Yesterday Benji brought home a packet from school that he’d completed. It had all sorts of prompts, like “Here is a picture of my family,” and “I am X years old,” etc. Among this standard fare came a page with this prompt: “This year, I want to learn…”

His answer: “Chemistry, but water was the easiest to draw.”

I really wish I’d gotten to see his teacher’s face when she read that. I’m also very curious what other kids wrote.

Since he’s not likely to learn chemistry in first grade, my mom is going to do a little “POGIL Chemistry Lite” with him, if he wants. We are also planning a trip to our friend Teresa’s honest to goodness real chemistry lab, which should be very cool.

In the theme of breaking the mold, Benji and I have also been painting our fingernails. I took him to the store and let him pick out rainbow colors, plus a couple cool colors.

I worried a bit that kids would make fun of him – the tired old “boys don’t wear nail polish” – but actually he hasn’t reported any such issues. A couple kids, both boys and girls, have expressed envy. I’m really glad Benji can just be himself in this way without getting razzed. Maybe some things have changed since I was a kid…