Monday, March 9, 2015

Learning


Owen has just gotten to that fun stage in learning to count where he's figured out the pattern and can count up to 100 with help on the 10's -  '50, 60, 70...' He counted to 101 today (with Mom's help) and was so proud!  

Just thinking about this super fun stage, I thought it would be fun to write down (and remember later) what some of the things each of us is working on learning these days. 

Porter

Porter is learning to sleep... slowly, ever so slowly, with lots of back and forths... yet overall his sleep is getting better and better.  To run (such happy toddler running is as cute as it gets :)  To eat with a fork/spoon (very much like this favorite poem!)  To say so many new words, and  let us know so much more clearly what he wants (we love his fervent nods - yes!  To give some really wonderful hugs!

Owen

Owen is learning all the fun preschool age things - letter names and sounds and numbers and counting and shapes.  To write and draw letters and numbers and pictures. To tell stories - Owen loves to tell detailed stories of "What if...?" To get dressed by himself.  And learning so much from big sister Ellie - she loves to teach this little Owen (like yesterday at snack time as they ate their trail mix: "Owen, I had 4 pink m&m's but I just ate one, so how many do I have now?")

Ellie

Ellie is learning to be such an amazing helper. Dinner prep times have been going so  smoothly lately because while I'll be cooking, Ellie just quietly walks around the kitchen gathering things up, setting the table, and getting out anything she can think of that we might need.  To read more and more - like many things with Ellie, this kind of snuck up on me. When she started kindergarten she was already a great little reader with I Can Read books, etc. But then all of a sudden she was able to read pretty much all of our kid books!  To draw more and more - and I love her drawings so much!  To say hi to friends,  play with friends at recess, and answer questions from grownups (like at the dentist today - "they asked me questions and I told them the answers!")  To cook - Ellie is our official Sunday bread maker.

Landon

Landon is learning so much in Portuguese. He's amazed Jordan and me with how well he can communicate and how much he understands.  To be our expert family pancake maker (and macaroni & cheese maker too!) All the great things he needs to know for school - multiplication and division and fractions and reading and recess soccer playing, etc. To be a great writer. Both in handwriting (with effort :) and in substance - I've been amazed in 3rd grade what excellent writing he's had.  To be such a great big brother and leader to his brothers and sister.

Me

I'm learning to do a few little things with Photoshop -- my favorite two things: I can make a white background transparent, and I can change the color of a solid colored object. Two things I've never been able to do with omnigraffle and always wanted to learn how to do, and now I can!   To figure out daily routines that help things go so much more smoothly (and I finally have the energy to stick with them, hooray!) To eat healthier.  To conjugate verbs in Portuguese (but man, it is hard!) and other Portuguese practice and learning.  To get back into a super daily running routine (hooray!)

Jordan

Jordan is learning to be  a super journal writer (which has helped me to get back to this great habit too).  To be a really exceptional developer and worker.  To be a pro unicycler (with a trip up to the Bonneville trail, over and back down again this week, just for fun during his lunch break!)  To be a great executive secretary and to remember to set up appointments and do all the other little things he needs to do.  To be a great wrestler against all four kids at the same time (tough enough for Landon, careful enough for Porter, silly enough for Owen, gentle enough for Ellie...)