We have two traditions that we love...

1. We have a mailbox ornament that opens and closes. Each year we put a "letter" inside about things that happened that year. Then the next year when we get out our ornaments we open the mailbox and read the previous year's letter.

2. On New Year's Day we go to a friend's house and have all the traditional foods: black-eyed peas, greens, etc. Then we talk about what our resolutions are for the up-coming year.

Don't feel guilty; you were protecting you daughter! It's a tough situation because so many take comments or actions pertaining to their pets as if they were direceted at their children. It can be highly emotional.

Have you talked to your in-laws about how they let your child interact with their dog? Maybe you could approach it from the angle, "I know your dog is not aggressive, but some dogs are. We don't want our child to think it is ok to play with animals this way because other animals might not be as gentle with her."

Many librarians, reading specialists, and teachers have adopted the 5 finger rule, & it's very easy to teach to kids. It's not perfect, but it's a nice way for students to pick books more independently. Most of you are probably familiar with it, but for those that are not, here it is:

Open a book and read a page. Put up a finger for every word you don't know. After finishing the page look at how many fingers you have up...
     1 finger - easy
     2-3 fingers - just right
     4 fingers - challenging
     5+ fingers - too challenging

We encourage students to pick mostly "just right" books. That way they aren't focusing so much mental energy deciphering unfamiliar words that they lose the meaning of the text, but they also learn new words in the process. This does not mean, of course, that challenging and easy books are not aloud! You get a sense of accomplishment from being motivated to read a challenging book & working through it (but motivation, not pressure, is key). You can get a lot from an easy book too. When your mind isn't tied up identifying words, it is free to make predictions,  inferences, connections, etc.

As for age appropriateness, it's important to note that just because a 1st grader is reading on a 3rd grade level does not mean you can find good books by simply looking at a 3rd grade book list. It is by no means impossible, however. Bookstores, libraries, and Amazon have tons of books that are not only appropriate, but interesting for advanced readers.