Robby's reading has drastically improved during the past few
months. While I wouldn't classify him as a bookworm, he is learning that
books open up the world to a wealth of information. With a strong
preference for non-fiction, he has already exhausted his school's
library of every available turtle and reptile book. Although turtles
remain his obvious preference, he has expanded (no doubt out of
necessity) his reading interests to include sharks and sea life.
A
few weeks ago I picked up Robby from school and he began to pepper me
with questions about Mrs. Sager's diving experiences. Mrs. Sager is a
family friend who taught with my Mom for years. She is also an
experienced scuba diver with a wealth of experience and wonderful
stories to share. She taught Robby how to snorkel before our trip to
Atlantis, and the two often talk about the tropical fish she has seen
during her dives.
On this occasion, Robby
wasn't interested in general diving information or experiences.
Specifically, he wanted to know if she has ever been in a cage
surrounded by sharks. (Apparently he read a book about a marine
scientist studying sharks.) I passed the question along to my Mom who
sees her on a regular basis, and we received a message that she has swum
with sharks but was not in a cage. Robby was duly impressed!
This
past weekend Robby was surprised with an unexpected gift from Mrs.
Sager and her sister. They had compiled a collection of shark's teeth
for him, many prehistoric, along with a classification guide. He was
excited to see the variety of teeth but became utterly fascinated when
he realized that some came from sharks that swam during the time of the
dinosaurs. Upon learning that information, there was no doubt that the
teeth, along with the chart, were going to be taken to school to show
his classmates.
Monday morning, Robby
triumphantly walked into his school with the little box of shark teeth,
and
as soon as he saw his teacher, he began to show her his latest
treasure. I must give her credit; she immediately put down her paperwork
and focused on what Robby was showing her. They carefully examined each
specimen, commenting on and comparing the various features and
attributes.
Of course, my little talker also
took the opportunity to tell his teacher all about Mrs. Sager, her
diving experiences and especially about her swimming pool. He proudly
explained that she was a friend of Nana's (my Mom) and she has a
swimming pool. Her pool is just like the pools that they probably have
in heaven, except that it is in Pennsylvania. His teacher listened
patiently as she swiftly redirected Robby's conversation back to the
teeth. Yet again, I made a mental note to be careful what I say in front
of Robby because he is bound to remember and repeat it.
Robby
offered to research to determine during which period of the dinosaur
era the various sharks lived. She agreed that a shark timeline would be a
great project and promised to help him research further. Before Robby
left for his classroom, his teacher remarked that he always brings in
the most interesting items to show his friends. He coyly smiled and
said, "Well, that's how I roll."
Robby has
been elevated to hero du jour by sharing his rare sharks teeth with his
classmates. I understand that he allowed each friend to look at them and
that they have been diligently working on the timeline. I also learned
that he was vigilant about keeping track of each tooth, carefully
putting each back in the little box after it was examined. His new
mantra has become, "These teeth were around when the dinosaurs were
here. That's a really long time, and I'm not going to lose them on my
watch."
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