Wednesday, January 6, 2010
April's 3 years and 2 months old
Michael said, "Let's make the number 4!" So Mom & Dad helped them get into position. They were playful, and April held the position happily.
This is April on her first day as a Sunbeam! And Michael's a CTR 6
April fell asleep on the way home from church wearing her coat and sunglasses, so we laid her on the couch when we got home just as she was. Even though she was asleep, it looked like she might have been watching us from behind those dark glasses. But she didn't move for an hour or so, truly asleep.
April likes to play with the Upwords tiles, and look how she can arrange the letters to make sure they're facing the right way!
April was in daycare from June-November. But since we moved in November, we're going to try the stay-at-home mommy & April thing again. The good things that came out of daycare were:
April learned a routine,
she started drinking cow's milk since everyone else was drinking it there too,
she developed friendships ("that's my best friend Olivia!"),
she had structured, stimulating, age-directed activities
she was cared for by people who are trained and qualified and genuinely love children (not all biological parents come equipped with those things)
and she learned how to count to 10 in Spanish from a real Spanish speaking person (rather than learning it from TV, like I remember learning it as a child, and how Michael learned it from Dora).
April is smart, smart, smart. She's attuned to people's behaviorial innuendoes, finds humor in the least discrepancies.
She's in her second month of gymnastics classes, and she is truly a natural. She tackles the balance beam as though it's as natural as walking in a straight line on the floor. She's learning tricks on the beam already, like hopping forward with her feet together, doing scales (in ballet terminology they're arabesques). In the last class they taught her how to mount the high beam properly.
On the floor, she's learned two ways to get into a handstand position, and her arms are strong and supportive and her body is tight. She follows directions without any problem, and she has fun the whole time! The gym has a tumbling run too, and April loves that thing. They've also got a foam pit, which is tricky to maneuver around in, but April likes the challenge.
This is April on her first day as a Sunbeam! And Michael's a CTR 6April fell asleep on the way home from church wearing her coat and sunglasses, so we laid her on the couch when we got home just as she was. Even though she was asleep, it looked like she might have been watching us from behind those dark glasses. But she didn't move for an hour or so, truly asleep.
April likes to play with the Upwords tiles, and look how she can arrange the letters to make sure they're facing the right way!
April was in daycare from June-November. But since we moved in November, we're going to try the stay-at-home mommy & April thing again. The good things that came out of daycare were:
April learned a routine,
she started drinking cow's milk since everyone else was drinking it there too,
she developed friendships ("that's my best friend Olivia!"),
she had structured, stimulating, age-directed activities
she was cared for by people who are trained and qualified and genuinely love children (not all biological parents come equipped with those things)
and she learned how to count to 10 in Spanish from a real Spanish speaking person (rather than learning it from TV, like I remember learning it as a child, and how Michael learned it from Dora).
April is smart, smart, smart. She's attuned to people's behaviorial innuendoes, finds humor in the least discrepancies.
She's in her second month of gymnastics classes, and she is truly a natural. She tackles the balance beam as though it's as natural as walking in a straight line on the floor. She's learning tricks on the beam already, like hopping forward with her feet together, doing scales (in ballet terminology they're arabesques). In the last class they taught her how to mount the high beam properly.
On the floor, she's learned two ways to get into a handstand position, and her arms are strong and supportive and her body is tight. She follows directions without any problem, and she has fun the whole time! The gym has a tumbling run too, and April loves that thing. They've also got a foam pit, which is tricky to maneuver around in, but April likes the challenge.
Michael's 6-1/2
In December Michael mastered tying his shoes. Yay! Good job. It just took awhile for my patience to synch up with his willingness to learn. And now finally, he's joined the ranks of shoe tie-ers.
Also in December he became immersed in a chapter book for the first time. Junie B. Jones, First Grader at last!
We went to the library yesterday evening, and Michael is currently engrossed in another chapter book: Magic School Bus - Amazing Magnetism
Hooray for reading! Michael & April are so much more well-mannered when they spend their free time reading than they are when they watch TV. Another hooray for reading!
In November we moved about 15 miles away from our last residence, so Michael had to start at a new school right after Thanksgiving. He really loved his old school; he had lots of friends. Whenever we'd walk home from school, we'd hear from far and near, little children calling out, "Hi, Michael!"
At 6 years old, a very adaptable age, he's doing fine at his new school. We look forward to new friends and new faces for playdates and sleepovers. But the nice thing about only moving 15 miles away, he still gets to keep his old friends for playdates and sleepovers too :)
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