Arts as Astra

I've started taking tae kwon do with my kids the last few months. Yesterday was the belt test. They let me skip from no belt past white belt, so I tested for gold belt right along with Son the Younger. Even though testing is about much more than just breaking a board, you can't help but see it as a major milestone. StY is not quite big enough yet to break a board yet, but he gave it a good try. Son the Elder was testing for red belt, at a much more advanced level. It's actually quite impressive what he can do at a mere eight years of age. He wasn't quite able to break the board, but it cracked pretty audibly.

They give the grown-ups wider and thicker boards than the kids, but I still gave a nice strong stepping side kick and broke it on my first try. It was much more satisfying than I expected it to be.

DH isn't doing tae kwon do, but I had bought a large blue Hubbard squash that I was having difficulty cutting up. He grabbed the big cleaver and hacked away at it, yelling and everything, and now there are bits of squash all over the kitchen. Good thing it's his job to sweep the kitchen floor.

"Down by the Station" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" have the same melody. I just figured this out this morning.

I pointed out this profundity to DS1, who simply shrugged and said, "well, you know, the ABC song and Twinkle Twinkle have the same tune, too."

Six and a half, and already jaded.

Last week, DS1 had a day off from school, and he begged to come in to work with me. Here's the picture he spontaneously drew on my white board:

From Photo Library

(You can click on the link to see more pictures I took of my white board, and to see the "sunny" version of the drawing.)

I ought to also upload the photo of his artwork that got included in the school's art show exhibit that was on display in the local mall last weekend. Only about 12 kindergarten projects were on display, from a school with around 100 kindergarteners.

Yes, I am shamelessly proud of my son.

I got into a big argument with DS1 this morning.

DS1 mentioned that tomorrow was the first day of winter, whereupon I said, No, actually it's today. He insisted that no, no, it's tomorrow! And okay, the solstice actually happens at 7:22pm EST tonight, so fine, I'm willing to concede the point. Then he told me that he was excited about snow coming tomorrow! Actually, I told him, it's going to rain tomorrow, not snow. At which point he got completely upset at me. How could it rain tomorrow? It's going to be winter! It snows in winter! You're talking nonsense.

Maybe I should have just kept quiet and let him be disappointed tomorrow? At least then he wouldn't be mad at me on account of the weather forecast.

And now, time for another random kid anecdote.

(I think this happened Sunday, as I was talking with DH in DS1's presence about stuff.)

Me (to DH): ... not too bad, all things considered.

DS1: from NPR News!

DS1 then wanders off, repeating "NPR News!" to himself.

Tonight I told DH, "I like coding." Pause. "It's sick."

---

I had gotten DS1 a kindergarten level workbook. Lately, he's been wanting to stay up to fill in the pages. I'll tell him, "You can have a bedtime story, or work on two pages." And he'll opt for the workbook.

He's so doomed.

Somewhere, DS1 picked up that fact that some islands are made by oceanic volcanos. He told me this fact on the way home from school sometime last week. I told him, yes, that's how Hawai`i formed. So our morning conversation in the car went something like this.

DS1: "There are lots of states. But Hawai`i isn't one."

Astra: "Yes it is! The state of Hawai`i is made up of a bunch of little islands."

"Oh. Do they use bridges to get across?"

"No, they are much too far apart to use bridges. They use airplanes to get from one island to another."

"Why do they use airplanes?"

"Because they are too far apart to use bridges."

...

DS1: "Why is Hawai`i a lot of little islands?"

Astra: "Because there's magma plume deep in the Earth's mantle, and where it meets the surface it forms a volcano and forms an island. But the crust moves, and as it moves over the plume, a new volcano forms, and you get a chain of islands."

DS1: !!!


And so I found myself trying to explain plate techtonics to my four-year old son while dodging DC rush hour traffic.


Astra: "Do you know the names of the oceans?"

DS1: "No. But I know the continents! They're in the song: (singing) North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia. Don't forget Australia, don't forget Antarctica."

Astra: "Well, there's a big ocean betweeen the Americas and Asia called the Pacific Ocean."

DS1: "Well there's a song about the continents! (singing again) North America..."


I'm impressed that he knows so much about world geography already. And pleased that he's got the curiosity to ask questions about everything. But darn it, can't he ask me when we're at home so I can grab the globe and show him things instead of while I'm trying to drive??