My generation wasn’t even allowed off the farm until we were at least six. That was to shelter us from bad influences, as well as to protect society at large.

Our grandson, Dema, was really pumped-up about going to school. It doesn’t take much to pump him up, anyway, and the first day of preschool had him on cloud nine.

I should explain Dema (pronounced dee-ma) is an amazing little boy. Not because he’s my grandson, but for a number of reasons. Our daughter, Laura, and son-in-law, Jeff, adopted Dema from an orphanage in Ukraine last winter. He had a lot of adjustments to make.

There were lots of kids at the orphanage, so he wasn’t used to playing by himself, for example. He wasn’t used to all of the toys and “stuff” found in most American homes, and he wouldn’t watch television. (A wonderful trait in a child, I think.)

Laura and Jeff quickly learned Dema loves to be outdoors and tried to make sure he couldn’t go out by himself. Jeff installed safety gadgets on all of the door knobs so a little boy couldn’t turn them. That lasted about two minutes. Dema didn’t just learn how to turn the knobs, he disassembled the safety apparatus and took it off.

He’s an active and strong little boy, and while he doesn’t have any attention deficits, he might rearrange the furniture if you don’t keep an eye on him.

Dema spoke no English when he arrived in the United States. Reasoning with a three-year-old is hard enough, but it’s especially tough when he only speaks Russian. When Dema pounded his shoe on the table, we didn’t know if he was mad about something or just hungry.

Dema is leaning English quickly, partly because he repeats every word he hears. That caused a small problem for his Grandma Thayer last spring.

The busy little boy was doing something he shouldn’t, and Grandma wanted to instill a little discipline. So she said, “That is just unacceptable behavior.”

His grandma tried to remain stern, but it’s hard not to laugh when a little Ukrainian boy is trying to say “unacceptable behavior.”

Dema’s first day of preschool was uneventful, as far as we know. His mom and dad tried to get some information out of him when he got home. Laura asked what he did, and he told her the babysitter took him and his friend Reece to McDonald’s, where they played on the slide. No matter what Laura asked, all Dema wanted to talk about was McDonald’s.

Finally Jeff asked, “What did you learn in school today? What did your teacher say?”

“Sit down!” Dema repeated.

Well, I guess that’s about enough learning for one day.

Readers with questions or comments for Roger Pond may write to him in care of this publication.