Parenting lessons I've been learning myself . . . .

I'm glad someone got it written out and spread around.  A good friend send me this link.

http://www.stevewiens.com/2013/03/12/to-parents-of-small-children-let-me-be-the-one-who-says-it-out-loud/

:)

Conversing w a 12-mo-old

I think I may've just had my first true conversation with my 12-month-old!  It went something like this:  

He was in the bathroom with me while I was getting ready this morning, and he was standing at the tub, trying to reach over the side into it.  I warned him, "No fall in!"  

He stopped, turned to look at me with a grin, and lifted his foot to the edge of the tub and shook his head "no".  

I laughed and said, "Yes! No fall in tub!"  I laughed again as he put his hand on his head with his fingers spread out, which is his sign for "silly".  

"Is that silly?" I asked him.  

He then placed his hands firmly on the edge of the tub and did a huge head bop; it was different than his typical I'm-a-baby-and-like-to-bop-my-head kind of bop, and I realized was very likely an attempt to nod "yes".  He then reached his chubby hand to the faucet and looked at me with a grin: "Mom, I want to take a bath!"

H's Art Portfolio

This and the next two pictures are from a card H made for her cousin who was getting baptized.

She'll often scribble on the brown bags we occasionally send her lunch in.

She made me a ring out of paper and tape!

I loved it!

summer time color exploration

Noise maker

Although the wad of paper did eventually stick to the tape she used inside. ;)

This makes me laugh, so I just had to include it.  

It's from an All About Me poster her teacher had her and her classmates do.  

Look at all those kids! 

She did this one day during the summer with ink, paper, and scotch tape.

Several months later, H made this (scotch tape, foam sheets, and pencil) while S and I talked to the ADHD Clinic people.  There is a disagreement in the ADHD world as to whether ADHDers can focus intently on something without that focus being in a scattered way.  This and the earlier figure obviously required sustained attention, although as I wasn't there, I don't know if she took breaks from it and was redirected to it by her chaperone or not.  Her companion did say that it was completely H's idea and that she didn't help H with a bit of it.

By the end of kindergarten, her teachers usually had her coloring a background and a foreground as well, so I thought picture I stumbled across I thought was unfinished, but H now informs me she was done with it.  Note the movement lines for the butterfly's wings.  That--and the insect's curly antennea--is what drew my attention to this crayon drawing.

This and below are her birthday card to me.  

She asked me what my favorite colors were--pink and blue--before she got started.  I loved it!

This is a self-portrait made at school.  All the kids pictures looked much like this, so they must have received some kind of guidance about drawing it.  I love the hearts on each side at the bottom and the wisp of hair on her forehead.

This was a teacher lead art project as part of their cultures lesson during the holidays.  I think it's a cute idea.

She's made up her own cursive, and was thus gifted a handwriting book from her OT so she could learn correct technique, and since then has added this decorative script to her repertoire.