October 2nd, 2019
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- Gross motor
- I helped A- climb up the ladder and go down the banana slide a few times.
- Fine motor
- The babysitter took A- to the library and borrowed a few books on Halloween crafts. They did a little tissue ghost.
- Language
- A- proudly mixed the pasta salad. She said, “I’m a chef. My food tastes yummy, you know?”
- “Sheep is not a fan of getting wet.”
- Music
- A- mostly watched during music class.
- A- made up her own counting down song about puppets on a wall.
- Self-care and independence
- After a little grumpiness about privacy, A- relented and let me go to the bathroom by myself while she waited in her room.
- A- had a lot of separation anxiety at school drop-off. She wasn’t even looking forward to the watermelon snack that we saw her teacher prepare. It’s okay, I know she’ll get the hang of it. She knows how to be away from me, so this is probably mostly a reaction to how school is structured and how the teachers tell kids what to do.
- Separation anxiety continues. Actually, it’s probably not about being away from me, but about dealing with more structured time.
- Sleep
- A- was practically falling asleep at the table, but she still wanted W- to help brush her teeth. She ended up going to bed at 9.
- A- and I talked about how she resists going to sleep.
- I had the energy and patience to gently shepherd A- through bedtime.
- A- was so tired after school that she slept for the first two hours of the babysitter’s shift.
- A- was getting cranky and resisting sleep, so I eventually set a limit on entertaining her. She was upset for a bit, but she settled down.
- Emotion
- A-‘s been a little contrary lately. After doing some research, I decided to think of contrariness and defiance as requests for reconnection. I ask her if she’s feeling disconnected and I snuggle her more. Now she’s taken to telling me that she feels disconnected and wants more connection time…
- While A- was at school, I learned more about separation anxiety. I liked being able to reframe this as practice cooling down on her own, which makes me feel quite positive about it.
- A- was upset at school drop-off, but she calmed down in time to join snack and crafting. The teacher reported that A- knew that she could go to the cool down couch to calm herself down. A- mentioned blowing some kind of green balloon.
- Cognition
- We checked out the Esso Family Math program at an EarlyON centre about 40 minutes from our house. It was a great reminder that I can talk to A- about math concepts like estimation and graphs. I think we’ve got a long way to go, but I’m glad we’re looking for more ways to make math part of everyday life.
Blog posts
Time
| Category |
The other week % |
Last week % |
Diff % |
h/wk |
Diff h/wk |
| Business |
2.1 |
13.8 |
11.7 |
23.1 |
19.6 |
| Discretionary – Family |
2.3 |
4.2 |
1.9 |
7.0 |
3.1 |
| Discretionary – Social |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| Personal |
8.7 |
8.5 |
-0.2 |
14.4 |
-0.3 |
| Discretionary – Productive |
3.6 |
1.7 |
-1.9 |
2.8 |
-3.2 |
| A- |
38.1 |
36.1 |
-2.0 |
60.6 |
-3.4 |
| Discretionary – Play |
3.3 |
1.1 |
-2.2 |
1.8 |
-3.7 |
| Unpaid work |
7.2 |
4.2 |
-3.0 |
7.0 |
-5.1 |
| Sleep |
34.7 |
30.5 |
-4.2 |
51.2 |
-7.1 |
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October 2nd, 2019
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- Us
- Facebook login stopped working on Quantified Awesome and I don’t have the time to deal with it, so I removed it.
- I finished crocheting my hat!
- W- found an iPad on the train. He brought it home to try to locate its owner. At first, it wouldn’t connect to the passwordless WiFi network he set up. When we changed the SSID to mimic Starbucks, it connected. Siri hadn’t been set up with contact information, but having it on the network allowed the owner to send it a message to display contact information, so we messaged the owner. Good deed of the day!
- Gross motor
- A- walked with me as we did neighbourhood errands.
- Sensory
- A- loved playing with water. She also pretended to go camping.
- Language
- On getting soap in her eyes: “I’m not so keen on that. I’m not so happy!”
- A- pretended to talk to the person doing the video of a cardboard candy dispenser. She said, “Guy, you’re having a lot of candy.”
- Music
- A- preferred to watch at music class.
