The M&M Lesson

It's true; Jack learned his colors from snacking on peanut M&M's.  To be more specific he learned brown, blue, red, orange, yellow, and green. 

Chalk it up to the fact that Jack's the second child. Chalk it up to the fact that learning opportunities are everywhere. But the point is, he knows his colors.  Maybe it's non-traditional, but learning is learning.

At first I wasn't so keen on Jack's daily peanut M&M habit.  However, it's completely unavoidable thanks to the conveniently placed M&M dispenser within eye-shot of the Hyland daycare. 

Side note: The person that strategically placed the M&M's in that location clearly doesn't have children. 

I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, "Why don't you just say, 'No M&M's today"....  I suppose that's an option.

Side note:  If you're thinking that you probably don't have children.  Or if you do, you have a  much stronger backbone than I do, which I commend you for!  

Denying them their daily M&M fix would most likely be followed by two blond boys shrieking in disagreement - in a very long, very tall, echoy hallway, directly across from an office full of workers watching the scene unfold through the floor to ceiling glass walls.  No thank you. 

So I give in.  Daily. 

At first, I didn't see the promise of the M&M snack.  See, at first, Jack didn't like peanuts.  He'd take each M&M, hold it in his chubby hands just long enough to melt the outer candy shell, pop it into his mouth, eat the chocolate, then spit out the peanut.  In my car.

Peanuts.Were.Everywhere. 

In time, Jack began to appreciate the entirety of the peanut M&M.  And I began to appreciate the unconventional learning opportunity they provided.  One day while diving home, Jack picked out an M&M from his cup, held it up, and declared "BLUE!". 

I looked back in the rear view mirror, and saw him beaming, holding a YELLOW M&M in the air. 

That's when Colin chimed in.  "Jackie...I don't think so...that's a yellow M&M" he stated matter-of-factly.

And so the game began.  Jack would hold up an M&M, Colin would yell out the color.  A few days, and many M&M's later, Jack started getting the hang of it. He started yelling out the colors, correctly this time.

 

Now, don't get me wrong.  Jack still has some work to do.  Just last night we stopped to pet a dog walking by our house.  I asked Jack what color the (white) dog was, and with 100% certainty in his voice, said, "PURPLE".