Genius, Lazy, or Just Plain Wrong?

Linus wanted to learn to tie her shoes for a while, but she was having a little bit of trouble.  In a brilliant move, her teacher has what she calls Fun Friday.  One component of Fun Friday is students get to take off their shoes and just wear their socks IF they have demonstrated the ability to tie shoes correctly.  Nothing works like a great incentive for Linus. She started school on a Thursday, and by Friday morning she was able to demonstrate to her teacher that she could correctly tie her shoes.  Her teacher was thrilled with her quick mastery, and so were we.  

Naturally with Linus it doesn't end there.

One afternoon as her teacher was helping Linus into the car, she thanked Linus for being such a good friend to her classmates and teaching them to tie their shoes.  It brought a smile to my face.  My sweet little girl was helping her friends tie their shoes so that they could join her on Fun Fridays in just their socks.   I was so proud.

This week I was in her classroom for a while.  I noticed other children tying her shoes.  I was surprised at first, then a bit worried when her teacher mentioned that Linus rarely ties her own shoes anymore.  I asked Linus about it that evening, and was caught off guard by her response: "Of course they tie my shoes, Mama."  When I asked her why 'of course' she looked at me like I was not so bright. "It's a good thing, Mama. Practice makes perfect, so I let them practice on my shoes."  I asked her if she thought that was nice.  "It's nice because I'm helping them.  It's smart because I don't have to do it."