Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Out of This World

I really wish I had a DVD player in the car.  I know that they invite a whole new set of problems, but I'm ready for a break from the boys' current activity of choice in the car, locating stars in the sky and arguing violently over whether they are stars or airplanes.  

Or occasionally, light bulbs.

I did get a brief and welcome reprieve from their debates last night when Cael wasn't able to spot the lights in the sky. 

"Why are there only three stars?!"

"There are millions of stars, honey, but it's too bright to see them right now.  Remember that episode of Curious George when George wants to count the stars, but he can't see them in the city because the lights are too bright?" 

"I remember that."

"Well this is the same thing, except the sky is still too bright, and the moon is really bright, too."

"Why is the moon bright?"

This is the point at which I must make a choice.  He has asked two questions, which signal the beginning of what is likely to be a long and arduous conversation regarding the space/time continuum, and only two choices remain for me.  Do my best to answer his questions and hope he'll see a cow or something to distract him before I drive the van off a bridge, or respond with the often overused "we'll talk about that later" response which I am limiting myself to using only once per day.

And unfortunately for me, my one usage is up.  If only he hadn't asked about how frogs have babies.

"The sun is on the other side of the Earth now, so it's lighting up the moon for us.  And the moon is so bright because it's almost full tonight."

"Why is it almost full?"

"Because the moon goes in cycles.  When you see the whole moon, it's called a 'full moon', and then it gets smaller again.  You've seen a crescent moon, right?"

"What's a crescent moon?"

"One that is really tiny, like a piece of fingernail."

"I've seen that.  But Mommy, why is the sun on the other side of the Erf?"

This discussion is getting away from me faster than Oscar chasing a rabbit.

"Our planet goes around the sun.  When our side of the planet is facing the sun, it's daytime.  When we face away from the sun, it's nighttime."

"And when it's really bright, it's Thursday, right?"

"Well, Thursday comes after Wednesday.  That doesn't really have anything to do with the weather.  But the weather does tell us what season it is."

"What is a season?"

"You know about seasons.  What season are we in right now?"

"Winter."

"That's right.  Do you know which one comes next?"

"I told you, Mommy.  THURSDAY."

"Nope, that's a day, not a season.  Next comes Spring, when the weather gets a little warmer and the plants start to grow again."

"Why is it warmer?"

"Because we're closer to the sun.  Or the angle is different... but I know it has to do with the sun, Cael." 

"Oh, okay." 

And just when I thought he was done, when we were almost home and I thought I might have actually taught him something, he turned to Graham to share the knowledge. 

"Graham, did you hear that?  Mommy made up a silly story about the moon and the sun."

"I like da moon." 

"Me too.  I like it because the moon makes it Thursday."

"Yeah!"  Graham echoed.


"Mommy, why does the moon make it Thursday?"

We'll talk about that later, Cael.

10 comments:

  1. Love that you're teaching the boys astronomy -- Joel might not know the earth goes 'round the sun!

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    1. Seth- Thanks! I'm sure Joel has some bathroom-related explanations to share with the boys. I figured that I should try and beat him to the punch. :)

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  2. LOL. We have 2 dvd players in the car....keeps conversations to a minimum so I can sing along with the radio ;-)

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  3. Hey Mary thank you for the link!
    I hope you don't mind me sharing the following link with you, maybe you already know about this foundation... If you don't then please share this message with everyone you know, we can make a difference! For the sake of our children!
    http://vimeo.com/37119711
    Shaz

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    1. Your welcome! :) Did you watch the video?
      Shaz

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    2. Shaz- I did watch it! I think it's gone seriously viral by now, too. I hope everyone has the chance to see it!

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  4. Izzy is OBSESSED with space, astronauts, the moon, the planets, the sun and "constawations" (constellations). We went to the planetarium while we were in Chicago last weekend, and she was in heaven! We've had these conversations too many times to count, and I resorted to YouTube to show her videos about how the moon goes around the Earth, how the Earth spins and that equals a day, and how the Earth goes around the sun, and that equals a year. She gets it now, but there were a lot of "Why?"'s and frustrated mommy googling all sorts of things about space to try and answer her questions. LOL :)

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    1. That's a really good suggestion to check YT... I will totally do that! I'm tired of steam engine videos anyway...

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Leave your own "ism". Cael and Graham double-dog dare you.