We'll take it wherever we can find it

I think I mentioned the Poingo before. It's an electronic pen-type scanner, a toy really, that comes with Disney-branded edu-tainment books. Jack always enjoys playing with it, using the Cars book to learn new vocabulary ("Find the 'spoiler'! That's right! Good job!!") Harmless fun. Interestingly, there's a page with a map of Route 66, and wherever he points on the map, the toy says the name of the state. So now he can find New Jersey and Pennsylvania on a map of the US. He has also found other state names that he likes to say.... "Nevaaaaada.... Nevaaaada..... Nevaaaada..."

Another little breakthrough last night. A few months ago, we started playing with the Kumon Tracing workbook. He didn't really get the point of tracing, wanting instead to draw straight from the start to the finish. Recently he's been enjoying simple mazes from his coloring books, so I got the Kumon book out, and now he's loving it. I think this goes hand-in-hand with his sudden spurt of drawing figures and letters.

Photo update

The day Jack refused to eat a cupcake

On Saturday, Jack went to music. I asked him what he enjoyed from class, and he said they did "du-de-du" and "du--du." Eighth-eighth-quarter and quarter-quarter. That's nice! He says he can draw them.

Saturday afternoon, we went to M.'s birthday. Very fun, with a bouncy house and pizza. Later, we had dinner with Nee-Nee. Things did not go according to plan, but it worked out. On Sunday morning, we had a special breakfast at Panera, then went on to church. It ended up being a lazy day, dreary and cold.

Monday was library story time. Jack and E. played computer games instead. At some point in the last month, he has come to understand that if you follow the directions, you can win the game and progress to the next level.

After the library, we were invited to join in a playdate with E. and one of his friends. It was probably not a good day to go to a new friend's house. He played well with the other boys, but there were several meltdowns surrounding lunch. One of the funnier moments was when he refused to eat his cupcake while sitting in the chair that had previously been used by E. E. had moved into his chair to be closer to his cousin, and Jack couldn't let it go. I have to admit I was embarrassed. Come to think of it, though, he was able to calm himself down when it was time to go home. I guess that's a step forward.

The last few days have been that much tougher because I have caught Jack's cold. Tomorrow's another day.

Gymnastics

A few photos from today's class:

"spiderman"




Then we went to the library. Our library, the Lawrenceville branch of the Mercer County Library, has just been awarded a prestigious "5 star" rating from the Library Journal. They are having a contest for children to name the five things that they feel make our library a 5-star library.

Jack's list:

1. Interesting books, especially the ones about space
2. The librarians give us headphones.
3. Playing the Elmo game on the computer
4. If they don't have the book we want, they will get it from another library.
5. Running up and down the ramp--not the one outside, the one inside near the tables.
   

When I write up his entry for the contest, I'll probably change #5. Maybe something about how lucky we are to have access to such a wonderful variety of children's programs and materials.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Sometimes you just need a day to stay home, and that's just what we did today. Of course, the less structure I have in the day, the less I seem to get accomplished.

If the battery in the camera had not let me down, I would have adorable pictures of the boys in the wagon. After we went around the block, Jack played in the dirt for a while. "It's not dirt, Mommy, it's mulch." Yes it was.

Inspired by the homeschooling message board, I read aloud a couple more chapters of Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I would never have thought of reading such a big book to him, but he is really enjoying it. A few weeks ago, I tried The Little Prince, but it was a bit too metaphysical. Right now, a more realistic story is a better fit. I just called The Mouse and the Motorcycle a realistic story.

Jack got a new High Five in the mail, so we went through that. He is getting really good at the hidden pictures. This issue had a page of story starters, and Jack made up a story about a teddy bear and a robot. It went something like this...

"There was a giant bear walking through the city. Rrrrrrraaaahrrr! The giant robot was stomping through the city. Boom -- boom -- boom! They were going for a walk in the woods."

Stick kid

Presidents' Day

No library today because of the holiday. I'm sure the librarians must miss us terribly.

