Overheard.....

We saw the most amazing thing in our yard today. A hawk swooped down and sat in our crabapple tree for quite a while while we were eating dinner! Such a lovely bird of prey! This led to a discussion of the differences between "birds" and "birds of prey" and what types of little creatures birds of prey usually eat. This led in turn to a discussion of mammals and reptiles and amphibians. After the older children and I had been discussing for several minutes, Little Man inserted himself into the conversation:

Little Man: "I saw a toad that was a kind of mammal."

Me: "Oh, really?"

Little Man: "Yes, at co-op." (nodding emphatically)

Me: "What did it look like?"

Little Man: "It was green."


And as proof that small people really are listening to the conversations (and teaching that is going on) around them......

Little Man, while carrying his older brother's long and heavy toy rifle: "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!" (a reference to the Battle of Bunker Hill!)