Smart

We've recently started reading a book about which I have heard very good things. It's called Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard J Maybury. If you're a part of the homeschooling world, you've probably heard of it or read it. If you're not, then you may not have.

We're only on Chapter 7, and already I think this book should be required reading for every American - especially the politicians. I took economics courses in college, in which I scored very well, but which never answered that question - what did happen to penny candy? I've pondered that question since reading about penny candy in Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.

Anyway, Maybury's book is very easy to read, and even my 4th-grader is getting familiar with terms like inflation, recession, deflation, depression, among others. We've also learned where the dollar came from. Quite interesting.

So, all that to bring me to today's poem. At the beginning of Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?, Maybury quotes one of my favorite Shel Silverstein poems. It always makes me laugh, and my older two and I had a good laugh over it again last week when we started the book.

Smart
My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
'Cause two is more than one!

And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes - I guess he don't know
That three is more than two!

Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!

And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!

And then I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head -
Too proud of me to speak!

You can find more poetry selections here.