The Birds and the Bees

Harlan started preschool in September. She was immediately drawn to her school and from the moment she stepped into the doors on that first day, she hasn’t looked back.

The New York City preschool process is grueling to say the least. Last year was filled with more applications than I could count, non-stop interviews, and tuition that costs more than my college tuition did. It’s pretty intense. We knew that we loved the school that Harlan goes to now, but were always a bit skeptical because of all of the hype that goes into the entire NYC preschool process.

Our skepticism was quickly  pushed aside after a month in. Harlan’s mannerisms, her speech, and newfound knowledge was something that was hard to miss. She would come home from school with stories of what she did that day, how science is her favorite subject (as a former science teacher this secretly made me incredibly excited,) and that she wants to help me make the apple muffins at home just as she did in cooking class.

Her imagination has skyrocketed. Pretend play is now the game of choice in our house. I’ve been her teacher, her student, Santa Claus, and a pilot on some of her many adventures.

With her new sense of imagination has come a lot of questions about the world around her. She is much more in tune to things than I ever realized. She catches on fairly easy. While I am so proud of her for her continuous effort to learn more, I am a bit surprised at just how much she wants to learn.

The other day while on our way to take Harlan to school, she asked a question that stopped me in my tracks. It was something that I honestly didn’t expect to hear for at least another couple of years.

“Mommy, how did me and Avery get into your belly?”

“What?”

“How did we get into your belly?”

“What do you mean how did you get in my belly?”

“How did we get in there?”

“God did it.”

After hearing the question asked three times, that was the only answer I could scramble in my head and come up with. Apparently she was okay with that answer because she didn’t bring it up again. Either that or she was distracted by our arrival at school (thank God!)

I don’t know why I answered her question the way I did. It was the first thing that came into my mind and I just went with it. She honestly caught me so off guard, I was a little thrown off by the whole thing. I mean, she is only THREE years old. Are three year olds really that inquisitive about the birds and the bees?

It’s conversations like this that make me think that Harlan is wise beyond her years. I sometimes forget that she is only three years old and not years older. But no matter how many “older” conversations I have with her, I am quickly reminded that she is just three years old. She doesn’t get her way, throws a tantrum and all is right in the world again.

When did your little one ask about the birds and the bees?