Dad I love insects!

So as the little ones grow the duties of a dad chamge from knowing how to change the oil in the car to now knowing about EVERYTHING and I do mean EVERYTHING, I love this because it keeps me on my toes and helps me build that language of asking questions that I feel a school system doesn't do for children.  Having spent sometime working as a Para-Professional in the local school system I had the oppurtunity to see that children have a drive to want to learn amazing new things but they seemed to not have the foundation of how and when to ask a question.  For tonights focus I move to my 5 year old who is at that amazing quest for knowledge and right now it is bugs and evrything about every bug.  Tonights book is titled Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder, found at http://www.penguin.com/ the art work in this book by Lynne Cherry is amazing, she takes you into the grass and field level settings that offer a view into the life of a caterpillar from egg to butterfly.  The words are simple and it offers the child boxes that show a zoomed in view of what is going on and that opens the question gates.  You can point out that it is important for the egg to be hidden from prey and I gaurante he will ask where is a good place to hide and what would want to eat a bug, the list goes on so just come back with anything.  I offer up that in some cultures people eat bugs as part of their daily meals this is good wide eyeid expressions that to me are proceless.  I ask him to explain what he sees on the page and instead of correcting him I give him a building block to work off. EX.  There is a page that talks about the caterpillar shedding his skin as he explains this he seems confused so I explain that he loses skin cells and has to replace them to become bigger and in return he tells me that the catterpillar is going to grow bigger as a butterfly.  Remember that it is important to just let them come up with whatever they wish in this process and instead of correction give him a way to see it in a new way.  I know very lttle aboutr bugs but I know that I can create a world that interacts with his and it offers us the chance to learn great things together.  I highly recomend this book to any young child who loves bugs, at the end it offers a way to get butterflies into your own garden and in the end giving your child the chance to have a hands on experience with their reading will only help to increase their knowledge and give you a great big smile at the end of a long day.  IS THERE ANYTHING BETTER THAN THAT!
Until next time imagine the world