Catching up after some time without weekly reviews! The week ending Feb 1 was a good one for learning how to deal with emotions.

• Kaizen
  • I’ve been having a hard time finding library books on certain topics, so we went to Parent Books instead. I asked lots of questions about useful resources to help me appreciate all the cool stuff A- is learning, and the shopkeeper helped me find a few books on cognitive development, nature education, and pedagogical documentation. I added a book on joyful toddlers too, since the library didn’t carry that title. Looking forward to learning!
• Us
  • J- installed a new set of blinds with a little help from W- and A-.
  • We spent some time turning fluffy fleece remnants into matching hats for A- and me. There was just enough left over to make a neck gaiter, which A- immediately laid claim to.
• Fine motor
  • A- proudly showed me that she could roll her tongue. (“Taco tongue,” she calls it.)
  • We wrapped a couple of long-overdue gifts for M-. A- helped tape down the wrapper. After we put the gifts away, A- pretended to wrap other things.
  • J- placed two googly eyes on the fuzzy white scarf. A- liked how it looked, and suggested putting them on A-‘s hat. I said we could glue it on after dinner. She disappeared for a bit and came back proudly wearing the hat with the googly eyes that she had glued on by herself. “I look like a bear,” she said.
• Sensory
  • W- took A- sledding to the supermarket. We hitched the sled up to the bicycle rack and went in. A- loved it. I was tickled pink.
  • A- and our cat Leia had lots of fun catching bubbles.
  • Sledding was a handy way to get around in the snow.
  • We braved the cold! We were the only ones in the kids’ swimming pool. A- liked floating in a vest, paddling towards me, and switching her legs back and forth. She also liked walking and jumping without the vest on. She went under the water. I pulled her up right away, and she clung to me for about five minutes.
• Language
  • “Fresh fried fish fritters?” said W-. “Filling!” said A-.
  • We made another quick book, this time about making popcorn.
  • A- woke up asking questions about anesthetists. She also liked practising pronouncing anesthesia and anesthesiologist.
  • W- asked, “How long have these carrots been in your bag?” A- replied, “Years and years now.”
• Self-care and independence
  • A- found her pair of sandals and practised using the Velcro buckles all by herself.
  • A- fell down and cut her lip. She calmed down after a long snuggle.
  • A- said she had a headache, and she spent a long time chewing on her gum massager before going to sleep.
• Eating
  • Chicken pot pie: Just had the crust.
  • A- was in the middle of eating her favourite chocolate energy bar when she noticed that I was wolfing down the rice and fishcakes I brought for our lunch. She reached out for it and insisted on having some.
• Emotion
  • When A- saw another kid bring a baby doll over, she hid in my arms and clung to me tightly. Eventually, when she calmed down enough to talk, she told me, “I want to watch real babies, not pretend babies.” Later on, I guided her to imagine us looking at and then playing with baby dolls, in case that might help with desensitization.
  • A- had a tantrum, and I needed to pry the scissors away from her. She calmed down after I sang silly songs.
  • A- tumbled down the stairs and bruised her face. She was definitely upset, but it was amazing to watch her calm down after lots of snuggling. Coregulation is pretty neat!
  • A- patiently waited for three crowded streetcars to go by before we managed to fit our stroller on another one.
• Household
  • Big snowstorm. A- helped W- shovel. The snow piles were almost as tall as she was. She loved climbing up and sliding down.
  • “Can we make a cake, please?” “After dinner. We need to eat first.” “I can do it myself.” A- pushed her platform next to the counter, climbed up, and opened a bag of flour.
  • We made a practice birthday cake. A- had fun sifting the flour. She kept making snowballs with the flour, so I think we sifted it six or seven times…
• Social
  • W- toasted two pieces of bread and spread peanut butter on them so that he and A- could have an evening snack. He said to A-, “Which one did you want?” “Just the two.” He repeated his question a couple of times, getting the same answers. Then A- clarified: “I want to make a sandwich.” He gave her both pieces, and she put them together.
• Pretend
  • After reading “I Love You, Little Pookie,” A- dressed up as a tiger and enjoyed hunting and roaring.
  • A- and I had a long, imaginative discussion about what it would be like if there were many daddies, mommies, and A-s.
• Cognition
  • A- followed along when I asked her to imagine different scenarios with baby dolls. She laughed at the silly ones and gradually became more comfortable with the challenging ones.

Blog posts

• Weekly review: Week ending January 25, 2019
• Weekly review: Week ending January 18, 2019
• 2019-01-28 Emacs news

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