Nut Cracking

This is a picture of the Internet - it has so much less than ours, maybe I should simplify ours!

Today I came downstairs and met James in the living room looking guilty and opening his mouth. It was full of something so I asked him what it was. He pointed to the nature basket. I was about to freak when I decided to be more measured with my response (by the grace of God!). I asked him to tell me what he had eaten. It was a nut of some sort from the nature basket. I gave a him a mini lecture on the fact that it could be poisonous and then decided that we better find out what it was! It looked OK but I thought I had better check.

While I was doing this on the computer I asked James what he had been doing eating out of the nature basket and he said he was using a nut cracker to open nuts. He showed me what he had used and it a very large pine cone that we have! He had been taking each nut and smashing it on the carpet and getting the nuts out! I have to be honest I did think - is this an outdoor survivalist in the making? Thankfully when we looked on the computer it turned out to be pecans! This shows how urban I am - I am not even aware of what a pecan shell looks like. I think this all comes from the fact that around Christmas James realised there was walnuts in some of the nuts in the basket which he though was so cool - food available any time.

So poisonous disaster averted. I did give James some guidelines about nut cracking - check the nut with Mummy (not that I know a lot of nuts I do know a pecan and a walnut shell now), to use a chopping board (to protect my carpet) and to clean up after himself - all the shells! I do think we should find out about forest school - I think he would love it! I also love the fact that he knows he can eat as nature intended. I think he will always know where a pecan comes from!