Today’s preschool time: grocery with Andrew. He was so good. It’s amazing how easy and bliss life is with one. Now I am home- he is sleeping through the tree cutting in our backyard. I am doing chores, making bread and soon to be facing my homework due Thursday.
Signing
Andrew does this really cute sign for please. You’re supposed to make a circle with your hand flat on your chest. But he doesn both hands on his chest. He looks like a monkey when he does it. So cute!
We had a busy weekend with Isabella’s birthday party. Here are some pictures:
We had lots of family time this weekend. We went to the park Friday with Gaby and the kids, Saturday was the party and Sunday we got a visit from Grammie and Grandpa.
Here is Andrew reading the newspaper yesterday:
The kids in their rain boots:
Mom Tip
I feel like the kids teach me something new everyday. Here is my mom tips of the day: Play classical music or Enya throughout the day. This helps me stay calm and it puts me in a good mood. I really think it makes me a better mom. I hear it in the background and it’s a nice reminder- breathe, zen, stay calm:)
Waving
Andrew loves to wave. He waves at the cat, the store clerk. He has got the cutest wave. He slowly moves his fingers up and down usually with a smile. And he smiles at strangers pretty quickly. He is a ham.
This and That
Abby asked if she could hold Andrew tonight. She hasn’t asked that in a long time maybe since he was a baby. So I indulged her. He actually sat still. Here they are:
Andrew’s bed time routine: I guess his new routine is no longer a novelty. He doesn’t sit still for the “Hush Little Baby” anymore:( He jumps out of my arms and runs around his room. I remember when Abby outgrew it:( She would just jump out my arms and into the crib:( It’s a sad time as a mom when you can’t just hold them in your arms like babies anymore:(
Oh well that’s life. On another note- we are having a beautiful fall, here are pictures:
I got to go on a hike alone today for once. It was nice and quiet. Usually the kids and I go about everyday. I missed them. I felt so naked without them- no baby on my back, no hand to hold. But I must learn to be alone too. It feels so strange to be alone though after you become a mom. My days are filled with them needing me every second just about!
Here’s the woods behind our house. I’m loving how different and pretty it looks right now. :
Abby went to her first real game at Autzen today! She did great! They had a ball. I’m hoping Kyle took pics. I will post them later if he did.
She went to a volleyball game tonight. Here she is with her buddy Allie:
They let the kids play with the balls at halftime. So fun! Here’s Andrew:
He was in heaven!!!
Oh and she has a big girl bed. Kyle came home with a truckload of IKEA stuff yesterday. Here she is in her new bed. She loves it!:
Cute
Andrew just said hi and went up and gave Abby a huge hug for a long time. Then she said “je t’aime” to him:)
Words
Andrew’s words this week- he is trying to say Abby. He says “Aba”, apple, outside (he tries). He is replacing “boisson” with “mil” for “milk”. I think because he hears Abby say it. The English is taking over:(
He is trying to talk so much. He says quite a few words. Abby looked at him and was talking today to him and he just stared at her and smiled like he wanted to talk back so bad! It was adorable. He does this thing where he tugs on his pants.
He is signing please, “merci” (thank you) and he is signing more really well. He loved doing bubbles today. He kept signing more over and over.
Abby is saying “Je t’aime” alot to me and Andrew. It means I love you.
Abigail is doing great at preschool. She has a friend Amelia. They have a lot of fun together. They are both as my mom says free spirits:)
Abigail understands all of the adult talk around her now. Today I was talking about an article about teacher layoffs to my dad and she said “they are not going to take my teachers?” I said no. Then she said “that’s so sad they are taking all the teachers away.” 🙁
Life is good with our little family unit:) Okay I better go clean house.
Andrew reading
Abby loves holding Andrew’s hand in the car now! Best buddies!:
Yoga and More
Andrew loves books. I love catching him reading. I am always walking up to him and he is just sitting on the floor or the couch “reading” to himself. So adorable! I try to take a picture and he says cheese!
Well I am flying solo this week- Kyle has been out of town since Monday. He will be home tomorrow. We are excited. The kids miss him. Both of them were asking for him today.
