Sugar and Snails

The differences between boys and girls is interesting.

I realize that environment plays a role in how children behave but I also believe that some things are innate. Boys are wired differently than girls. Snakes and snails ... Sugar and Spice ... The mixtures of simple and preferred pleasures both genders bring into their environment. It is a genetic code of possibilities.

Today I chatted with Callie and Donovan's teacher, the famous Mrs. Oh. (Yes, that really is her name.) How they love her. Mrs. Oh is the beginning of a constant phrase in our house, as in ... "Mrs. Oh said" or "Mrs. Oh did". She is as popular as the also much beloved, Mrs. Laura. Forever will they have a piece of my children's hearts.

Mrs. Oh said a lot of things. Some were insightful and most were apparent to me ... their ragamuffin mother. (Next to Mrs. Oh and Mrs. Laura, Mom is just "Oh, mom")

"Donovan is very high on censorial, problem solving, and mathematics concepts. Fixing puzzles and building with anything is something he consistently gravitates towards. He takes pride in his work and likes to show it off to the grown-ups."

I nod and smile. You see, I may just be "Oh, mom" but I really adore hearing teachers sing my son's praises. For as long as I've known him I've thought him pretty spectacular. Hearing someone else say it echoes my thoughts exactly.

"Callie always has a smile. Such a cute girl. Independent, high on language skills, loves living skills too. Pretending to cook and mother is something she really enjoys."

All lovely things I've known. When Callie was crawling she'd follow me around with a tissue and try to clean the floor. Seriously! Making up songs and sharing schoolhouse gossip is also routine. I am so delighted at the precious person she is constantly becoming .... I see a little of me, a dab of my husband, and a whole lot of Callie mixed up in her expressive face and inquisitive brown eyes.

"Boys are usually better at spatial, censorial, and mathematical concepts. Especially at this age. While girls are often high scorers in language and living skills. I would say they are doing academically what we see across the board."

Maybe so. I know personally I could talk or write for days and never grow bored. Brett on the other hand loves to apply restrictive mathematical concepts to daily routine. It seems like Callie and Donovan are shadowing their parents ... be it genetically, environmentally, or a mixture of both. Either way I think all of my children are incredibly interesting individuals.

Whenever I think about my 25 week babies first days, I am in awe of the industrious children they have become. Imagine babies born barely a pound who are are getting academic applause from their teachers. This is a new thing. Before now their academic future was talked about with gloomy words. Today everyone is thinking about the possiblities.