- A- pretended to play the ukulele and have circle time. When I started playing the recorder, she said, “It’s circle time, not band time.” She sang The Good Morning Train, pausing to gesture at things and say, “And we say hello to… What’s your name?”
- Art
- A-‘s school activity was to draw a picture of her family. She drew W-, me, J-, and herself with abstract circles.
- Self-care and independence
- W- asked J- to wash her face, and she did.
- A- was a little clingy at school drop off, but she responded to the teacher’s invitation to check out new puzzles.
- A- cried a lot at drop-off. We eventually had to peel her off me. The teachers said it took a while, but she eventually settled down.
- Sleep
- A- wanted to wait for W- to get home before starting bedtime routine. She lasted throughout dinner / evening snack, but fell asleep while we brushed her teeth.
- A- slept in the presence of a babysitter for the first time!
- Household
- A- saw the lights we removed from her room. She said, “Can we reinstall that? I promise not to turn it on and off.”
- A- figured out how to to fold a blanket neatly by asking me to hold up the other corners.
- I cooked a lot while A- helped. I baked sausages, barbeque chicken drumsticks, and pizza.
- Cognition
- A- participated in an experiment at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Today’s session was about establishing a baseline, and there will be a follow-up session in April. The researcher and I were impressed by how A- patiently followed all the instructions. I think the researcher said most 3-year-olds usually have a hard time sitting through the session, but she did fine. On the receptive vocabulary test, she was able to handle things all the way up to adult level with a few guesses. She was able to subtract words from two-word phrases, and even some sounds. She combined words and blended many sounds. She repeated 4 random digits, but 5 was too tricky. She repeated sentences and made-up words. She matched most starting sounds (m/n and c/g confused her a little).
- “I know! I have a solution! I can sleep on the crib mattress.”
- A- picked up a ribbon. W- asked, “Is that longer than you are tall?” A- dangled it over her head and said, “Yeah.” She’s slowly getting the hang of measuring and comparing!
- World
- A- examined her tongue in the reflection from the faucet.
Blog posts
Time
| Category |
The other week % |
Last week % |
Diff % |
h/wk |
Diff h/wk |
| Unpaid work |
1.5 |
7.2 |
5.7 |
12.1 |
9.6 |
| Discretionary – Family |
0.6 |
2.3 |
1.8 |
3.9 |
3.0 |
| Discretionary – Play |
1.6 |
3.3 |
1.7 |
5.6 |
2.9 |
| Business |
0.7 |
2.1 |
1.4 |
3.5 |
2.4 |
| Personal |
8.5 |
8.7 |
0.2 |
14.7 |
0.3 |
| Discretionary – Social |
1.2 |
0.0 |
-1.2 |
0.0 |
-2.0 |
| Discretionary – Productive |
5.5 |
3.6 |
-1.9 |
6.0 |
-3.2 |
| Sleep |
37.4 |
34.7 |
-2.7 |
58.3 |
-4.5 |
| A- |
43.2 |
38.1 |
-5.1 |
64.0 |
-8.5 |
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October 2nd, 2019
Read more about review, weekly
- Us
- First day of the drop-off kindergarten readiness program. Another parent and I spent the two hours chatting about math, parenting, and other activities.
- On the second day of the kindergarten readiness program, I went to the library and drafted the text for my Emacs presentation.
- I used some drop-off time to catch up on email.
- Gross motor
- A- walked all the way home from the UPS store. We both got a bit hangry on the way, but she persisted, and I was able to stay patient because I remembered that my long-term goal is to encourage her independence.
- A- had so much fun running ahead and then coming back whenever I blew my whistle.
- Fine motor
- A- liked tying bows on her shirt. She was even able to do them with rabbit ears.
- Language
- “Did you want steamed buns for lunch, sticky rice, or both?” “I want sticky buns.”
- A- had a cold, so we spent most of the day reading.
- A- and I talked about the things we like to do and what we want to get good at. A- said she likes writing.
- We read lots of books at the library.
- Self-care and independence
- A- used a book to turn off the lights in her room.
- A- did really well at her first day at the drop-off kindergarten readiness program! When I picked her up after two hours, she was happy.
- After kindergarten readiness, A- asked, “Why did other kids not listen?” and “Why was one kid crying?” We talked a bit about the skills they’re working on. She said she’s good at listening to the teacher and that she enjoys playing at school.
