Whiz Kid: Second-Grader Moves to Head of Class

ELIANA SCHREIBER

Age: 7

School: Second-grader at Norup International Academy

Accomplishment: Launching and leading a monthly mother-daughter book club

Teacher in training: Lynne Schreiber said she wanted to find a way to spend more quality time with her daughter, Eliana, the middle child of three. Schreiber said the two put their heads together to come up with something other than shopping so they could “connect at an intellectual level.” 

Because Eliana had such a love of reading, and had expressed an interest in becoming a teacher, starting a book club came naturally.

Mom got the word out and soon mother-daughter teams from Berkley, Huntington Woods and beyond joined the duo for literary discussions, cupcakes and tea. Kindergartners, first-graders and a few older kids from local schools are now part of the group. Moms and daughters ages 6 to 9 are welcome to join in the fun (e-mail lynne618@gmail.com for more information).

Schreiber said she was happy to have the monthly meeting at her Southfield home to be with Eliana and provide “a little island in time” for mothers and daughters to connect. It didn’t take Eliana long to take on a leading role. She now can be seen at the front of the room, asking the group questions she developed after discussing plot, characters and other themes with her mom as they read the book together.

“She wants to be a teacher,” her mother said, “which is why I think she likes leading the group.”

Schreiber, who owns public relations, marketing and business development company Your People LLC, also is an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy and Wayne State University. Leadership is a quality she shares with her daughter, Eliana, who propped herself up in front of the mother-daughter group on Sunday and took attendance.

Eliana was at ease shooting out questions to the crowd, pencil and paper in hand. The book the group discussed was “Heidi” by Johanna Spyri, a novel written in 1880 about a young girl in the Alps being raised by her grandfather.  Heidi would find herself in the company of friends and foes, and the first question Eliana asked was about the undisputed villain, Fraulein Rottenmeier.

“Why do you think the character Fraulein Rottenmeier was named Rottenmeier?” she asked.

The girls in the group quickly chimed in: “Because she stinks!” and “her attitude was rotten!”

“OK, who was your favorite character?” Eliana continued. Most of the girls chose Klara, a girl with disabilities who befriended Heidi.

“Klara was the best,” Eliana said, “because when Heidi was living with her, she was the only one that was nice to her.”

The girls, with the help of Schreiber, decided that the message of the book was to be kind to people, encourage others and strive to overcome obstacles that come your way.

One more message, Eliana quipped, is to “have faith in yourself.”

Key to awesomeness: Eliana is a talented writer and artist who loves to play school and teacher, Schreiber said. "She is amazing."

Nominate a Whiz Kid

Each week, Berkley Patch seeks suggestions from readers for individual  kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Berkley Patch Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to Leslie.Ellis@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

• Nominator's name and e-mail address
• Whiz Kid's name, age and school
• Whiz Kid's accomplishment
• Whiz Kid's key to awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)