Quotable EJ: School Update and Physics Lesson

Today, on my walk to pick EJ up from school in the unseasonably, fantastically-warm 80 degrees, two girls at the neighborhood playground yelled out to me, "Where's EJ? She's not with you!" This surprised me---I hadn't realized that they had learned her name in the few visits we have made there since the weather turned fair. When I told them that I was about to pick her up, they begged for her to come to the park. EJ happily obliged.

One of these girls is in the fourth grade, the other in the first, but it was clear that they wanted to play with my preschooler, which again, was somewhat of a surprise. "She's fun!" they said. They like her "imagination games." They weren't done there, though, noting, "We had fun when she came with that really tall guy---I think he's her dad. Is that your husband?" It was an interesting discussion for all of us.

EJ wanted to know where these ladies went to school---Horace Mann, for the record, which is currently on spring break---and then she told them her big news: she will likely be going to South Loop Elementary for kindergarten next year. She tested into the gifted program at the school, which is great, because it means smaller class size, and academics that will suit a kid like her who is a fluent reader and curious about EVERYTHING. Basically, she's a giant intellectual sponge on top of a wiggly, recess-loving body (did I mention South Loop has regular recess, unlike many public schools? Yes, it does!)

What follows is a transcript of the kiddos' pursuant conversation, which I wrote down there, since I didn't want to lose a word. As you will see: sponge with wiggliness.

Fourth grader: You'll go to South Loop?

EJ: YES! For kindergarten. It is a great school for me. It is a no candy and no peanut school, though, since some kids get sick from peanuts and candy is unhealthy for kids' bodies.

Fourth grader: Do you have a bookbag?

EJ looked up at me, with an "I don't know" face.

Me: Yes, EJ has a brand new backpack that she got for her plane trip. EJ, your bookbag is your Hello Kitty backpack, with straps and a pulley.

EJ: Mom, that isn't a pulley. A pulley is a simple machine, with an axle and a rope. The axle on a pulley is round, and you put a hole in the middle of it to hang it, then the rope goes over it, on top of the axle. You can use it to lift heavy things if you want.

Me: Well, you got me there. Your backpack has a pull handle, sound good?

EJ (to the girls): I have a backpack bookbag with a pull handle, and it is SO PINK and SO HELLO KITTY.

A PULLEY IS A SIMPLE MACHINE!?! For real? This came out of my four-year old kid's mouth on the swings today, as easily and as matter-of-factly as "the swings are hot" and "I'd like to swing higher, please!" I'd love to say that I did physics flashcards with her, but I have to put the credit where it is due: Sid, the Science Kid. Thank you, Jim Henson's company, for creating a show that has taught my daughter about simple machines, but more importantly, how fun science is. She's told me what the seesaw really is (a lever) and the slide, too (an inclined plane). I know that television for kids gets a bad rap, but it isn't all cutesy garbage. Or frilly, fancy garbage. Or whiney, obnoxious garbage that will make you sad you own a television, and ready to throw it out the window.

What do I love the most about this story? Aside from her excitement about school, and the fact that she very tenderly explained what a pulley was, without a hint of sassiness in her voice, I love that she wasn't sure what a bookbag was, but did understand the composition and use of a pulley. Let's hope that doesn't get her picked on too much in the future---maybe her love of Hello Kitty and pink, pink, pink will be her saving graces, even if she is as geeky as her two parents.