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Our Little Ragamuffin

The Boy and the Neuron

Brain Science

I try on a daily basis not to be too stunned by The Boy. His quest for knowledge just amazes me. My parents tell me I was the same way, but I don't remember it being quite like he is. I do remember being six years old and checking out every book in the library on the solar system and then requesting to build a model of it without being required to, but I was six. The Boy has already done this...he was three.

Last night at dinner, The Boy shared with us that he already knows everything being taught in his Pre-K class. This is indeed true. He has been writing his name since he was two and that is what his class is learning right now. He is reading and his class is learning the sounds of the letters. When we decided to keep him in a standard Pre-K class (as if we had a different option), we knew this was going to be a problem, but I don't think we thought he would be so blatantly outspoken about it in the classroom. He is blatantly outspoken about it in the classroom. I have worked with his teacher to make sure he has other things to do that are more challenging. He has his own binder of activities to do during "work" time. But, he has now made it abundantly clear that this is not enough.

My struggle is not that he is a bright kid...I get that, I feel comfortable with working with that. My struggle is that I don't want him to get too big too fast. I want him to enjoy being a kid. I think The Husband and I are doing well to balance his drive for learning with the need for fun and thankfully he likes to be silly. I thank God everyday that, as of now, he seems to be balancing brains with fun. But, I do worry that will change. It is hard to say let's go play freeze tag or make believe we are dragons when all he really wants to do is learn about how his brain works.

Seriously. I have spent a few hours looking up activities he can do that will help him learn about the nervous system per his request. This came about after a short lesson in Pre-K about the senses. Apparently his teacher indicated in passing that the brain runs our senses. True. It does. But, now, The Boy wants to learn about the brain and what else it does. So, we are going to learn about that. Stop by our house tonight if you would like to diagram a neuron out of Playdoh. It is going to be big fun!

Childlike Living

This is a reminder to me on how to approach every day, no matter how taxing things might seem. Look how much fun she is having thanks to those around her.

I KNOW You Know

There is a time in every kid's life where they figure out what it means to be independent. We have already dealt with the "I can do it myself" syndrome at our house for The Boy. I know The Girl is rapidly approaching this stage. She already seems to think she can put her socks on by herself. Before you think, wow that is advanced, understand that for her putting on her socks means laying them on her feet. She is very proud after she does this, but gets even more excited when we finish the job.

With The Boy, we have moved on from the "I can do it myself" stage to the "Mama, did you know that I know..." stage. Every single conversation we have lately seems to start like this...

The Boy: Mama, can I tell you something?
Mama: Yes, sweetie, you can tell me anything.
The Boy: Let me whisper it in your ear.
Mama: You don't have to whisper it, not everything is a secret.
The Boy: Please, let me whisper it.
Mama: Okay (wincing because the whisper will not be a whisper and sometimes includes accidental spitting in the ear).
The Boy: Did you know I know...

And then the conversation starts over again with a different topic. Most of the time he is telling me that he knows what the small intestine does, or what a word means...but every now and then what he knows has to do with poop. Boys, I have found, in general, like to talk about poop and more specifically their own poop. I can't wait until The Girl starts talking in sentences.

Words Make Me Sleepy

The Boy has gotten my love for reading. This is how we find him most nights after we have put him to bed and turn off all his lights. So sweet. He will be reading Dickens before we know it. I never really liked Dickens, but I had to think of a big, important author on the spot.