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JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

Trimmings from a Tree Become a Beaver Home

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He Loves Sticks
JDaniel has always loved to gather sticks. He started gathering them as soon as he could walk. We have spent hours picking up sticks and carrying them to the woods behind our house.
There have been times when his friend Nathan, our next-door neighbor, has wanted to do something else and JDaniel has told him he has to finish his work first.
I love the simplicity of picking up the sticks and carrying them to the woods. The sticks are taken out of the yard and JDaniel gets to exercise at the same time. I have been astounded by his ability to focus on a single task for 30 or 45 minutes at a time.
The Beaver Dam
The sticks suddenly stopped leaving the yard last week. My husband was trimming the branches of a tree in the front yard. The branches were both large and small in size. JDaniel started picking them up and carrying them to the bushes in front of the house instead of the woods. He gathered one stick or branch at a time and carefully leaned them against the bushes. When the bushes closest to him filled up, he started carrying them to the set of bushes on the far side of the house.
“What are you doing?” I asked him. “Why I am creating a beaver dam?” JDaniel informed me.
Reasoning with a Beaver
I am all for pretend play, but these sticks and branches started to look terrible in front of the house after a couple of days. I can’t imagine what the neighbors thought about them.
I knew that he would not be enthusiastic about the sticks being moved out of the front yard. He really loved darting in and out of them pretending to be a beaver.
I decided to reason with him.
“I believe if we leave these sticks out front,” I told him, “Beavers are going to drive by and decide this would make a perfect home for them.”
“Mom, beaver can’t drive!” he replied.
“What is someone drives them?” I asked.
“They wouldn’t like it. There is no water for them here,” he answered.
“Maybe we could move the dam into the backyard so they won’t be tempted?” I told him.
“Okay, we can move them, but they still won’t come,” he said matter-a-factly.
Thank goodness we were able to come to an understanding.
The Big Beaver Moves Sticks
JDaniel doesn’t know this yet, but a beaver has come to take some of the sticks away. He is about six feet tall with graying hair and is JDaniel’s dad when he is not being a giant beaver. This big beaver is not a fan of the sticks being anywhere in the yard. He has been taking one or two sticks a day to the woods.
I am hoping it takes JDaniel a while to notice.
This post is linked to Capture the Everyday and Alphabe Thursday.

 

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Comments

  2. This is such a great story. And I really love how you let him build his beaver dam, even if it was in the front yard. Hopefully JDaniel won’t notice that “a beaver” is moving the sticks away!

  5. My daughter does something similar with the dried hydrangea heads. She uses them to “decorate” our outdoor furniture and pokes them through the holes in the table. I should take a picture 🙂

  9. Too funny! The giant beaver is sneakily stealing away the dam. I’m happy for you that you could transfer it away from the front yard too.

    And the answer to your email question because I totally forgot until just this second is yes. Just give me a date (not too soon). Anything for you!

  10. You were so lucky to be able to reason with him about moving the sticks! How funny that the giant beaver is helping find a new home for the remainder of the sticks.

  16. Haha. That is awesome. My oldest was very particular and focused like that. And reasoning would not be had. With your luck, he will find those sticks and build himself a fort.

  24. JDaniel is just so cute 🙂 I love his pretend play and how he plays with things that are free and accessible. It’s great that he’s not hung up on playing with gameboys and computer games and that he’s using his imagination to the fullest 🙂

  25. What is it about little boys and sticks? Maybe he’ll be distracted by rocks or pinecones and won’t miss the sticks 🙂

  27. That is adorable! What great pretend play. So jealous that you have sticks and tree trimming going on. Ready to be done looking at white.

  28. Hi! Your link wasn’t working but I fixed it.

    This was such a terrific story on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday’s letter “T”.

    I love the way his mind words…what a cool imagination. It would be fun to see himp laying with my Grands. I would be delighted to see what they could come up with.

    Thanks for linking.

    A+

  29. What a super use for sticks! I hope that J Daniel isn’t too disappointed when he finds out that big beaver is moving his dam. Maybe he’ll realise that all of the beavers prefer the woods!

  30. This is just so adorable! This is perfect to a “T.”

    Also, thanks for visiting me and your kind words about my paintings. Come back later to see how my bowl of roses watercolor is progressing.

    I’m your new follower.
    Barb

  31. Well jdaniel is right . water is where the beavers make their dams anyway . I have seen a beaver patiently chop down a tree with his beaver teeth .

  37. you make me laugh…
    i so wish that jdaniel and broxton could have met!
    the creativity and imagination from jdaniel would hopefully rub off on broxton! 🙂

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