Instead, we met up with the usual suspects for lunch at Friendly's. Jack's still not feeling very well, but I hated to miss out on the chance to see friends who are normally in school.
One friend's dad actually asked the question, "Is it possible to get kicked out of Friendly's for being too loud?" Apparently it is not.

After lunch, we walked down to an indoor play center for some fun.

Justin Roberts concert

Wow that was fun!
http://www.justinroberts.org/

Jack had a ball, and I think David enjoyed it most of all. I think the new album must be pretty good. Willy the Whale, Meltdown, and my favorite, the imaginary Rhino. It left me wanting more, though I think the boys were done.

Sunday afternoon, we played outside with the neighbor. That was just what we needed after being indoors for all morning.



Jack took his camera outside, and this was one of his action shots.

Some more photos:

Sick Saturday

Poor boy was so sick all day yesterday. We missed everything we were supposed to do. He slept most of the afternoon. He finally perked up just before bedtime, and started writing letters. It was interesting to see that he uses four lines to make and "x" and three lines to make a "T."

We missed music this morning, but we ended up going to the library instead. Silly me--I thought it would be quiet on Saturday. The place was packed with kids... I guess if you work all week, Saturday is when you do things like the library.

Anyway, I was very impressed that Jack played computer games for a few minutes, and then politely let the next person have a turn. So impressed I thought it deserved its own post.

On the way to the park yesterday

I got lost on the way to the park yesterday, despite knowing where it is AND having the GPS on. So we were miles out of the way, on an unfamiliar road, scrambling to get there in time to meet our friends. Jack looks at the winter landscape and says "This road reminds me of the way we go to Grandma's [in Virginia]... "


"We have to drive a long, long time."

A surprsingly windy day

Thursday afternoon we went to the park with E. The thermometer said 54, but the wind was gusting up to 50 mph. David's stroller blew away once, luckily when he wasn't in it.

We had lots of fun at the park anyway, despite some disagreement about whether the play equipment was a fire truck or a pirate ship. We also looked at the birds on the lake and wondered how they live during the winter.

After the park, we went to the pet store, which is really almost as much fun as a zoo. Maybe it's more fun, because they have little shopping carts for the kids to push around.

Yesterday I became aware that Jack knows the order of the days of the week, and can count to very well now. He can even go above twenty with some prompting at 30, 40, etc. We got up to about 65 before he got distracted.

In the middle of the night last night, I found Jack awake in his room on reading the George Washington book. I asked him what he was doing awake (to be honest, I had heard glass breaking and jumped to the conclusion it was him, but it was the cats). It turns out he has a little fever. E has had a cold, so I guess Jack has caught it. So we're home today, resting up. So far we've seen Franklin, Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, Super Why and Clifford. Poor kid.



On the bright side, his recuperation has given me a chance to play around with the "new" camera!


Jack's creations


Mommy's timewaster!

First you have to get a hot air balloon...

Kite flying in the park was the highlight of yesterday's fun. E joined us. There were negotiations, as E did not have a kite of his own, but he did have an extra juice box.

There was also drama: while I was sitting down nursing David, Jack let go of the kite string and it took off. We could see it tethered high above the houses across the street, but we couldn't find where it was stuck. Jack first suggested that we could get it, if only we would follow his directions. He was genuinely frustrated with me that I was unwilling to procure either a hot air balloon, or a trained bird. When I pointed out that we don't have a trained bird, he said "yeah, they scratch." As if that was the dealbreaker.

This story has a happy ending, because the kite fell down to earth a few minutes later. We saw it lying on the ground as we drove by, and Daddy hopped out of the car and saved it. Now we just need to replace the string.

While the kite was stuck, we talked about making kites of our own. I still think that would be fun. I need to look into that. Maybe we'll have nice weather on Monday when E and his cousins are out of school and the library is closed.

Perler beads

I found out that's what you call those little beads that you put on a pegboard to make a design, then melt together with an iron. Jack was entranced with them the other night, but he insisted on making a design that was one bead wide-- outlining the shape of the board. What kind of ironing ninja does he think I am?

