Walking home from the park, Tadpole asked about thunderstorms, and we went a little bit Magic School Bus in our explanation: we showed her the grey clouds and talked about how water up there was joining into little water droplets, which would turn into raindrops and fall down. And how the grass (and our garden!) really wanted that water. I don't think we got into root systems, but we did talk a bit about lightning, charges separating, and electricity jumping between the clouds and the ground. I talked about how that made a lot of energy and the thunder was part of that energy. R talked about about how the thunder was the lightning saying 'hi'. (Aside - myths, folktales, and kids stories seem less silly now that I'm a parent)
Tadpole ate it up. She asked us to tell the story of the thunderstorms at least three times, and filled in words and phrases as we went on. This was exciting and a way to use words and things.
And then we went inside and she said "I don't like the thunderstorm because it's loud and scary."
Yep, kiddo, it is. We can tell you stories and use words and reassure you that you're safe and talk about being in a brick house which is the one that the big bad wolf can't even blow down, but at the end of the day lightning and thunder are scary. And thinking about them is scary. And maybe in the moment we can watch them together and have fun with that so that you have a not-scary experience of thunderstorms. But for now, while you're three, words and stories and experiences are very, very far apart, and I'm not going to keep you up until 10:30 to watch the lightning and laugh together and process the experience. But I will hold you and hug you, whenever you let me.
Unrelated aside - at bedtime, I was singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" and Tadpole informed me that:
"Soon we're going to get a rainbow"
"Really?"
"Yes. We're going to get it in a package from Amazon. We're going to get two packages from Amazon and one will have a rainbow in it and the other one will have other things."
So also there's that.
Tadpole ate it up. She asked us to tell the story of the thunderstorms at least three times, and filled in words and phrases as we went on. This was exciting and a way to use words and things.
And then we went inside and she said "I don't like the thunderstorm because it's loud and scary."
Yep, kiddo, it is. We can tell you stories and use words and reassure you that you're safe and talk about being in a brick house which is the one that the big bad wolf can't even blow down, but at the end of the day lightning and thunder are scary. And thinking about them is scary. And maybe in the moment we can watch them together and have fun with that so that you have a not-scary experience of thunderstorms. But for now, while you're three, words and stories and experiences are very, very far apart, and I'm not going to keep you up until 10:30 to watch the lightning and laugh together and process the experience. But I will hold you and hug you, whenever you let me.
Unrelated aside - at bedtime, I was singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" and Tadpole informed me that:
"Soon we're going to get a rainbow"
"Really?"
"Yes. We're going to get it in a package from Amazon. We're going to get two packages from Amazon and one will have a rainbow in it and the other one will have other things."
So also there's that.
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