Itching to Write

Yesterday while I was wrapping presents, Aidyn requested that he be my gift-wrapping helper by writing the names on the receivers on the packages. I told him that he still needed to learn how to write his letters but he was more than welcome to doodle alongside me. I gave him a strip of paper, some white paint, and a paintbrush. He proceeded to tell me that he can write his letters, at least some of them. Announcing that he would write the letter "i", he swept his paintbrush down and narrated that now he just needed a little dot on top. Thus he made a marvelous lower case "i." Impressed, I told him to continue the good work. He ended up writing (with a sloppy paintbrush, no less) O's and I's of all shapes and sizes and a willingness to do more. Because I was busy wrapping presents, I couldn't instruct him fully at that point, but I got the message loud and clear: he's ready for handwriting. Got it.

This week we will go through one of his preschool workbooks and play around with the letter-tracing worksheets and see how he likes that. : )

Sweet Stories and "Monstrous" Talks

Today Aidyn and I read a sweet story called Niccolini's Song which was about a night watchman in a train yard that soothes trains (and others) to sleep with his melodic singing voice. By the end, Aidyn and I both were near slumber not because it was boring, but because it was so calming and lulling.

He then did an additional five pages from his Kumon Tracing book. He's really enjoying the idea of tracing paths and trails. This section of the book actually had him practice zigzags and arches (over and under). How fun! We also worked on holding the pen (or, in this case, marker) the "traditional" way, and Aidyn got the hang of it pretty quickly. He then hung his favorite on the wall.

Later when I was doing work at home (editing a paper for a student), Aidyn quizzically watched what I was doing. He inquired about what I was doing, and I realized that I don't always tell him what his Mama does during the day, and often at home, to make money. So in that little moment, I had the opportunity to say that Mama "helps students put their letters and words together" and "teaches them how to do that just like I teach [Aidyn] how to do it." He was generally pleased and interested in that answer.

It was also reported to me today that Aidyn expressed some neat ideas of which my mom had no idea he knew. They were talking about particular rides at Disneyland and Aidyn asked her if she was scared of the Matterhorn and why.

She responded that she wasn't really "scared" of the ride, but it made her dizzy because it was so fast.

Aidyn retorted back, "Yes, it is scary, Grandma. There's a monster in there." Grandma, interested, replied, "Really? What does he do?"

Aidyn made "monster hands," scrunched up his face, and said, "He jumps out and says, 'Arrrrrr!' He's a Yeti, Grandma."

Surprised at hearing him use that word, she said, "He is?" To which Aidyn, picking up on the surprise and curiousity in her voice, said, "Yes, Grandma, that means he's an abominable snowman."

Grandma reports that she was blown away by that "lesson" from Aidyn. : )

I remember telling him that many months ago and am surprised that he retained that; it's not like I reference abominable snowman every day! That is why I've always chosen to communicate with Aidyn without dumbing down my language. Some people used to lovingly joke with me when I would have long, drawn-out conversations with a six-month-old Aidyn. Even now, I try to explain everything the best that I can for him, ask questions to lead him to express himself, and listen to his thoughts and theories.

Phlebotomy, Tracing, and Chess!

When I returned from school and work today, my mom had an in-home appointment with a nurse. Luckily, Aidyn was around for most of her exam and was able to observe the procedure, especially the drawing of blood! Thus, he added a new word to his vocabulary: phlebotomist.

After that excited ended, I introduced him to the letter T, the first letter for the word tree. I worked with him on tracing the letter, and though he did an excellent job, we're not ready for that yet. I believe he needs more foundational work to exercise his writing abilities; he has years ahead of him before handwriting is "required." If he's to be ahead in anything, handwriting letters does not have to be it!

So I got him started on a tracing book that I've had tucked away for a couple years. In it are adorable, real-life illustrations of trails and paths. The idea is to link one object to another. For instance, one page had a little crab in the upper corner and another little crab in the bottom corner with a mess of rocks between them. The goal is to create a path for one crab to meet the other without touching the obstacles. Aidyn had a ball doing this and learned to navigate his lines in a fun way.

My goal for him at this stage is to continue to use his creativity and imagination ("Okay, Aidyn, we must draw a path for this kitten to get to his mama without falling in any of the holes. Be careful! Oh, watch out! You did it; great job!") and to exercise his 'writing muscles' with art first.

After he completed a number of pages, I let him display his work as he saw fit. He chose the location and taped it up himself; so what if I have to tilt my head to appreciate it? : )

When he finished "doing school," Aidyn requested some play time with the chess board. He just discovered it in our closet today and was curious to see what that was all about. Not being a chess whiz (I'll leave that to David!), I showed him the very bare basics of the game. He enjoyed plopping the pawns and other figures through the board and looks forward to his dad teaching him how to play.