Monday morning started with a trip to the dentist. He asked, "what does this do?" about a thousand times. I was pretty impressed that they answered him every time. They also gave him some rubber gloves at the beginning and a kazoo at the end. Even though David is too little to get his teeth sparkled, both boys got new toothbrushes. Score!

we went to the library, and played Reader Rabbit Preschool on the computer with E. We ditched storytime in favor of going to Starbuck's to see E's new baby cousin. Later, we played at the park together. David enjoyed watching the boys spin around on the merry-go-round. Win-win-win!

Yesterday was one of those days. Caillou saved me, then later Nee-Nee. Today has already been better. We started off with Jack making his bed and getting dressed before I was even awake. Things seem to be headed in the right direction.

"Should I Pick Up My Toys Now?," or What Life is Like on 12 Hours' Sleep

It was quite a productive weekend. Friday night Jack went to sleep early (I have to thank Mr. Ray for the concert that wore him out), and slept for 12 hours straight. When he woke up, he was a different kid. He went to music as usual, then came home and made his bed, picked up his room, helped straighten the living room, then got himself dressed and buttoned his shirt for the first time. We played around taking pictures with Daddy's camera, and he was very patient and careful with it. We played the Very Hungry Caterpillar game, and he followed all the rules! At least to the extent that I can understand the rules. We played at the playground for 90 minutes, most of that in an elaborate ship scenario, including a crew with a captain, lookout, diver, and a special jail for the bad guys. Who is this kid?

Today we went to church and Sunday school. When we came home, we made bread bears according to the recipe in this month's High Five. We played with friends for a while in the unseasonably warm weather. I can see that his social skills are developing, and he's getting better at negotiating instead of making demands. After dinner, we sat down together and watched Mary Poppins.

Before I forget, I want to make a note of some great books we've been reading:

Just in Case - Judith Viorst
Oliver Who Would Not Sleep - Mara Bergman
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed - Mo Willems

We also started The Little Prince, but I get the feeling it's going over his head. I keep asking if he wants to hear more, and he always says yes, but I doubt we'll make it all the way through.

There's also a picture book about George Washington. The surprise that came from this book was a discussion about mapmaking and surveying. There was a moment of convergence when we saw a surveyor with a transit working on the new building across the street from the library.

IRL

So there's a big gaping hole in our dates. In real life, Jack has been amazing me every day, and his little brother has some new skills, too.

Jack is starting to write letters, and he enjoys typing words on the computer. Daddy puts on the speech function, so the computer can read back what he's typed. He draws capital letters pretty well, but he's still a little fuzzy on the whole left-to-right thing. He can spell his name with encouragement, but on his own he tends to leave out the "AC." He has a game book with mazes, and he he's starting to get the hang of staying in the lines, though the point of the game is lost on him.

He counts readily, and can do simple counting math (i.e., "If you eat two cookies, how many are left?")

He's fascinated with quantities and measurement, especially time and money. What else?

The presidential inauguration last month started a conversation about the United States, the presidency, and some of the presidents in particular. He's fond of George Washington, being the one who's on the dollars. Abraham Lincoln is neat because he's on the penny. Pennyboy is his imaginary friend who rides in his pocket. It's nice, because if Pennyboy falls between the car seats, there's always another Pennyboy waiting at home to take over for him.

David is changing every day. He eats regular food sometimes, including pasta marinara, cabbage stew, and the occasional dosa when he can get it. I have to admit he loved my western omelette, even though it had egg whites which are a big no-no for babies. oops. He scoots around on his bottom, and has explored the whole ground floor, with particular attention to the cat door and the toilet (ick!) He's starting to pull up, but he hasn't figured it out yet. Take your time, little one.

The most amazing thing is that David is already very musical. He beats time, dances, sings, and clearly loves to play the piano. My favorite thing is when he and Jack are singing and dancing together. Where's that video camera? I'll see if I can catch them in the act.

This has been fun. We really need to do this more often.