Me: "Iz, if you're going to write a poem for your class you can't just spend five minutes writing down whatever comes into your head about kittens and then call that 'free verse.'"
Iz: "But Mommy, I really worked hard on this!"
Me: "I'm afraid I don't believe you, since I watched you write it. What I do believe is that you're a smart girl and that most things are really easy for you, and as a result when you have a project that actually takes work and effort, you don't want to do it."
Iz [aghast at being found out]: "You're right!"
Then I told her a story about how we first realized she could read when she was four because she started reading Where the Sidewalk Ends to us. That made her feel better. She put her nose into some Shel Silverstein for a spell, and then came up with a much better poem, into which she actually put a smidge of effort.
Technorati Tags: gifted, Iz, poetry, third grade
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