Five things
Another Saturday, another 10 hours of running from and after and around my children. And by the end I was eight kinds of bushed. Robert began the day as he usually does by reporting for duty, in full dress uniform, at 7am. The rain had stopped, so as far as he was concerned we were burnin' daylight, people! There are grounders to gather! Fences to scale! Bases to round! Mud to inhale!
We got to the field--a pastoral patch wedged between the FDR and a power plant thought up by Brazil's production designer--well before we needed to, but Robert had to check the field for wet spots and supervise the laying down of chalk lines. He played his three innings, then he played another inning with a shorthanded team, then he found his buddies and played tag, and pepper, and something to do with lasers on the handball court.
At 3 I had to drag him away from all this in order to get lunch and help set up TwoBert's third birthday party. Cupcakes and cavorting in the playground. No fuss, minimal muss. At his request, the birthday boy was appointed lead photographer, and now my Elph is coated with a fine patina of strawberry icing. (Another choice by the honoree; the kid just can't get enough Red 40.)
As we were walking home, Robert and I got to talking about school. His first year is winding down, and I was curious what his impressions were. Then I asked him: "If you could choose five things to study in school, what would they be?" The answers were:
- Nature.
- How to build a car engine.
- Hunting animals. ("Wait, you mean like, 'hunting'? With a gun?" "No, Dad, animals that hunt. With their fangs.")
- Why water is wet.
- The planets, especially Earth and Jupiter.
I'm especially eager to see how #4 breaks out.
If I had to wait until 3 to eat lunch I would have eaten one of my children. Maybe with strawberry frosting.
Posted by:Tootsie Farklepants | May 12, 2008 at 01:12
I could get on board with that curriculum.
Posted by:Jennifer H | May 12, 2008 at 01:49
Gah, I love that he's into learning and science. I hope he never loses that.
Posted by:jaime | May 12, 2008 at 08:33
"Why water is wet" is a far more interesting question than 'why is the sky blue' Go Robert!
Posted by:21stCenturyMom | May 12, 2008 at 10:40
My hubby used to work for CocaCola. Did marketing research for Dasani water.
Did you know that bottled water people actually looked to produce a water beverage that had a "wetter" mouth feel?
Your son is a marketing prodigy.
Posted by:n | May 12, 2008 at 11:08
Well rounded program of study there. I wish local undergraduates were as decisive damn them. Research into #4 should be thorough and should probably involve a great deal of field work.
Posted by:Megan | May 12, 2008 at 13:04
that list made me smile.
I can't wait until my son is old enough for little league games. He'll be 3 this summer so we have a few years.
Posted by:Alyssa | May 12, 2008 at 13:56
I want to attend the school administrated by your son. Who cares about studying social movements when you can learn to build a car engine?
Posted by:LiteralDan | May 12, 2008 at 14:33
Are you not just a rolling, swollen ball of pride on a daily basis?
Posted by:stephanie brown | May 13, 2008 at 08:51
I went through a phase of wondering why water was wet too. Then some old dude told me that only the surface was wet and I couldn't prove him wrong.
Posted by:zeekster | May 13, 2008 at 14:40
I will have to run that question by my kindergartener too, I love Robert's answers!
Posted by:Pixie | May 14, 2008 at 18:10
as i teacher i love that you asked your son this question. i love the answers he gave you even more.
Posted by:jessica | May 15, 2008 at 08:10