Introducing our mystery-solving adventurer…Investigator Anne!
I don’t even know when she first became our Investigator–she’s just always loved solving problems and figuring things out. If there’s ever a mystery to be solved around here, I know who to go to–the one and only, Investigator Anne!
For example, the other night we had a “Missing Sippie Cup Mystery.” (Everyone has a drink by their bed at night, and when they crawled into bed that particular night, the drinks were mysteriously gone!) I heard Anne call out, “Mom, the drinks are gone, and Eliza looks suspicious…I think I better investigate!”
So out came the “Kit”–the Investigator Kit.
Looking for clues…
Searching high and low…
CLUES: (1) Eliza running into her room with her hand behind her back. (2) Eliza closing the door fast. (3) Water on Eliza’s face…
This mystery wasn’t too hard for Investigator Anne to figure out. Yep, she found three waters on Eliza’s night stand.
And when the culprit was confronted…well…
She played cute and innocent…
But was confirmed to be the presumed “Sippie Cup Snatcher.”
“But I like 3 waters Mom…” is all she could say. Sorry ‘Liza, just one tonight, but I’ll give you lots of kisses just for being so cute. Funny girl.
Okay, the Case of the Missing Sippie Cups is solved! Good work Investigator Anne!
The Investigator Anne Kit
Our mystery solver has been solving mysteries for as long as I can remember. Last Christmas I thought it would be fun to create her own kit for her. I designed her logo and put this bag together. I actually found the satchel online, but it was way too big, and I had to cut it down and re-sew parts of it to make it the way I wanted.
Inside holds the very important clue-finding, mystery solving tools:
The Clue Book, magnifying glass, mini maglight, pen and pencil, a compass, a camera, and Mr. Everything’s old Pocket PC (which we filled with hundreds of photos of animals, animal tracks, maps, pictures of leave varieties, and things like that. She also uses the Pocket PC to write down little bits of information or clues as well as her clue book).
This pic shows the compass and smaller logo under the front flap. The little keys are for her other journal.
She also has a nifty Science Experiment Book.
Sometimes Anne’s mysteries have been scientific, like when she read about capillary action in her Science Experiment Book. She and her sisters had me buy carnations and then tried the experiment for themselves. Here is Anne’s Clue Book log of capillary action predictions and discoveries. She even took the photo with her camera and glued it in the Clue Book.
And below is her account of when I was missing a shoe…
One day last Fall, we had a “Case of the Missing White Ballet Slipper.” (That is also another story that I’ll get to at another time–about Mary Tutu.”)
Here, Investigator Anne wore the investigating cape.
Need the Clue Book…
The Ballet slipper was a tough mystery, but was later found deep in the extra closet beneath all the dressup clothes (not in the ballet bag where they are supposed to be).
Oh, and here she is on another case, looking for bunny tracks…
Sometimes she asks me if I have any mysteries that need to be solved. Sometimes I do, and sometimes the biggest mystery is what might be under the couch. So she investigates…
The mini maglight is very useful for this kind of case.
She sometimes has to get extra tools. Here she uses a long-handled spoon for reaching.
There it is!!! Wow! That little ball belongs to another toy and we’ve been looking for it for months! Way to go Investigator Anne!
Along with being a mystery-solver herself, Anne also loves mystery-solving books. Right now, her favorite series include Magic Tree House, Cam Jansen, Flat Stanley, and A-Z Mysteries. She pretty much devours them, and now is reading almost two a day!
She’s read an amazing number of books this year and won two books from the school librarian for her accomplishment! Way to go Anne!
Well, if any of you know me well, you might guess I’ve got a book in the making…
With Anne’s love of books and her investigating skills, I just have to write her a chapter book…working on it.
Anne knows this, and for “Dress as your favorite storybook character Day” last year, she dressed up as, well, Investigator Anne! Storybook characters in the making count, right? Yes, I think so.
