Wordless Wednesday - Schylling Junior Baking Set from The Henry Ford

Annelise, the Very Insightful Preschooler

Annelise turns 4 tomorrow.  She is precocious in many ways, but one of my favorite ways is her insight.  We often refer to her as "The Quotable Preschooler", because she has such mature insights into life.

Half an hour ago, she was dozing in the recliner, watching Thomas the Tank Engine with her little brother.  I had gone upstairs to change clothes and finish dinner, and Maddie (6) came down and scared her.  She came to my room crying, having been startled out of sleep. 

As we were snuggling and talking, Maddie came in, upset at our neighbor girl.  The neighbor, Jacey, had been telling her that the 16 yr old girl up the street couldn't possibly want to hang out with Maddie, because she is only six.  (We know this to be untrue, Amelia teaches Maddie how to draw and paint, and makes cookies and banana bread with her.  She's even been invited to a tennis match.)  I reiterated to Maddie that what Jacey was saying was untrue.

Maddie wandered off, but Annelise and I were still in the bedroom.  Annelise looked at me and said, very eloquently, "I wish our guest, Jacey, would quit telling Maddie that Amelia doesn't like her.  It's mean.".  I giggled, I told her she was right, and that she should go tell Jacey that.  So she did.

Jacey was embarassed that she had been called down by a 3 year old.  She apologized to Maddie, and listened to me as I gave evidence that Amelia really does enjoy spending time with Maddie, even if she is only six.

Annelise often displays correct behaviour that we wish her sisters would emulate.  Pretty difficult when the example is the preschooler!

Reading Motivation and the 6 year old!

Over the long weekend, Maddie suddenly developed reading confidence! Until now, she has had zero motivation to read, and doing so with her was like pulling teeth. I read her a Margaret Wise Brown book called "I Like Bugs" before bed on Saturday night, and she asked if she could stay up to sound it out herself. This was the first time she has ever asked to read after going to bed, and I agreed. She came out about 20 minutes later and read a large portion of the book to her father. She came out to the kitchen to find me cleaning up dinner dishes, and asked me to come into the living room while she read a more difficult book. Maddie, The Doctor, and I sat on the couch and helped Maddie work through the book "Ten Little Ladybugs". Some words she understood from the visual clues on the page, some were sight words, and others were brand new to her. She was very tired after she finished, but seemed very proud of her accomplishment!

Yesterday, Maddie went to work with The Doctor for a few hours, and on their way home, they stopped at Barnes and Noble to pick out some Level 1 books. Maddie wanted books that had a 1 on them (Easy reader level). She picked out one for herself, one she could read to Annelise, and one she could read to Teddy. The Doctor and I both thought that it was adorable, and admirable, that she would choose to buy books specifically with topics that her younger siblings would enjoy.

During school today, we will get out one of those Level 1 books and see how motivated she is. Stay tuned at http://Mimzywood Academy to see how school goes today!