Fueling their minds...

Have I mentioned that my daughter is a budding paleontologist-MD? Yep. She's only two mind you...going on three of course. She's wants to know everything. HOW it works. WHY it works. She loves trains, fire engines, books, but most of all, most of all she loves playing doctor and learning about dinosaurs.

Reagan doesn't JUST play babies. Her babies have to get checkups almost every day...and that usually entails shots too. She's curious about the way we're put together and how our bodies work and about germs and how and why they affect us the way they do. I don't know if it's because she's had the unfortunate experience of being sick quite a bit of her childhood..and part of me thinks that has a teeny tiny bit to do with it...but mostly I think she's just naturally curious and fascinated by such a vast concept as medicine.

And then her dinosaurs. She can name them, tell you their body parts, the names of some of their bones (bet you didn't know that a piece of the tail in a dinosaur is called a 'chevron', did you--neither did I, until Reagan and I learned together.) She can spend hours pouring over dinosaur facts and studying how their bones are put together--all in a book mind you. I've even resorted to checking out upper level non-fiction books to keep her passion fueled.

And all this to say, I don't know if all children possess this unquenchable thirst for knowledge about such a vast variety of subjects and such an uncanny ability to absorb it all. Sometimes I think I'm pushing her to learn to fast and too much. Sometimes I think I'm holding her back and not letting her learn enough. Other times I think I should just let nature take it's course and let the chips fall where they may.

Some of you may be reading this shaking your head and saying 'oh yeah there is another one of those psycho moms who thinks she has a gifted child on her hands.' No, I'm not saying my child is gifted or that she's not gifted. I just know that she has an incredible thirst for knowledge and a great mind to absorb it.

So, for Christmas, I'm thinking we're doing a mix....a few play toys, some new trains, a cuddly baby dino, and a few new things I know she'll enjoy--a bug kit (she's already asked for this), a volcano making kit, and a book on the human body structure (thank you Montessori!).

To be honest, I'm nearly giddy with excitement. I remember vividly the first microscope and chemistry set I ever got for Christmas....I loved all things science and how lucky am I that Reagan seems to have inherited that? I can only hope she follows through and actually does something incredible with that passion, and doesn't just let it wither away. And I hope I can remember that I can't live out my dreams through her, that she has to choose her own way...and if that means becoming a writer or a soccer star instead of a scientist...well, at least I can always say I encouraged her in whatever she was passionate about.