I am going to spend some time in this spot discussing how Brigit and I spend our time. The approach we are using to educate her seems unstructured and unfocused, but the ultimate result so far is the development of a quite sophisticated, critical mind in a person less than six years old. Anyone who spends ten minutes talking to her will see it. I don’t know if this is common or not. It does not matter, for it is an amazing thing to behold and there is no time limit on discover and wonder.

So much of what she does has long term impacts on her own development. I want to be able to look back and see what works and what doesn’t for her, and how I can do the best I can to support her journey. Here are five things that happened this past week. Sometimes we go in so many different directions in a week a great idea may get dropped from lack of time. Hopefully I can catch some of them here so we can pick them up later if lost.

A new place. We arrived at my brother’s house recently after driving across the country. We are finally in a semi-permanent spot where we are not changing locations every night. Learning the nuances of someone’s home and habits is a new thing. It is not a big stretch, for my brother is pretty laid back and busy with a new job. He is happy to spend time with us over dinner when he gets home, and appreciates that someone spends time with the quietly aging pit bull sweetie doggie of his.

Brigit asked for two things in a new ‘place’ – a dog and a back yard. She gets both here (at least temporarily) and is enjoying learning about dog behavior and the nooks and crannies of a lush, green, bushy yard (including the need to scoop the poop). A whole new metroplex to explore is a bit of a temptation too!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We watched the 1973 and 2005 versions. We watched the older version at least a dozen times over the past few years, so she is intimately acquainted with the plot and characters.  We compared and contrasted the versions. Highlights of her observations include: the new Wonka is creepier, the new version has more details about Wonka’s background and why he loves making candy so much, the songs in the old version are easier to follow, and both movies have neat cinematography (a new word and concept that took us on a tangent in the middle of the discussion). Next on the topic will be reading the book. Not a high priority – frankly, the book is confusingly freaky and we are in the middle of another series right now. She said she preferred the older movie version because it was simple and left more mystery about the characters, letting her come up with her own stories ‘on the edges of the movie’.

Chapter book reading. We are on book seven of the Harry Potter series. We started with book one in February and have gradually made it to the seventh. A lot of discussion occurs about the story line and character development as we progress. During the more tense times of the story she breaks into my reading and proposes a solution or fix for the problems characters are having. Brigit is definitely a member of the Order of the Phoenix. I am wondering if her opinion of Snape changes when she gets more information, but we will see! When I read she sits there and sometimes works on pot holders or varied craft projects. Other times she just curls up and listens. Sometimes when I take a break she begs for a later break because she has ‘formed a picture in her head from the words and does not want to lose it yet!’. I think I am safe as long as I don’t get laryngitis!

Money. One day we were in a mall. Not my preferred place to spend a day, but that was where they built the aquarium we visited. On a money related note, Brigit wants another “Build a Bear” (BaB) exceedingly overdressed stuffed animal. Her current BaB is decked out in a tutu, sparkly shoes and a tiara – a Christmas gift last year. After having a slightly dramatic discussion about the expense and timing of a newly built being not being hers that day (no instant gratification), she spend thirty minute going through the store deciding what she wanted in the future. The cost of other activities planned for the week did not result in capacity for adding the potential new family member out of the family budget. The discussion evolved into the options available for actually getting one, which included 1) asking for a new one on her birthday (two months away), 2) waiting until the family budget allowed for it (with no guarantee when that would happen) or 3) using her own money……oooohhhhh! Her own money! The brain started working like gangbusters! The whole thing resulted in quite a math lesson. We located four different places in her toys, backpack and lovies where she carefully stashed her money before we moved – from past special occasion gifts and such. Oh my, she has accumulated quite a pile! After spending half an hour figuring out the currency and counting it all up, she discovered the pot of gold she has been hoarding would be plenty for her new BaB! Needless to say, she has grand plans for later in the week (on another unfortunate visit to the mall) to purchase a newly built and fully decked out ‘bear’. It will be more interesting when she has more stringent funds, but for now she will be extravagant, I expect. When we finally arrived with her wallet in hand at the store she went on a spree that far exceeded her funds. Hard decisions had to be made, but the purchase was winnowed down to fit within her budget. In summary, she now has a softly stuffed cat with a sparkly wardrobe, roller skates, pink bed and pink carrying backpack.She carefully set some funds aside for the Renaissance Festival in the near future – we will see how that works out!

Animals Part II. We had a new doggie join us this week. We went from one old dog (14 years) and one non-young cat (11 years) to adding a one year old doggie. The peaceful animal behavior and level of calm has dropped noticeably. During our road trip Brigit focused specifically on cat behavior and body language, helping our cat to be as comfortable as possible in the truck and hotel rooms. This week we have added the study of dog behavior, especially the difference between that of old and young. Different species but the the same concept in many ways. Walks of a hesitant, cautious cat on a leash during the trip have turned into walks of two dogs that seem to constantly go in opposite directions. Brigit liked dancing around them while I tried to keep from tangling my legs to the point of tripping. The ultimate workout! The younger dog left soon after, but was an interesting lesson in observation, similarities and differences!