The Sounds of Child-Led Learning

One of those sounds is quietly chirping in the oddest corners of our house this week. Chirping like very small wings rubbing together in evening song, the direct result of my absolute love for my children. When Arthur came down the steps at 7am the other day and burst into tears, my first thought was; "Oh no, the dang lizard is dead." I was almost relieved, almost, when he announced instead: "I dropped the crickets all over." I dried his tears, taking the stairs 2 at a time to see if I could contain the damage. One fresh jar of crickets...righto.

Kids love animals. I know this is not unique to my children, it seems to be a given all over the world that a kid would rather have a puppy than a wagon, a jack-in-the-box or even a book, (I just can't get over this last). I resisted the "house of many animals" until very recently. We had a cat once, before it was catnapped, several rats, then a cockatiel, and, finally: a dog. I'm not sure what happened, somewhere along the way, a line was crossed, a barrier knocked down...or something. We currently house a small zoo. Santa brought a second cockatiel to Alienor, and now Arthur has chosen to raise a leopard gecko. Who.eats. live. prey.

Love, responsibility, biology and zoology lessons, I am sure that if I keep thinking, I will come up with many reasons for animals being a good idea. Besides it just being fun to hang out with a lizard, take my dog for a walk and teach the bird to whistle. Until the dog returns the Legos he ate, along with the extras, or the hall closet chirps as you walk by.