secret Amazon shipment orders. And they take pictures and videos we find later. Oh, friend! We have smart little digital natives stealthily seeking our devices.
Sense of humour, reading interest, camera skills – a good combination for a child. Using your phone without permission – age appropriately sneaky. Six is a fabulous age.
You MIGHT have to remove the photo widget from your lock screen, but where would the rest of us be? Shut out in the cold without sweet and charming snippets of your snuggle time…
Raising Literate Humans 
LOL! That ending is priceless. Cute pajamas. Cute stuffie. You’re gonna have fun when Ari us a teenager! Ha!
Stacey, Ari has me chuckling this morning. Kids and phones! I’m so glad he wants to preserve the memories of your reading to him! I’ll never forget Christmas when I was asking my three year old grandson what he wanted. He persuaded me to let him look on Amazon so he could show me. My son and daughter in law reacted with urgency for me not to let him hold the phone. I asked why. Seems even three year olds know how to place secret Amazon shipment orders. And they take pictures and videos we find later. Oh, friend! We have smart little digital natives stealthily seeking our devices.
I’ve heard about kids ordering off of Amazon before. 😬
That is classic six-year-old – so funny! My goodness, I didn’t even know you could remove the camera from the lock screen – you are a quick thinker.
I haven’t done it yet, but I am pretty close!
Hahah hmmm he is very sneaky! It’s fun to have these moments with him though – and they are probably videos you may want to keep and watch again!
So much fun! Six is a great age. He’ll want that video of you reading to him forever. 🙂
We have already watched it MANY times!
Sense of humour, reading interest, camera skills – a good combination for a child. Using your phone without permission – age appropriately sneaky. Six is a fabulous age.
He keeps doing it. 😊😡😬
You MIGHT have to remove the photo widget from your lock screen, but where would the rest of us be? Shut out in the cold without sweet and charming snippets of your snuggle time…
I am THIS close to doing it!