Things I Learn from My 3 Year-Old

My son, who is three, has a new hobby of building elaborate "mouse houses" on our (king size) bed with all the pillows and blankets within 20 sq. feet.. These houses appear to serve as cushioned bunkers 'just in case' the Big Mouse should come along and, well, SCARE us. The Mouse House building is important stuff with speciifc technical details that I am not privvy to no matter how hard I try to understand the intricacies of Mouse House building. I am corrected repeatedly about proper Mouse House building. I adjust. I adapt. I follow my son's instructions. I get it right! Or so I think. But the rules keep changing. The carrot gets harder to reach or it disappears completely. The "rules" become more elaborate/elusive.

That's about the time I ask if the Big Mouse is coming. Should we take cover? If I ASK the question, the answer is "No, not yet.". If I declare that, in fact, the Big Mouse is coming right now, "Quick, hide!" then it becomes a reality and my son plays along. We hide in whatever lame, half-conceived Mouse House is available at the moment. Then we share a great moment of suspense and togetherness until the Big Mouse is gone (or tickles our feet or fails to materialize altogether)

As an always-reflecting Educator, I take away these nuggets from these experiences with my son:

1- How often have I as a teacher moved the carrot (or changed the rules, or had vague lessons or no clear assessment/accountability) causing frustration for my students?

2- How often have I allowed the stronger personalities in a class to rule the day despite my best plans for learning?

3- How often have I simply and explicity declared what we're doing and held fast without fail for the benefit of all (becauseI know my intentions are good and the material is rich and worth knowing).

4- Do I stay focused on the Big Mouse? In other words, how meaningful and relevant is all the learning we're doing in the first place? Can it be better? Does it have traction? Will it be remembered and retained?

Have the habits to learn new things been instilled, stimulated and nurtured so that, I, as teacher no longer cease to be required? So that learning resides with the Learner.

Finally, since we know that an emotional experience is more memorable than an "informational" experience, to what extent are feelings of 'intimate anticipation' and 'excitement' palpable in my classroom. Is it still my classroom or is it our classroom where we all construct, deconstruct, start again, change, adapt, pause, reflect, share and start again?

Will Ran At The Josh Billings Race!

Aidan here: Today was the Josh Billings race. My Dad went really fast on his bike and then after the race, my cousin Will ran in a race, too. He did great. It was fun to watch him run. He even got a ribbon at the end.



I think Will's going to come every year to the Josh Billings Race with his sister Abie and his Dad and Mom. Will's Dad is even thinking about getting a bike and riding fast with my Dad.

We went to the big party at Tanglewood when it was all over and here I am hanging out there:

Of Rock Bands, Music, Counting and Toddlers

Some bands know how to have fun. Kids love to have fun. That's why fun bands eventually make albums for kids. The latest band to do just that is the Barenaked Ladies and the album is called Snacktime. The result is a win-win situation. Young kids learn, older kids appreciate the humor and the Barenaked Ladies have (had) a blast making the album.

It's absolutely brilliant and every Mom, Dad and teacher should own a copy. Here's a video using the music from the song "7,8,9" from that album.

The Wisdom of "No!"

digital native
Originally uploaded by dharmacat

He's two.
I say: "What's your name?"
He says: "No."
"How old are you?"
"No!"
"Would you like to go outside, eat pizza, and generally have a great time right now?"
"No!!!!"

See, there's wisdom in "no". As a teacher, it probably took me 5-6 years before I realized that the first answer to any question (by a student) should be "no".

There's room to compromise after that. "Yes" creates problems. I anticipate using the word "no" a lot in the coming years, lest I hear:
"But you SAID!!....."

In The Zone

In The Zone
Originally uploaded by dharmacat

I like to play piano when Dada plays. Sometimes, I move my head around. I love music.

I Can Walk!!!

Woohoo! I can walk! I can walk. Today, I went to the park with my friends. Some of them have been walking for a few weeks already. I decided to try it out. I was a little wobbly but I did it!! This is great. Now I can walk all the way back to the slide ladder and go up and down all day!

