What We Are Reading

Tonight A pulls this book "The Rabbits" off the shelf. An amazing, spot-on, illustrated book about colonization. I've never read it to her because I expected it would be more appropriate when she was older. But she insisted. She interpreted the book (at 3 years old) more as about the Rabbits not taking care of the planet earth, but I was impressed anyway. 

The last line of the book is "Who will save us from the rabbits?". I looked at her and she answered, "A Saver!" I asked her if that was her. She responded, "Mom, I'm not a saver. I'm just a kid! I am a helper." 

When I was doing my Master's in Education, and subsequently doing professional development with educators, I was constantly reminding teachers that kids can understand so much more than they are given credit for and more importantly interpret and internalize it in a positive way. Kids don't carry the same mental baggage that we do. What can seem too dark to us just isn't to them. They take the lessons they need and understand (and that we want them to have) from books and events that at first glance seem far above them.

My daughter proved this to me tonight.