Friday night we went to Shabbat services. Once a month they have a family dinner and family friendly services - basically the same as other services, but everyone should expect to have to tolerate the presence of many children and all the (insert adjective here) that can bring. Usually, at the end of services, a number of announcements are read off of a sheet that has been put together for the rabbi or lay leader. This week, the leader had no such sheet and therefore asked congregation members who had event reminders to simply announce them. After a few people spoke, Eliana raised her hand, and was given the floor. "I had something to share, but I forgot." The leader asked her if she needed help remembering. She said, "No, but if I find my thought, I'll just raise my hand and you can call on me." This amused the entire congregation.
Then Elly suddenly looked aware that she was the center of attention and less comfortable with it. Later I asked her how she felt when she spoke up. She said, "First, I felt curious and shy. Then, I felt shy and sad." I asked her why she felt sad and she said, "Because they thought it was funny, and I didn't mean to be funny." :(
Yesterday I made cookies for a friend's birthday. I screwed up the first batch but they were still good enough for the kids, just not good enough to gift. So I had them out on a plate on the counter. Today I saw Eliana skip from the kitchen to the living room, overly nonchalantly.
I followed her and opened my mouth.
She clamped both her hands over her mouth.
I went over and looked at her and there were brown crumbs on her lips.
Me: "What are you chewing?"
Eliana: "I'm sorry, Mama."
Me: "How many cookies did you eat?"
Eliana: (holds up 5 fingers)
I laughed out loud. I couldn't help it. I told her I'd have to think of what her consequence would be. She said, "Yes, Mama."
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
They're all cute.
Eliana blew up her new hop ball tonight. She couldn't stand to wait any longer for Daddy to get the pump, so she did it herself, with only her mouth. I have always said that her bullheaded personality will serve her well.
She also got a booster seat. She had almost outgrown the top harness slot in the Frontier anyway, and then I saw a news article about the infant SafeSeat flying off its base in the crash, so I moved Donovan to Kessa's convertible Decathlon, moved Kes to the Frontier, and got Eliana a booster, the Monterey by Sunshine Kids. It's impressive. Very similar to the Frontier but minus the harness. Anyway, she loves it. We've had it a week and a half now, and this morning she said, "Oh Mommy, I just love my grown-up seat belt." (Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou...) And I love it, because she actually gets in her seat quickly. No more carseat battles!
Meanwhile, Kessa has gone Canadian on us. "You got your paci, eh?" "We're going to the grocery store, eh?" "We're going to go to the park and ride our bikes, eh Mom?" (Scott mumbled something about Kes talking like a Canadian to me the other day, and yesterday Eliana said, "Mom, Canadians say 'eh' instead of 'hey' because they can't pronounce their H's.")
Donovan has discovered his feet and likes them, especially when they're naked and even more so when he is buck naked (maybe this is due to thoroughly enjoying nudity in general). He anticipates the upcoming actions when I say "kiss" "uuuuup!" and "I'm gonna get you!" He rarely cries but when he does it is heartbreaking. On the other hand, he tends to shriek like a pterydactyl when needing a paci or to nurse, which is less heartbreaking and more ear-piercing.
She also got a booster seat. She had almost outgrown the top harness slot in the Frontier anyway, and then I saw a news article about the infant SafeSeat flying off its base in the crash, so I moved Donovan to Kessa's convertible Decathlon, moved Kes to the Frontier, and got Eliana a booster, the Monterey by Sunshine Kids. It's impressive. Very similar to the Frontier but minus the harness. Anyway, she loves it. We've had it a week and a half now, and this morning she said, "Oh Mommy, I just love my grown-up seat belt." (Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou...) And I love it, because she actually gets in her seat quickly. No more carseat battles!
