• Field trips
  • We took the bike trailer to Vermont Square Park. One of the toys she was looking forward to riding was broken, but there were plenty of other things to play with.
  • We visited Ewan and E-. I took ingredients for one of the giant bubble solution recipes I found, and we experimented with that for a bit. Then we went to the park for lunch and playtime. Lots of fun!
• Gross motor
  • A- slid down the shed ramp backwards on her riding toy.
• Fine motor
  • A- started getting interested in fringing. She could also cut within an inch around a figure.
  • A- played with more letters. She also wanted to paste paper apples onto a tree, and she wanted to make valentines.
  • A- used stickers to hold a piece of paper together after it had gotten a little wet.
  • A- spent a few minutes methodically popping bubble wrap.
  • A- practised threading a few large beads. I should find or make a few more that would be easier to thread.
• Language
  • A- took my phone and told it, “Please ask OurGroceries to add chicharon to the list.” She also wanted to add carrots.
  • “I want ice cream. The frozen one.” A- asked to buy ice cream and cones at the supermarket.
  • A- played with the -able suffix. She asked for something squishable, and she pronounced something doable.
• Music
  • A- sang and did the gestures for “Lost my partner, what’ll I do?” and “I’ll find another as pretty as you.”
  • A- played the piano while singing the cleanup song and the tiptoe song. She asked me to clean up, and then asked me to dance with a scarf.
  • A- participated in music class, running and jumping and tiptoeing along as we sang. She also shook the tambourine rhythmically.
• Self-care
  • A- traced the starfish mold in the living room while we tidied up in the kitchen.
  • A- put on one sock all by herself.
• Household
  • We helped W- clean the carpet.
  • A- wanted to fold laundry. She also liked answering questions such as: “Mama’s or A-‘s?”
  • I put the hoops around the tomato plants. We harvested all the basil. A- said, “Oooh, so many basil.” W- made lots of pesto.
  • A- picked out the house key from my key ring.
• Social
  • A- wanted to call Lola, so we did.
  • We ate at Swiss Chalet to celebrate W-‘s progress at work. A- wanted sweet potato fries. She also drank a lot of water. When we finished eating, we prompted A- to ask for the check. She raised her hand, and then when the server came over, she said, “Check, please.”
  • Martin kept A- happily occupied while I worked on some code for his project.
• Pretend
  • A- wanted to be a cat. She was about to lick her toes, but I think we’ve temporarily convinced her to clean herself the human way.
• World
  • We checked out the spider exhibition at the museum. It was pretty cool! A- pointed at the big spiders and asked what they were doing. I learned about lots of different types of spiders. The bowl-and-doily spider is neat!
• Kaizen
  • I explored the YouTube Live / Hangouts on Air interface so that I could pass along tips.
  • I stayed up late to try the guar gum giant bubble recipe from http://soapbubble.wikia.com/wiki/Recipes_Guar . Very promising! It made a couple of big bubbles in the cool, still air of our kitchen. Next, I want to experiment with different frames and work on technique.
  • I skimmed “Building Healthy Minds: The Six Experiences That Create Intelligence and Emotional Growth in Babies and Young Children,” by Stanley Greenspan, M.D., and Nancy Breslau Lewis. I liked the detailed tips on building emotional experiences and expanding symbolic thought through playtime and in daily life. I’m looking forward to thinking about circles of communication the next time I play with A-. The book recommends organizing 4 or 5 one-on-one playdates with peers each week even at this age. That feels like a big challenge, but maybe I can find other families who want to hang out… It’ll be good practice for later, too!
• Us
  • I helped Popo with her Android phone while she played with A-.

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