March 02, 2005
Our mornings are generally rushed. Like everyone (I hope) we always seem to be about five minutes late. Well, I'm rushing... I go in to check on Annie's progress with getting dressed, and she has Lilo trapped in the corner, or is playing on her little piano, or is talking to her "kids" - stuffed animals. Well, we'd not be us if we didn't try to increase the difficulty level of getting ready in the morning. For the past week or two, we have a new ritual.
She gets up, makes her oatmeal, feeds the cats (and talks to the cats while she has their undivided attention), goes to the bathroom, and then sits down to eat. The Harley-Davidson blanket is draped over her chair to limit the contact with cold wood. Her special Annie blanket (made by my great-great-aunt) is over her legs, because... well, just because. Her first few bites usually inolve the ice we've added to expedite the cooling of the oatmeal. That's all the old routine, now we've added a step.
The school sent home some printouts of various words, numbers, and letters, which I cut out and put in a bag (that they supplied... Thank you!). I begin pulling out various cards and showing them to her. I'm amazed at how much her brain seems to work like mine. I've a visual learner, and I think she is, too. She takes one look of the cards, and then her eyes drift somewhere else while the brain takes the image and begins to decipher it. I always do the same thing. No one in college would ask to see my notes, because I never took any. So her mind focuses on deciphering the image, and the wheels begin to turn. She sounds out each letter. Sometimes her focus returns to me, "is that a silent 'e'?" "Yes." "What letter is it for?" "You tell me." "The 'i'". "Right, it has the long 'i' sound." Her focus drifts again, as she quietly sounds out the word. Her sounds get faster, and faster as she puts the pieces together. Then, her focus returns to me and she gets the smile of the conquering hero. She says the word, and we have a high five over it. Of course, the eating of the breakfast has slowed down, but it's worth it.
As her interest in learning and demonstrating what she's learned continues, she shows another trait of mine (God help her). My mind is typically multi-tasking at any given time. Annie is showing the same thing. We've also been working at reading numbers using the tens and hundreds digits. The best way we do this is to read signs as we go down the road. Now, it's become second nature. We'll be driving to school, and she will be telling me some story, and boom there it is. "... we were playing horses. I was the mommy horse - thirty five - and Colleen was the daughter horse." "What?" "The sign said 'thirty-five'."
I'm not completely sure I want her to turn out like me, but I like the way she thinks.
Glad she looks like her mother.
She gets up, makes her oatmeal, feeds the cats (and talks to the cats while she has their undivided attention), goes to the bathroom, and then sits down to eat. The Harley-Davidson blanket is draped over her chair to limit the contact with cold wood. Her special Annie blanket (made by my great-great-aunt) is over her legs, because... well, just because. Her first few bites usually inolve the ice we've added to expedite the cooling of the oatmeal. That's all the old routine, now we've added a step.
The school sent home some printouts of various words, numbers, and letters, which I cut out and put in a bag (that they supplied... Thank you!). I begin pulling out various cards and showing them to her. I'm amazed at how much her brain seems to work like mine. I've a visual learner, and I think she is, too. She takes one look of the cards, and then her eyes drift somewhere else while the brain takes the image and begins to decipher it. I always do the same thing. No one in college would ask to see my notes, because I never took any. So her mind focuses on deciphering the image, and the wheels begin to turn. She sounds out each letter. Sometimes her focus returns to me, "is that a silent 'e'?" "Yes." "What letter is it for?" "You tell me." "The 'i'". "Right, it has the long 'i' sound." Her focus drifts again, as she quietly sounds out the word. Her sounds get faster, and faster as she puts the pieces together. Then, her focus returns to me and she gets the smile of the conquering hero. She says the word, and we have a high five over it. Of course, the eating of the breakfast has slowed down, but it's worth it.
As her interest in learning and demonstrating what she's learned continues, she shows another trait of mine (God help her). My mind is typically multi-tasking at any given time. Annie is showing the same thing. We've also been working at reading numbers using the tens and hundreds digits. The best way we do this is to read signs as we go down the road. Now, it's become second nature. We'll be driving to school, and she will be telling me some story, and boom there it is. "... we were playing horses. I was the mommy horse - thirty five - and Colleen was the daughter horse." "What?" "The sign said 'thirty-five'."
I'm not completely sure I want her to turn out like me, but I like the way she thinks.
Glad she looks like her mother.