Miss Smarty Pants

Camryn's reading ability is officially blowing my mind. I mean, really. blowing. my. mind. Let me explain...

A few weeks ago, someone donated a box full of chapter books to my school. As per our tradition, they were laid out for all teachers to dig through, to use in their classrooms, or take home to their own children. So I grabbed a few slim chapter books, mostly second to third grade level, figuring Camryn would enjoy some new titles. (Lately, she's been reading some to herself, but still enjoys a good Mom or Dad reading session at night.)

So having nearly finished all of the new Judy Moody and Junie B. Jones in the stack, I suggested we read the last one, a Beverly Cleary book titled, Muggie Maggie. Having been an avid Cleary fan in my youth, I was kind of surprised that I wasn't familiar with this one, and was interested to see what it was all about. Camryn however, informed that she had already read it.

"When?" I asked, to which she responded, "The other day. While Aubrey was taking her nap." Now it is true that I am officially the M.M.O.T.P. (Meanest Mom on the Planet), and do require Camryn to have some quiet "rest time" each day while Aubrey naps. This is also called "Mommy would like to keep her sanity" time, but that's another story...

So I figured I'd test her. I scanned the summary on the back, and asked her to tell me about the book. Her synopsis was spot on, but I probed further, asking some "Why?" and "What happened after that?" and "How did the character feel about that?" sorts of questions, to get a better sense of what she'd really comprehended. And she confidently responded to every single one, without even so much as batting an eye. It seemed as though she had read, and comprehended, the entire thing.

So then I got curious. I hopped onto scholastic.com and did a little checking of my own, into the story itself, and the reading level of the book. And what I found out made me nearly fall off my chair. That book is rated a 5.0 reading level. Yes, that means it's considered a fifth grade level book. Fifth grade! And my 6 year old kindergartner read it herself! I wasn't sure whether to burst with pride, or be afraid that she's right. Maybe she does know it all, and maybe I'm in big, big trouble!