We started a family yoga class yesterday. The kids did great. Abby followed along really well. She now knows the tree pose, the butterfly, downward dog, the cow pose and the cat. She showed them all to Maemae last night. She is amazing! Andrew walked around during the class. He even tried to sit and do a few poses! And then he would come and hug me or climb on top of me every once in a while.
Abigail is really into the Wiggles, a kids show. She calls Andrew “Jeff”, one of the characters.
I am taking a class right now on how kids learn to read. I am also volunteering once a week at Fox Hollow, a French immersion school. Here is this week’s assignment for my class I am taking (see below). Abigail was my subject. I had to do a literacy event, analyze it and write a paper about it. Watch the video:)
Literacy Event Description: My daughter Abigail (age 3) and I talked about the characters in the Berenstain Bear books. She listed all four main characters: Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Sister Bear and Brother Bear. Then we sat down and read The Berenstain Bears Go To School by Stan and Jan Berenstain. See video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmesOUJ5utk&feature=player_embedded#!
Function : Abigail understands that written language tells a story. That is obvious because she sits and looks at the book. She knows book are entertaining and provide a great activity for her and me.She knows it is an opportunity to spend special time with mom. McGee and Richgels mention that novice readers understand “….reading and writing as part of family and community activities…..(p.82).”
Abigail understands that books tell stories. She is excited about reading a book and knows that if she sits next to her mother she will be read to.
Meaning: Abigail knows booksharing routines. She knows to sit by me and follow along by listening and looking at the pages. She knows to look at the book and illustrations when I start reading text. When I start reading she directs her gaze to the book. She seems engaged in the story. She knows she can ask questions as I am reading and after. She has learned to answer questions. She was also able to point out the different characters and objects in the pictures when prompted. Sometimes she looks at the pictures to find the answers. For example she points to Brother Bear when I ask who was pulling who on the bus. She understands that pictures represent people and that the pictures in the book can help her answer the questions.
Abigail has developed concepts about stories. She notices characters and story events. We reread the book a second time today and she pointed out two events in the story- the part where Brother Bear pulls Sister Bear on the bus and the part at the end when Sister Bear pulls Brother Bear on the bus. She also notices the setting of the story.
Abigail made the connection of what was going on in the book (with the leaves changing) with the read world. Abigail finds relevancy to her own life in the story through thoughtful questions I asked.. She looked outside at the leaves changing color on our street. She acknowledged that Sister Bear was starting school just like she did. She pointed to the picture of where Sister Bear would attend school.
Abigail can construct literal meaning from the story, as demonstrated by her answers to my questions, me connecting her prior knowledge to the story, and her comments. She constructs inferential meaning when she says “yes” when I ask about Sister Bear liking school. She gathers this from the illustration of Sister Bear pulling Brother onto the bus. She notices Sister Bear’s feelings.
She predicts the next event in the book at the end saying “ and then they were there [at school], play with the teacher and went home, took a nap.”
It is not obvious from the literacy event if she understands that a word has a meaning.
Forms: Abigail is using principles of spatial direction: left to right. She understands that we read left to right and top to bottom. She looks at the left page then the right when we are reading the book.
Abigail may recognize that the words are made up of the alphabet and that they are used to tell a story. It is not obvious if she understands word spaces or upper- and lowercase letters.
It seems like Abigail comprehends the story thoroughly through pictures and your oral retelling, not through interacting directly with the print. It is hard to tell from this read aloud what she currently knows about letters. In McGee and Richgel’s “Summary: What Novice Readers and Writers Know about Written Language (Figure 3.13, p. 82),” they note that novices are acquiring the capacity to “recognize alphabet letters as a special set of graphic symbols (p.82).” Abigail, who is accustomed to being read to, understands this much about print.
Meaning Form Links: Abigail is not yet aware of phoneme-grapheme relationships. She does not understand spelling patterns.
I think Abigail understands that the printed word instructs me what to say for the story. She listens while I read her the story and follows along with the pictures. She may be making a connection to the words and my voice as I read to her.
She understands that there is a relationship between the printed language and the pictures. She associates the text on the page with the pictures, and the telling of a story. She can “differentiate pictures from print…(p.82).”
Happy Halloween
My little duck and monkey:
Abby with her preschool buddy:
Trick or treating!:
