Wit & Wisdom, week of May 15

Here is this week's wit and wisdom, a collection of the funny, new, or insightful things Maggie's said. Any new words are in italics.

• "Daddy, why do grownups move away from their mommies and daddies when they grow up?" When we stammered a bit thinking of our response, she piped up, "Maybe we should ask Mr. Mark?" (Mark is our pastor, and he's our go-to guy whenever she has a deep question about God we aren't sure how to answer.)
  
• We were working in the yard last weekend, and Bobby said to her, "Maggie, you sure do make everything better." She looked up, thought a minute, and asked, "I make the sun shine?"


• She was sitting in Bobby's lap, wanting to snuggle, when she said, "I want all the coldsies out and the warmsies in." We chuckled at that, which led to more: "I want the snuggles in and the not snuggles out, and I want the warms in and the colds out, and I want the cozies in and the not cozies out. And I want the bad behavior out and the good behavior in." (Amen to the last one.)


• I was at a church meeting Wed. night and Maggie was sitting on the front steps, drinking a juice box and watching Bobby work in the yard. She asked Bobby to get her rain boots, which were in the garage, and he answered, "I'm working; why can't you get them?" Her reply: "Because I'm enjoying my juice box."


• "I know lots of things in my brain."


• "Only girls are pretty -- not boys. Boys are handsome."

Reading update: I found a cool series of books at The School Box. They're published by Newmark Learning are called "Rising Readers Leveled Books." The books are divided into various categories: science, social studies, math, and fiction; at just $2.99 each, they're also a bargain! Like the BOB books and the Now I'm Reading series, Maggie can read the whole book. But unlike the BOB books and NIR series, Maggie loves them! The fiction books feature animal characters; her favorite is Buddy the dog. The non-fiction books are cool because, instead of illustrations, they feature real photography, which really engages Maggie. I don't know why she likes these so much better, except that maybe they seem more real to her -- the other two series are tiny books, all packaged together, and I think they seem to her as part of a lesson instead of simply a fun book to read. I don't know ...

A couple of weeks ago, I bought her three of these books (Buddy Finds a Home, What Can We See at the Pond?, and What Lives in Nature?) and she was able to read all three straight through -- I think I may have helped her with one word the whole time. So yesterday I went back and got a few more that were 1-2 levels higher. I gave her one to read in the back seat on the way home, and she surprised me with reading it out loud, with no help!!

Good Boy, Buddy
Ana took Buddy to the store. "Be a good boy," said Ana. Ana went into the store.
But Buddy was not a good boy. Buddy saw a squirrel. He had to chase the squirrel!
Then Buddy saw a butterfly. He had to chase the butterfly!
Buddy chased the butterfly over a bridge. Buddy wanted the butterfly to come back. But the butterfly did not come back.
Then Buddy saw a boy on a bike. Buddy had to chase the boy! Buddy chased the boy over the bridge.
Buddy and the boy went out of the park. They went back to the store.
Ana came out of the store. She saw Buddy. "Good boy, Buddy," she said.

I was really proud of her ability to figure out the longer words for herself. We've never read the words squirrel or butterfly, but she was able to sound out enough of the word and put it together with the illustration to figure out what the word was (and once she figures it out, she rarely forgets!). The only words she needed help with were bridge and they -- since she was sitting in the back seat and I was driving, she spelled the words out to me and I helped her figure them out. I think her comprehension is really good too, because after she'd read the story, I asked her why she thought Ana said "Good boy," and Maggie answered, "Because she thought Buddy had been sitting there the whole time -- she didn't know he disobeyed her."

Here's one more that she read by herself yesterday:

How We Help
Mom and I make some muffins. We put the muffins on a plate.
We take the muffins to the man.
Dad and I pick some flowers.
We put the flowers in a vase. We take the vase to the woman.
Mom and I go to the library. I take out some books.
We read the books to the children.
Dad and I go to get a pet. We pick this dog. He does not have a home.
We take the dog home.

I am so proud of her!!