Everett: “Why do we yawn?”

Mom: “It’s a natural reaction to seeing other people yawn.”

“Why did the first person yawn?”

Dad: “We aren’t really sure why people yawn. It might have something to do with getting more oxygen or releasing surplus carbon dioxide, but it’s not clear why this tends to happen when we are tired.”

“Well I want to go to a school that has all the answers.”

This led to a discussion about school, how much school you can attend in a lifetime, and what you might get out of it. This seemed to be the first time that he realized you could go to school to learn to become a scientist (his response: “Really?!?”). On a related subject, montessori school is going well. Our first parent-teacher conference a few weeks ago. Chris couldn’t attend because he was in Baltimore, but Melissa received a lot of positive feedback. Everett still seems to have a sense of wonder about it when Chris drops him off in the morning, and he does seem to enjoy his lessons and interacting with the other kids. He is still getting his mind around the fact that school is five days a week, and he is getting into the rhythm of getting up every morning and getting ready. He is now required to pick out his own clothes and get himself dressed. We are also getting him into the habit of getting his cold-weather gear, his milk cup and his backpack before he heads out the door. However, his Dad is still severely morning challenged after many more years of experience so we may have to adjust our expectations.