1. She has actually starting coloring pictures that make sense. For Hannah who has not really excelled at fine motor activities (I blame her overly developed gross motor skills and abundance of energy) this is big. I think it is one area that I've really wanted to see improvement in. Her pictures might not be Monet's, but they are a huge leap forward.
2. Reads (actually reads) to her sister. Like on the couch when they are bored. I keep praying for this to expand. I see moments of peace in my future.
3. Can occasionally tie her own shoes.
4. She wrote a sentence entirely on her own. Previously she had written solo words, then added "the" to them (such as "the cat") or made lists (like of all our family members). This was most likely inspired by a book she read the night before, but written by her self, with no book or helping from parents. The 2nd grade teacher in me would like to point out the value of a period, but the mom in me could care less.
"The dog got the bag"5. This picture says it all.
Happy Birthday Hannah!
Hannah's self-portrait
6 comments:
What a great birthday cake (birthday party?) theme idea. And way to go on the sentence writing and the reading to sister--that sounds heavenly indeed!
(We need to figure out a way to defuse E's horror of making mistakes, her biggest obstacle to reading. She doesn't want to try something she won't get right immediately, since working at something is tedious and being wrong at something is shameful beyond measure. Any second-grade-teacher tips?)
Really, I think it is a personality thing that parents just need to help their kids with. Some kids are perfectionist (esp. oldest--Kevin follows that rule, Hannah not yet). Just make sure that you reward every effort and make the effort the thing to be proud of, not the accomplishment. "Good job sounding out that word--you really worked hard on it!" as opposed to "good job reading that word-you are right, it says 'dog'". Maybe also talk about how you have to work at things, that you are learning and make mistakes.
No magic cures, but does that help at all?
And our theme was the olympics--we did a few competions like sack races and bean bag toss.
Love the eyelashes in her pictures. Happy birthday, Hannah!
YEA!!! Such fun big girl accomplishments. :) I love remembering Hannah this time of year as she and Allie grow up.
Thanks, Alisa. Yes, that's a helpful reminder--praise effort, not outcome.
(And when a child is not inclined to give things sustained effort, do you think it makes a difference if she hears a sibling praised for effort in her presence?)
Definetly! Or parents or anyone really...
Post a Comment