- A- used the bathroom independently at the EarlyON centre.
- Household
- A- practised using the mini vacuum.
- Social
- At kindergarten readiness, A- glued paper candles onto a paper birthday cake. They talked about age. For snack, they had cheese and crackers. At home, A- told us about circle time and how she did what other kids were doing.
- At the drop-in centre, A- was interested in playing with the teacher. She made presents for the teacher and had fun giving her stuff.
- A- helped sweep and tidy up at the drop-in centre. I like helping out with clean-up time because A- gets to see how we help with common spaces.
- As we were getting ready for the kindergarten readiness program in the morning, A- said she didn’t want to go to school and that she wanted to stay with me. I explained that it takes some getting used to, but that she’ll eventually find it fun. We made it through the morning routine and to school on time, and she walked into the classroom after a big hug.
- A- ran to the door because she wanted to give W- a goodbye hug.
- A- wanted to wait for Daddy for her bedtime routine, even though she was a bit tired.
- A bigger kid wanted to grab a toy that A- was playing with. I intervened by calmly holding on, but I might look for other ways to respond so that I can help A- learn how to deal with things herself.
- We spent the afternoon hanging out with someone I know from the Emacs community who had flown in for the Toronto International Film Festival. A- asked lots of questions about stuff she saw around her, and we spent some time at the playground too. Maybe 10% grown-up small talk, 70% small kid small talk, and 20% independent play? Progress!
- A- was curious about the can of sparkling water. She set out a tray with two small glasses and a bowl of peanuts. She tried talking W- into opening the can (“Would you like sparkling water?”), but he wasn’t interested in having it at that moment. J- didn’t like sparkling water either, but she acquiesced when A- asked. A- carefully poured equal amounts of sparkling water into the glasses. She drank a little of hers, and then proceeded to experiment by putting peanuts in.
- Pretend
- At the playground, A- pretended she was a piece of luggage going around the luggage carousel.
- Cognition
- A- can stack conversations. I asked A- if she knew what her sister’s name was. She didn’t know. I asked her if she knew what Daddy called her. She turned to W- and asked him. He said j-. She turned to me and said J-.
- A- asked for a temporary tattoo. She counted to thirty during its transfer. She asked to have it removed during bathtime, so we used mineral oil.
- World
- We drafted the text for the kids’ book on microphthalmia, and I started sketching some art. I talked to A- about the different art styles in the kids’ books we read. She wants to paint with “messy paint” (tempera).
- We went to the orientation for the kindergarten readiness program. It ended early, so we even made it to the first music class of the term. After music, we went to our favourite drop-in. Then we went to the playground, grocery store, and post office. What a busy day.
- Other
- A- got a bug bite that really bothered her.
- Oops
- Darn! I lost the backpack with the new lunch box. I probably left it on the bus. Anyway, I’ve been using it to help both of us learn more about looking behind us. A- wasn’t too bothered. She wants me to order another one of those lunchboxes, though.
Blog posts
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October 2nd, 2019
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- Kaizen
- W- experimented with the shuttle to work.
- A- accidentally ripped a hole in our bedsheet, so I ordered two more fitted bedsheets.
- We picked up the new lunchboxes (Lunchbots Quad and Lunchbots Trio 2). I like them.
- I decided to order a bunch of temporary tattoos for Halloween.
- Us
- Amin and I sketched out the agenda for the upcoming Emacs conference. We also checked out the tech a bit more.
- I drafted a rhyming book on microphthalmia. A- helped me decide between versions of different verses.
- Field trip
- The Science Centre was closed and Popo was out of town, so we went to the ROM today.
- Sensory
- We went to the EarlyON centre at the school. A- had fun playing with shaving foam and with the water table.
- Language
- A- interrupted her crying to say, “Baby is crying.”
- Household
- A- liked painting and stapling just like W- did.
- Social
- We hung out with Melissa and H- at the playground, went with them for groceries, and invited them over. A- had a hard time sharing, though.
- A-: “Serve it with a cart.” W-: “You’re pushing your luck.” A-: “Okay.”
- A- was in very good spirits. She had fun playing hide and seek with Lola over video chat.
- World
- We picked up the Snaptricity lot that the neighbours set out. A- had fun playing with the motor.
- Other
- A- had poor sleep because she had a bad cold.
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