Dinosaurs-- our boys are fascinated with dinosaurs. 

 

One of the newest PBS shows is “Dinosaur Train” and it’s an instant hit with my boys. 

 

My youngest, JT, enjoys whichever dinosaur roars the loudest, while my four year old, Q, is into the information about each dino. The show usually leaves them full of questions. 

 

I had a flashback to a commercial audition I had many years ago. It was for a well known theme park and the usual suspects were being auditioned for, “father,” “mother,” “son” and “fish.” (Ok, not fish.) 

 

We didn’t have children at the time and I was truly deaf, dumb and blind to what children were capable of at different ages. How things change.

 

While I waited my turn to audition I found myself stunned by a conversation a young actor was having with his (real) father. He was talking about the Cretaceous period and what kind of dinosaurs were around at the time. He was about 8 years old and for some reason this seemed beyond what I would expect from that age. My standards were obviously low. 

 

My oldest son Q was an early talker. By 2 ½ he took a liking to dinosaurs. By the time he was 3 years old he had words like Pachycephalosaurus, Velociraptor, and of course, Tyrannosaurus Rex in his vocabulary. And as many new dads are, I was constantly surprised by what my boy could do.

 

Now at four years of age, going on five, Q still constantly asks me about Dinosaurs. He talks to me about carnivores and herbivores and occasionally remembers omnivores. 

 

Earlier this year Q and I talked about how a great meteor probably brought about the extinction of the dinosaurs. Recently he came to me and retold the story with a newfound sense of understanding, adding that if there were no plants, then there were no herbivores, and no herbivores meant, no carnivores, so all the dinosaurs died. I think my kid’s a super genius! (And what parent doesn’t.)

 

Watching my boys develop over these years has been truly enlightening. A significant time for me was when Q started his toddler/preschool program. What he was capable of learning, once again, surprised me. 

 

 

Today I get to watch JT learn from Q, and it’s apparent that he’s being introduced to the world in a different way than his older brother was. 

 

While JT can’t say pachycephalosaurus yet he can pick out a Troodon over a Velociraptor and a Triceratops over your common garden variety Brachiosaurus. 

He has also potty trained earlier, can keep up with his brother in verbal debates (even if he is using 2 year old vocabulary) and will probably be driving when he’s 8 ½ . 

 

I learn something new with every child and the big thing is that no child is the same. I’m working on keeping my expectations high but flexible. I think I should understand everything about kids by the time we have our 9^th child. I’m just kidding, Mami. 

 

Mostly I try to offer my boys as many opportunities to experience the world as I can without to many expectations about how they’ll respond. In other words, “if they don’t get, it’s Ok.” 

 

The important thing is the exposure. I’ve seen experiences that the boys have had one day, sprout like seeds into questions two or three months later. Kids are amazing learners and at this age they don’t forget much. 

 

As far as schooling goes, these days are all about looking into Kindergartens for Q.  We are interviewing principals and looking into what each school has to offer. 

 

This would not have been my strategy. Mami has been the stronger proponent of evaluating schools even at the younger ages.  I’d have probably said, “Send him to the local school and we’ll deal with it from there.”

 

Even being a college graduated semi-genius myself, the idea of being so proactive in our child’s education at the pre-K and Kindergarten age is new to me. But as I watch our boys learn it becomes ever clearer to me how important the learning environment is and looking into it as early as possible. 

 

My children love to learn. It’s in their nature. And as they grow they learn in different ways. As their dad I need to be ready.

 

A friend once told me that our boys would go through stages and just when I thought I had a stage figured out they’d move on to another one. It’s true. My boys are a reminder that just when I think I know what to expect from them (or life for that matter) it can all change. My job is to be ready to adjust.

 

I’m going through learning stages too. Let’s call them Daddy stages. With every change they go through I’m called to step up, to learn something new and be ready for the next surprises.

 

And how boring would life be if we weren’t called on to change; and if there were no surprises. Bring ‘em on!