November 24, 2003 - Monday
"Why is there snow on the ground?" Harry asked this morning as we pulled out of the garage to go to school.
"Oh, that's not snow, Harry, that's called frost," I answered.
"Why is it frost?" that's Harry's way of saying "tell me more about that." (I often have to keep reminding myself of that because on the surface the repeated questioning of a three-year-old can quickly become inane and annoying.)
"Well, frost is like snow, but it's more like tiny little pieces of ice instead of snow flakes."
"Why is it ice?" (See my point?)
"Harry, do you remember that sometimes in the morning the grass is a little wet with dew?"
"Dew?"
"Yeah, dew is the water that settles on the ground in the spring and fall. But, now that it's cold at night, the dew is freezing into tiny little pieces of ice and that's why it looks like snow. But, it will turn back to water as soon as the sun warns it up a little and it melts."
"Melts?"
"Yeah, you know how if you hold an ice cube in your hands it will melt?"
"Yeah"
"Well, the frost melts much more easily."

By this point we'd driven on the "bumpy road" and were going past a very large hay field and I talked a little more about how the sun had already melted some spots of the field, although I don't know whether Harry understood what I was saying. Then, we passed the area where the field comes right against the road and I could see that the frost here was not melted all all. I stopped the car and took Harry out of his seat. It was the kind of spur of the moment thing that seems to create a little excitement: well, for Harry anyway; Jeremy was a little made that he got left behind and that's understandable. But, for just a moment I brought Harry over to the frosty grass and we squeezed a blade between our figures to see how it melted. Then, we got back in the car and drove to school with Harry in a much better mood than when we got into the car.


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