So, this morning we were covering several Enrichment titles. One was Russia ABCs. In Russia, there is a different version of "Santa" who apparently doesn't come on Christmas Eve but New Years Eve. I didn't pre-read this stuff so I'm reading it out loud to my kids and realize what I'm reading and its implications. I start to read fast to turn the page as quickly as possible. No one picked up on the differences all that much, focusing instead on the picture.
Then, we read "Where do Chicks Come From". There's a page talking about how the male fertilizes the egg and mating and his sperm joins the growing eggs. Yikes. That's 2 Yikes in the same 30 minutes.
Last weekend, my 8 year old went with me to the grocery store. He's chattering on about something while I'm perusing laundry detergent and I tune in to "Then, you get a male horse and a female horse to breed them". Three people nearby stop what they are doing. It got very quiet. I don't even look at him as I casually ask my son, "What does that mean? Breed them?". He responds, "It means you give them food". Without missing a beat I tell him, "Yes it does.". People were snorting and chuckling and why I get these weird scenarios in the grocery store, I'll never know.
I'm just wondering at the "when" of it all. When do you start honestly talking about the birds and the bees? When do you start really talking about family mythologies of Santa and others? I adore the Enrichment of MP, but I know the more their lives are enriched, the more knowledge of the world will unfold. I know it's coming and I also know that when I explain it to my oldest, there's probably no way to avoid my middle son also. Is there a point of no return in the Enrichment - or any other point of the curriculum - that this will be addressed? Or is this left up to the parent to find resources? I'm not asking if there is a "***-Ed" class, but a general knowledge of nature and life cycles. When we start talking mythology in 3rd grade, is that where some of these family stories about Santa have to be revealed?
Santa is an actual visit in our house in a very literal, physical way. My husband tells the kids that he sees Santa across the street, and all the kids rush upstairs. We put out 4 presents in special wrapping paper from Santa just before we go up so the kids will have seen the absence of the presents and the big "Wow" will be evident. Hubby even steps outside and throws a small trash can on the roof and jingles some bells outside. He runs upstairs afterwards telling us that Santa is on the roof. Then, while we are all upstairs, we set of of WAV file that I recorded on the computer to play on our surround sound below. The speakers boom the sound to the room upstairs so they hear Santa chuckling and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and the jingling of bells kind of ends it all. The whole thing lasts about 3 minutes, but it's a very big deal. I ache at the thought of any year being the "last year" but I worry that when the mystery is over for one, it will be for all.
Then, we read "Where do Chicks Come From". There's a page talking about how the male fertilizes the egg and mating and his sperm joins the growing eggs. Yikes. That's 2 Yikes in the same 30 minutes.
Last weekend, my 8 year old went with me to the grocery store. He's chattering on about something while I'm perusing laundry detergent and I tune in to "Then, you get a male horse and a female horse to breed them". Three people nearby stop what they are doing. It got very quiet. I don't even look at him as I casually ask my son, "What does that mean? Breed them?". He responds, "It means you give them food". Without missing a beat I tell him, "Yes it does.". People were snorting and chuckling and why I get these weird scenarios in the grocery store, I'll never know.
I'm just wondering at the "when" of it all. When do you start honestly talking about the birds and the bees? When do you start really talking about family mythologies of Santa and others? I adore the Enrichment of MP, but I know the more their lives are enriched, the more knowledge of the world will unfold. I know it's coming and I also know that when I explain it to my oldest, there's probably no way to avoid my middle son also. Is there a point of no return in the Enrichment - or any other point of the curriculum - that this will be addressed? Or is this left up to the parent to find resources? I'm not asking if there is a "***-Ed" class, but a general knowledge of nature and life cycles. When we start talking mythology in 3rd grade, is that where some of these family stories about Santa have to be revealed?
Santa is an actual visit in our house in a very literal, physical way. My husband tells the kids that he sees Santa across the street, and all the kids rush upstairs. We put out 4 presents in special wrapping paper from Santa just before we go up so the kids will have seen the absence of the presents and the big "Wow" will be evident. Hubby even steps outside and throws a small trash can on the roof and jingles some bells outside. He runs upstairs afterwards telling us that Santa is on the roof. Then, while we are all upstairs, we set of of WAV file that I recorded on the computer to play on our surround sound below. The speakers boom the sound to the room upstairs so they hear Santa chuckling and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and the jingling of bells kind of ends it all. The whole thing lasts about 3 minutes, but it's a very big deal. I ache at the thought of any year being the "last year" but I worry that when the mystery is over for one, it will be for all.
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