Walking Rocks!

Girl Babies Rock!

My Parents had friends over the house. They have a girl baby! One thing led to another and we wound up in the bath together. It was amazing. We pretended to be medieval kings and queens. I proposed marriage right there on the spot. What a day!

Slides Rock!

These things are cool.
I sit down and fly fast fast fast!!
Dad or Mom catch me and I get to do it again
and again
and again
and again
and again
and again..............................................................................................!

Glasses Are The Thing

I have an obsession with glasses!

First Year Dad-Top Ten List

It's been a year. Are you kidding? Sometimes it feels like he was born yesterday. Then again, at other times, I feel like he was born eons ago and this has been the longest year EVER. Such is the role of parenting: experiencing/feeling/perceiving polar opposite realities simultaneously on a regular basis.

This is typified in the statement 'parenting is the hardest job you'll love.' Cliche or not, it's true for me. Here's my top ten list which may or may not be useful for new Dad's everywhere:

1-Understand that the definition of Down Time will change dramatically. Down Time nowadays is going to the bathroom, mowing the lawn, driving to the grocery store, going to work. Really.

2-Sleep as much as you can. Resist the temptation to stay up late working on that iTunes playlist....baby will decide to get up at 5:30 tomorrow.

3-Realize that your priorities will change. You won't resent this..in fact, it's a huge relief. Stuff that seemed like huge problems in the past will simply become mild annoyances. This includes problems at work. NOTHING matters more than the Big Picture of your Fatherhood!

4-You'll catch yourself checking out families that you see out in public.

5-You will learn and know the definition of unconditional love. This is automatic on the birth of your baby. You thought you knew. But, oh no, sir....not until the baby is born.

6-You will appreciate your wife/spouse in ways that were never before possible because the connection is deeper now. Period.

7-You thought you had a lot of stuff? Nothing compares to baby gear! Good Luck packing for that first trip. That's an adventure in and of itself. And just when the car is packed, you'll be asked if you packed the excer-saucer yet? Um, no, I didn't. Add 1 more hour to the packing.

8-You'll actually not mind removing snot from baby's face. (Full disclosure: I used my bare hand to achieve this on the streets of Washington D.C.). Trust me: this won't seem so gross at a future time.

9-You'll discover that like puppies, babies attract women. Baby=chick magnet. Who knew?? Granted, you're too tired and too committed to your family to consider a dalliance but the attention's nice.

10-Nothing will EVER be the same again. Enjoy the ride. And Welcome aboard.

Cheesy Smile

Humor is becoming evident at 13 months.

Eating Out

eating out
Originally uploaded by dharmacat.

As you can see, I enjoy fine dining out while reading the latest novels. Here, I enjoyed peas, carrots, kidney beans and kashi o's while learning that babies have happy smiles and that, sometimes, babies cry. I am not unlike these babies that I read about which encourages me.

My Hippo Rubber Mat serves as a prophylactic, protecting me from icky public germs. Also, I am free to hand feed myself which is my preference. You should try it! My Big Duck Bib keeps me sweater clean while I do this. Neat, really.

You should go out to eat like me. It's great fun. Oh, and did you know daddies love their babies? Mommies love their babies, too.

My Birthday is Soon!

I'm going to be ONE! I look WAY different now than I did last year. You can see for yourself here.

My favorite book now is Good Night Cape Cod
and, as you can see, Chicks dig me. Especially 90 year old ones. I smile at them.

Tigger

tigger 1
Originally uploaded by dharmacat.

1st Halloween=Tigger.
I played in the front yard before the neighborhood kids came by. I did not go trick-or treating as there's no point to it. I just started eating real food. Candy's not part of my diet. I loves peas, sweet potatoes, avocados, carrots, white beans, kidney beans, grapes, chicken, chickpeas apples and especially blueberries which I like to mash all over my face.