Today was another good day. I love how excited Benjamin gets about all things. Everything is exciting and interesting, especially if it's outside. It rained almost all day today, so after preschool he came home and wanted to "see what happens to dirt when it gets wet." So he grabbed his bucket and 4 shovels and went to work under the forsythia bush in our backyard. He filled a bucket with dirt and then carried it to the patio for his experiment. He dumped the bucket out into two piles and let the rain do its magic. Pretty soon he had a little boy's dream - a big pile of mud. He was so happy. He was out there playing in the mud and rain and singing songs he'd learned that day in school and all was right with the world. So adorable.
His fascination with everything often has unexpected rewards for me too. We went grocery shopping a couple days ago and the lady in the flower department was organizing and cleaning out inventory. So there was a lot of mess on the floor. Benjamin wanted to know all about what she was doing. He went over and started to talk to her about "the big mess" and "what are you doing with those flowers?" When the conversation ended she took two sets of carnations and presented one to Benjamin and one to Isabella because "these kids are so cute." Yay! I never buy myself flowers because my overly-frugal nature never permits me to spend money on something so temporary and ultimately completely unneeded, but I sure loved getting some for free! Thanks Benjamin!
On a related note, I also learned a ton about wallpapering the other day when we passed the wallpaper guy on the way out of the gym. Bella and I walked on by, but then I noticed that Benjamin wasn't following. We ended up spending 25 minutes watching him hang wallpaper. Benjamin was absolutely fascinated. And to his credit, Brian (I found out his name after a few minutes) was very patient. He let Benjamin touch things and hold things and explained everything he was doing. Benjamin wasn't going to leave until Brian was done. I found it kind of cool too, the smooth way he hung those huge sheets and left no ripples at all. I'm just really good at tearing the stuff off. :) When the room was done, Benjamin said goodbye, thanked Brian for letting him watch, and then he was finally ready to go home. It's funny how the normally shy tendencies he has dissipate immediately if he finds someone doing something about which he wants to learn. Life really is so much more interesting through the eyes of a three year old.
4 comments:
He is going to be such a smart man when he grows up, if he keeps showing such an interest in learning about every thing he sees. I hope Luke finds simple things about people and every day life so interesting. It's great that Benjamin also has a mom who takes the time to allow him to learn.. I don't know too many people who would stand watching a dude put up wallpaper for 25 minutes. You're such a great mother. :D
What a fun little boy! I love how it doesn't matter what it is, he has to figure out how it works. Even wallpaper. I love it!
I echo the comment of how impressed I am you let him watch for so long. After a couple of minutes I would have been looking for an excuse to leave I think. And if you need another resource for experiments (or fun projects) check out the Zoom website from PBSkids. Geysers are fun to make. :)
25 minutes of wallpaper! What a good mom! Barbara Kingsolver has written an essay about something along these lines, where she lets her four-year-old daughter stare at the zoo's armadillo enclosure for something like two hours. Because who is the trip to the zoo really for?
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