Categories
Parenting cousins

Toy trading

The cousins, Fleur and Jasmine, have a tendency to intentionally or accidentally leave things the other enjoyed. Most of the time it is a accidental situation. I failed to ensure everything that was brought is accounted for before walking out the door.

The intentional happened often enough the girls started rationalizing the other intended it to be left. Which is maybe for the best.

It usually makes it home the next week. And both have enough one thing is probably not missed too much. And if that one thing is a favorite they move on to a new one in the week.

Just a year ago, Fleur would meltdown over leaving something somewhere. She has quadruplet cheap dolls because of leaving the first somewhere. Often enough in the past year she would get upset over forgetting to bring a toy.

Categories
Games

Dino Rawr!

Another pretend game we play is “Dinosaur.” Basically, I am big terrible lizard chasing her.

Rules:

  • I am constrained to the hallway and bedrooms.
  • I roar. She screams.
  • Lots of running.
  • Me hiding to jump out.
  • Sometimes something is a sword for defeating me.

Often the game morphs into sick dino.

This is a good activity for rainy or very cold weather .

Outside, the same game is Big, Bad Wolf where I howl and chase.

Categories
Games

In character

The other day, Fleur told Ada and I that:

  • Fleur would only identify as Elsa
  • Ada asked to be Anna
  • She also asked for me to be Kristoff
  • And the Elsa doll is? Olaf!

So ever since, we have to maintain these roles within the home dynamic. If we slip up, Fleur gets upset that the game has stopped.

However, around others, the game is not in effect.

I think she is ready for the role-play aspect of Dungeons & Dragons.

Categories
music

Trees of green

Years of singing Louis Armstrong’s “What a wonderful world” has culminated in Fleur singing it herself. Love. It.

We have a book version which I use to sing and have read to her over a hundred times.

Huh, I only just noticed it was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. Going to have to look up that story.

Categories
learning

Deep conversations

I love this preschooler age.

Galahad works for a package delivery company. I drop him off at work most mornings while taking Fleur to daycare. I encourage her to help him get to work by moving faster. So, naturally, she views this drop-off as her taking him to work. And, she points out every truck with their logo.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

Today, we had a conversation about supply chain logistics. She was asking about a semi-trailer headed leaving town from the local warehouse. So I explained Galahad works for the depot taking things to people’s houses. The semis we see at the depot brought there the things he takes. Others take things from the airport to the warehouse.

THAT got her attention. Her teacher showed the class pictures of a trip, which connected her to the planes often flying over our house. The signs for the airport are commented upon every time she sees them. Ada took her to the airport a couple weeks ago to see the planes. Connecting the truck to the airport was ah-MAZE-ing.

When I recall things, I go through a series of how it is connected to other things. This scaffolding of information is the basis of how I explain things. And how I am building up understanding in my prodigy.

Categories
Comedy

Silent ROFLMAO

When Fleur does something hilarious but don’t want to encourage, it is impossible not to laugh. The best we have is to turn away and silently laugh.

I have seen parents do this forever. I just didn’t realize how often it would be the case.

Categories
memory Parenting

Study: Type of play affects learning

I remember when we were looking for toys for the 9 month age. We were good already with passive toys. So, we were more interested in in good active toys. Somehow, I had forgotten one of the basic concepts in psychology: the best way to study for a test is to replicate the conditions of the environment where the exam will be taken.

The best way to recall the test information is to create a study environment closely resembling the testing situation. The difference between an A and a B could be sitting in a desk in a quiet room over laying on a couch with Metallica pumping through headphones.

This study essentially confirms similar in infants. They cycle through calm attentiveness, wakeful activity, and crying. Recall is better if the state matches the state at encoding.

We cycle through these states, so I need to ensure multiple encoding opportunities to get maximum coverage. Don’t just wait for or try to achieve calm attentiveness for a learning opportunity. (I do talk about physics of the activity while Fleur is in physical play. Just need to mix it up a bit.)

Sabine Seehagen, Silvia Schneider, Katharina Sommer, Laura La Rocca, Carolin Konrad. (2020) State‐Dependent Memory in Infants. Child Development. doi:10.1111/cdev.13444

Categories
cousins Parenting

Imaginary sibling

Months ago, Fleur started talking about relationships. Namely she listed the labels we apply to who people are in our lives and who fit them. Galahad is her brother because they have the same parents. Her uncle is her parent’s sibling. Her cousin is her mother’s brother’s daughter. I loved this working on understanding the taxonomy for individuals.

She has an honorary sister. Abigail and Galahad grew up together. Through a twist of fate Abigail has similar skin coloring as Fleur and I, so people assume she is my kid at times.

For a while, Fleur talked about her sister Addie. Not Abigail. Not another kid at daycare. She doesn’t live with us. Still not sure when Fleur hangs out with her sister. It was super weird.

I can see why people think children tap into the paranormal with stuff like that.

The funny thing is this name is pretty popular. We keep finding kids in the periphery with it.

Categories
Metaphysics

Haunted

My grandmother claimed she would haunt me after she was gone. She passed 6 years before Fleur was born. And when I see behavior I am sure came to her through me, I realize this was prophesy.

She would have turned 100 soon. And I am sure would be so very amused by this descendant hellion.

Categories
happiness Parenting

Stop to smell the roses

In the summer, before she would get in the car, Fleur had to walk over to the roses and smell them. Usually it meant me lowering one down to where she could.

Photo by picjumbo.com on Pexels.com

It became part of her morning ritual. So, now that the roses are gone, we have shifted into denial for the past month or so. She hasn’t forgotten, but she doesn’t ask every morning anymore.

I need to plant some fall blooming flowers for her, I guess. Though, it would just shift the problem to winter.