The Baby Bird, by Macy, age 8

I have loved all the stages my grandchildren have gone through, from the time they were born and I could hold them and give them bottles until they went to sleep, the toddler years, the kindergarten years, and now, Macy is eight-years old and she loves to read and write! What a fun age this is! The other day, I showed her how to make a little 8-page, foldable book and before I knew it, a story was created! It was the week that Ainsley, her three-year old cousin from Houston,was here while her mom was volunteering a week at muscular dystrophy camp. Macy had heard us talk about Colleen's involvement with this camp and two summers ago, she and Marshall even got to visit this camp since they had collected many water toys for these special kids at their birthday party (instead of gifts for themselves.) All of a sudden, "The Baby Bird" began to form in her head. I sat with her at the kitchen table and as quickly as she could think, the story went onto paper. It really is sort of a "rough draft" with quite a few spelling mistakes, but I couldn't help snap pictures of each page before I left their house that day. Here is what it says:

The Baby Bird

by Macy

It was a sunny day. A bird named Joey had hatched. He had no wings and not able to fly. Joey was very, very sad.

(Look at the picture of him in his wheelchair.)

He had five friends. Sally, Johnny, Junior, Belle, and Jack. They tried to teach him how to fly, but he always failed. (The picture shows his score card and his sad face.)

One day, his friend Sally, told him about "Camp Dissy-Bird." (Note, she said it was called this because it was for DISABLED birds!) She would be a volunteer (like Aunt Leenie). She set them up. She would be his assistant. (I had told her that each of the children at muscular dystrophy camp had a volunteer who was with them every day for all 24-hours.)

He toe-painted (we had just painted her toes that day!), went swimming, and played a fun game of Dissy-Bird. He went every summer.

He always looked forward to it. (Picture of him in his wheelchair with his thought bubble that says, "Camp.")

The End.

As a retired English teacher, I would love to have her re-do the book with all the corrections and colored pictures, but I know how important it is at this age, to just relax about that and let children find JOY in writing! I loved sitting there with her and listening to her thoughts as she wrote. This book was written really fast, in probably about ten minutes, pictures and all! I am amazed at her love of the written word, but I am more amazed at her beautiful, caring heart. I love you, Macy, and I love you, Aunt Leenie (Colleen), for being a giving, caring role model for your niece and nephew!