Bye bye birdies?

For the last 2 or 3 years, McKay has been interested in birds. He eats, sleeps, and breathes birds. He reads about them, writes about them, and spends countless hours studying and recording their behaviors. He has done hundreds of drawings of birds which are displayed throughout the house. He even knows what most of their calls sound like and their latin names. We spend a lot of money on bird feed and sugar for the hummingbirds. It's great to see him so passionate about something, however I have a very hard time inspiring him to want to learn about anything else.

When we studied Iceland, we studied a little about volcanoes but I didn't really think anything of it. The primary chorister in our ward has been holding a senior primary choir practice every Wednesday morning. Well yesterday, he stayed an hour extra at choir practice, and when he got home he had a book about volcanoes in tow and was just bubbling over with excitement. It turns out that the primary chorister is a geologist and she showed him a bunch of pictures of volcanoes, and books about volcanoes, and totally inspired him to learn more. As soon as he got home, he asked if he could go to the library and I let him go even though he didn't have his chores done because he was so excited. So, he went to the library and came back with loads of books and videos all about volcanoes. Since that time, he has spent every spare moment with his nose in those books and has been spouting facts to me all morning.

I am so ready for him to move on to a different subject. I love birds and they are fascinating but after 2 years I am ready for a change. I have figured out that he is passionate about one subject at a time and that is how he loves to learn. Before birds, it was geography for about two years and even when he was a little boy, he would go through phases where he loved one type of toy and that was all he played with. For instance, he went through a diesel phase, a horse phase, and a tractor phase and they all seemed to last for an eternity. I guess he is a depth learner. When he is finally satisfied with his knowledge of a subject, he moves on to a new one. So, we will see if he changes subjects or if this is just a temporary thing.

Here are a few pictures of the hundreds of birds he has photographed, and one example of a bird drawing poster he made.