Scientific Study

If you thought our beach vacation was simply a vacation, then you were wrong. We were actually conducting our own research and were very impressed with the results. While at the beach, we studied Sam, collected data, and have concluded that the beach makes one smarter.

I try not to brag about Sam too much (wink!) but I have to brag today...all in the name of research, of course. Our interest in the effects of the beach on higher level thinking was piqued when Sam all of a sudden counted to 15. Now, we knew he could count to 10. We were working on strengthening his 1-to-1 as he counted, so we were counting the steps as we climbed over the sand dunes. We were shocked when he continued past 10 on his own all the way to 15! We've never practiced that with him and are not sure where it came from. So, obviously being at the beach had something to do with it.

But that is not all the data we collected. Sam's language also exploded while we were at the beach. Sam went from very short, simple sentences to much longer, complex sentences overnight. I don't think I'll ever forget Sam standing in the kitchen, handing me his cup and saying "I want some more chocolate milk." Daddy and I looked at each other and then started counting the words on our fingers! The whole week, we were just amazed at what came out of his mouth! "I don't want that, Mama." "I can't find it." "What happened?" "I'll be right back."

And the final piece of data collected was the depth of the conversations we started having with Sam. He has understood complex directions for a while and could follow a deeper conversation, but not until a few days after we got to the beach could I actually get him to tell me about his day. As we were laying in bed one night, I asked him the routine "What did you do today" and he actually told me about lots of the things he had done during the day. It was SOOOOO cool!

So, what is one to do but conclude that the beach makes one smarter. Therefore, we recommend everyone spending time at the beach. We will be heading back as much as possible to continue our research...and maybe get a little smarter ourselves!

P.S. I realize that Sam is no more advanced or exceptional than anyone else his age. I just can't help sharing/documenting his growth. I am absolutely fascinated by the changes I see everyday and I love getting into his head to figure out what he is thinking and how he is learning. That is most certainly the teacher in me!