Meanwhile, Kessa has gone Canadian on us. "You got your paci, eh?" "We're going to the grocery store, eh?" "We're going to go to the park and ride our bikes, eh Mom?" (Scott mumbled something about Kes talking like a Canadian to me the other day, and yesterday Eliana said, "Mom, Canadians say 'eh' instead of 'hey' because they can't pronounce their H's.")
Donovan has discovered his feet and likes them, especially when they're naked and even more so when he is buck naked (maybe this is due to thoroughly enjoying nudity in general). He anticipates the upcoming actions when I say "kiss" "uuuuup!" and "I'm gonna get you!" He rarely cries but when he does it is heartbreaking. On the other hand, he tends to shriek like a pterydactyl when needing a paci or to nurse, which is less heartbreaking and more ear-piercing.
Be careful what you wish for.
Last week, Eliana was bumped up from level 18 to level 28 in reading. From what I have been told this means that she is now reading at a beginning 3rd grade level. Sounds great, right? Parents dream of having a 5 year old who reads like an 8 year old, right?
Well, I am proud of her.
But there are two problems. The first is with class time. I know her teacher does her best to let each kid be who s/he is and learn what s/he needs to be learning. But it's just not feasible in a group setting to really be able to meet the needs of a kid who is reading 3 grade levels above the average. Add the boredom that you'd expect in this situation, to a child that is spirited and does not handle boredom well, and you have a recipe for misbehavior. Nothing bad like hurting other people, just finding ways to entertain herself, but still not the conformity that is expected at school.
The second is with the books she is bringing home that are level 28. Our first two were called "Best Enemies Again" and "Encyclofacts". She can read them just fine, I think the level is appropriate for the actual decoding of words, but the issue is with meaning. The former is about a girl, probably about 8 or 9, who has a classmate that likes to make her life miserable. She can't relate (and I don't particularly want my 5 year old to learn cattiness until she has to anyway). The second is a science book. Neither interests her, and combined with the 10 level jump (from picture books to text-everywhere chapter books) she is suddenly saying "I don't want to read." Never heard THAT before. In addition, while she can understand each sentence well, she is having trouble deducing greater meaning. She understands "People figured out that when they put an engine on a glider it could fly longer" and "After that, they built airplanes a lot more than they built gliders" but wouldn't be able to say after reading those two sentences "Oh, an airplane is basically a glider with an engine." So we're having some issues with content at level 28 - the kid's smart, but obviously her decoding is outpacing her understanding of the material.
Anyone want to start writing children's books for advanced readers with age-appropriate content?
Well, I am proud of her.
But there are two problems. The first is with class time. I know her teacher does her best to let each kid be who s/he is and learn what s/he needs to be learning. But it's just not feasible in a group setting to really be able to meet the needs of a kid who is reading 3 grade levels above the average. Add the boredom that you'd expect in this situation, to a child that is spirited and does not handle boredom well, and you have a recipe for misbehavior. Nothing bad like hurting other people, just finding ways to entertain herself, but still not the conformity that is expected at school.
The second is with the books she is bringing home that are level 28. Our first two were called "Best Enemies Again" and "Encyclofacts". She can read them just fine, I think the level is appropriate for the actual decoding of words, but the issue is with meaning. The former is about a girl, probably about 8 or 9, who has a classmate that likes to make her life miserable. She can't relate (and I don't particularly want my 5 year old to learn cattiness until she has to anyway). The second is a science book. Neither interests her, and combined with the 10 level jump (from picture books to text-everywhere chapter books) she is suddenly saying "I don't want to read." Never heard THAT before. In addition, while she can understand each sentence well, she is having trouble deducing greater meaning. She understands "People figured out that when they put an engine on a glider it could fly longer" and "After that, they built airplanes a lot more than they built gliders" but wouldn't be able to say after reading those two sentences "Oh, an airplane is basically a glider with an engine." So we're having some issues with content at level 28 - the kid's smart, but obviously her decoding is outpacing her understanding of the material.
Anyone want to start writing children's books for advanced readers with age-appropriate content?
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