Beezus and Harriet

take a trip to see the gargirl

Inspired by the independence of the Quimby girls, I’ve been letting Bea and Harriet go on some errands. You might remember that Beezus and Ramona Quimby went all over Portland: to the library, the park, and Ramona even walked herself to kindergarten before she learned to tell time.

Mrs. Quimby was not exactly a helicopter parent.

“Now Ramona,” said Mrs. Quimby, as she put on her coat. “I’m going to trust you to stay all by yourself for a little while before you start to school. Do you think you can be a good girl?”

“Of course, Mama,” said Ramona, who felt that she was always a good girl.

“Now be sure you watch the clock,” said Mrs. Quimby. “And leave for school at exactly quarter past eight.”

-From Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

I asked Bea if she thought that Ramona was trustworthy enough to be left home alone. She said “No way! She is a girl who wiped her fingerpaint hands on the neighbor’s cat, who takes one bite of every apple in the cellar, and invited a whole passel of kids over for a party without telling her parents. And one time, someone she didn’t know was having a lollipop, and they put it down on the table and Ramona started licking it!”

But is Bea trustworthy enough to take her sister somewhere? And is Harriet trustworthy enough to listen? Yes, she said! Definitely.

We don’t have any nearby walkable destinations like libraries or school, but we do have many trails and paths to interesting spots, mostly that we’ve made ourselves by tramping through the woods. Bea asked if she could walk to the “gargirl” (what Harriet calls a gargoyle statue that one of our neighbors placed near their redbud tree). The gargirl is maybe a third of a mile away, through our woods, across a neighbor’s property, and along a gravel drive that is minimally traveled. I decided to say yes—as long as they came home immediately, kept to the side of the road, and promised to stick together.

They practiced first, walking to the gravel drive and back for a whole afternoon while Richard listened out for them. Was Harriet good? Yes! She followed directions the whole time. The next day, they went all the way to the gargirl.

And, as Mamie says, they lived to tell the tale! “Harriet was perfect,” Bea said.

They were both really proud of themselves, and I’m happy that they know their way and feel confident in nature. I’m not ready to let them go to the river alone, but that will come… some day!

What about you? What was your level of independence, relative to the Quimby girls?

Bea wanted to share something she learned at school last week. Take it away, Bea:

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During “read with the teacher” last week I learned to make Hink Pinks, and I got really into them. A hink pink is where you think of a silly scenario, then the answer is two words that rhyme and describe the scenario.

For example, an angry father would be…

A MAD DAD!

Another example: a purple gorilla would be…

A GRAPE APE!

And here is one more: A frog in the street is a… ?

Answer in the comments! And if you think of any, type them in!