Car Talk

Thursdays are our busy out-and-about days, with lots of time spent driving back and forth - to science club and back, to Bible study and back, to evening activities and back. All this driving leads to numerous opportunities for discussions. I don't know what it is about the car, but our best conversations always seem to happen there.

Today's lunch was a rare fast-food stop at A&W. From this we discussed the concept of healthy versus unhealthy food, why fast-food places exist (convenience for consumer, profit for company), and why fast-food places usually sell food that isn't very good for our bodies (cost, convenience). We talked about how a steak, potatoes, and salad would make a reasonably nutritious meal, but when you fry the potatoes in an unhealthy oil, put the steak and salad inside of a bun, cover it all in salt, and drink it with a sugar-filled soda, it becomes significantly less healthy.

After discussing nutrition, we ended up on the topic of careers. The boy's dad is currently an electrical engineering student in his final year, which means next year he'll begin full-time work in his field. The boy asked why people go to school, which led to a discussion on learning skills and working conscientiously, as people who either don't know what they are doing or don't do their jobs responsibly end up being told they can't work there anymore. The boy then asked what jobs you didn't have to go to school for. After I listed some examples, he suggested painting, which then led to a discussion on the concept of self-employment. Very interesting conversation all around!

Our final discussion centered around the idea of twins, as the boy has recently befriended a set of boy/girl twins as our weekly science group. Because the twins are different genders, the boy rightly observed that they didn't look alike. I explained the two different ways twins are formed and how that relates to whether or not they will look identical. After discussing those ideas back and forth, he then asked how a mommy's tummy would look if she was pregnant with twins. We talked about babies coming early or being born smaller, what that meant for the infants' development (primarily centering on lungs), and what might have to be done to keep everyone healthy (bedrest, respiratory assistance for premature babies, etc).

It's always fun to hear the boy's thought processes through his questions and observations!

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Health: Nutrition, careers
Science: Observation, discussion