Owen's growing up

Okay, I know he's not even three yet. But this is his first week in a primary classroom at CMS, and he's not happy about it.  Yesterday, it was tears and screaming from the minute I stepped on the stairs to go up to P1 instead of down to Pre-Primary. Alia had to bodily peel him off of me, and I could still hear him crying and screaming until I was outside.  Alia, in her wisdom, emailed me in the afternoon to let me know that he went into the peace area, and was ready to participate in about five minutes.

This morning felt like it was going to be more of the same. As soon as I hit that first step up, he started crying and jerking his body toward his old classroom, though not jerking it enough to spill the bowl of waffle pieces he was carrying.  Alia took the waffle, and I sat on the floor with him for a few minutes just inside the classroom to try and ease his transition, but he wasn't buying it.  I went to put his backpack and coat away, and heard the classroom door slam.

I found him sitting on the top step, tucked under the railing.

"You walk away! I want to be alone!"

"Would you rather do this in the peace area? I'd be glad to go with you."

"No! Leave me alone." He threw his fork down the steps.

And then he pulled a deep breath in, let it out, and said, "Can you get me my fork please?"

Another breath.  "I want to sit in a dark colored chair while I eat my waffle. Please will you up me?"

And I carried him into his classroom, and we each went on with our days.

I wish I could calm myself down that quickly when I'm that pissed off.

Four year old

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4it7UA-MIA


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Sophie the waitress

Kids meet inflatable Santa

Christmas list

This list will grow as more things occur to us, but here's what we've got so far. There may be some overlap with the Amazon Wishlists on the right. (up to date as of 12/21/12)


For Sophie, whose favorite things are space, making up stories with her playsets, solving mysteries, and making things:
5t pajamas
Scooter
Roller skates
Lunch box
Lego Friends Camper
My Little Pony bedspread (twin)
Basic builder set of Legos or just about any sets of Legos
Space-related stuff, like spaceships, or astronomy things.
Art Supplies
Shrinky Dinks
Sophie is learning to read and write and her numbers, so learning toys based around that are a good idea (as far as counting, she's working on numbers over 10)

For Owen, whose favorite things are animals, big machines, books, and pissing off Sophie:
Adjustable bike helmet
2t pajamas (3t if summer weight)
A turtle night light like Sophie's
Maisie books and paraphernalia
toddler bedclothes
Elmo stuff (might be on clearance!)
Cool socks
Thomas stuff
Kid-sized push broom
Baby doll and a crib for it to sleep in
Playmobil 1-2-3 sets (they already have the fire station and truck, speed boat, zoo, rocket, and a couple of Christmas sets)

For either:
The Imaginext stuff that they have gets played with a lot by both kids, so I expect more would go over well.

For both:
Telescope
Dress up clothes (firefighter, cowgirl, etc.)
Playmobil or Imaginext Pirate Ship
Bathroom stuff to match their shower curtain
Good toddler markers/crayons (Crayola seem to be the best)

Christmas is Coming

It's just a little thing, but I added a link on the right to a new wishlist, which is stuff for both the kids to share.

Painted face

Sophie, the musical

Show pt 3

Show pt 2

Show pt1

Dueling dinosaurs

Mythologizing

Sophie found a funky looking kernel in her popcorn that she decided was a "virus seed". There was some elaborate mythology around a wolf that was supposed to eat all the virus seeds, but died before he could eat all of them. Mary said that this all sounded pretty scary, and was Sophie worried about nightmares? This was her reply:
 

Musical revue

A discourse on monsters

Sportsmanship

Sophie's reached that hyper-competitive age where everything's a race or a contest. On the bright side, that means we can get her dressed more easily in the morning by telling her that if she doesn't get dressed quickly, Owen is going to 'win'.  On the dark side, we've had to have some talks about gloating and teasing when she does win.

So yesterday she got right in Owen's face and said, "You lose, I win, you lose! Good game." And then put her hand out for a high five.

Narrating

Puppets

Shopping for books