Q is for Quirky

The kids are still sick today, but much better.  More snuffling but less sneezing.  And we actually got around to some educational activities and we didn't watch much tv.  I think of this as a successful day.  CJ woke up before Eliza, though they usually wake up at the same time.  So he and I did the quilt, which he was excited to realize is a Q word.  Q is a very difficult word to explain the sound of since it technically blends two letter sounds into one.  /kw/ is not an easy concept, especially since it must always be paired with a u in our language.  Yikes! 

Well CJ did a great job on identifying the sound and tracing the letter in the carpet.  He and I added some words to yesterday's letter poster, and did today's while Eliza continued to sleep.  Then CJ and I had some time alone so we worked on holding the pencil.  He is unbelievable improved since we got him the fat pencils with the grips.  I positioned the pencil for him and he did his work all on his own.  He did 4 pages that I had created.  Two of them were matching upper to lower case letters.  One was matching numbers to a picture that shows that number of shapes.  The last was matching a letter to a word that begins with that letter.  I read the directions, had him tell me what he needed to do and then he did it all by himself.  He got them all right, and he drew good lines all by himself.  I was so proud.  The only thing is he doesn't like to cross lines he already drew, so he ended up making a crazy line that went around things instead of straight to the picture or letter.  All things considered I still consider it a successful lesson.  Eliza woke up from her nap before CJ so I had some time to spend alone with her doing the same thing.  She instinctively knows how to hold the pencil correctly and has amazing fine motor control.  Her only problem is since she is only two, she has difficulty focusing on what I want her to do.  She is easily distracted.  She requires a lot more encouragement and assistance.  She is able to do so much, and she knows so much that sometimes I forget how little she really is.  She identified all the letters I showed her in upper case.  She identified almost all the lower case, and was easily able to correctly identify the letters that started the names of the pictures.  She also completed the number page with no problems at all.  She really amazes me every day.

So meals today were difficult seeing as the kids still were feeling punky.  We had peach raspberry quick bread for breakfast.  We were going to have quinoa for lunch, but they only wanted fruit.  For dinner I planned quiche, but nobody wanted to eat quiche, so we made some chicken tenders with macaroni and cheese, and a really big salad.  Not Q but everyone ate, and it was easy.  I spent a lot of time on the computer today checking out a website called readinglessons.com.  It has free lesson plans, resources, and song pages.  It sets up daily lesson plans, in a certain order to build upon each other.  It has 5 weeks worth of lessons to prepare kids to read.  It works on phonics, spelling, sounds, and physically writing.  Cool resource.  It also links up to readinga-z.com, which though expensive, was an amazing tool for me when I was a public school teacher.  This is from a website called kididdles.com which I found when I was looking for all the verses of The Ants Go Marching.  One of CJ's favorite songs you see.  It has all kinds of free downloadable or printable lyric pages, or pages with the musical notes on it.  Some even have work pages to go along.  There is even a part where they will sing it to you and your child.  I have used this website quite a bit and will continue to do so.  And no, no one is paying me to say this.  I just really like it and think some others might find a use for it.  Forewarning, there are several religious songs in addition to familiar children's songs, so if this bothers you, don't visit.  My spiel for the day. 

CJ and Eliza are very quirky, in case I haven't mentioned it before.  It drives CJ bonkers that I pull my shirt over my nose and mouth when I am tired.  He keeps trying to pull it back because he can't stand that it isn't where it is supposed to be.  If I say the wrong word in a song he quite quickly corrects me, or anyone else he thinks made a mistake.  He laughs all the time, and thinks everyone is great.  He finds joy everywhere, and is always interested in learning new things.  Eliza loves pink, and tells me so daily.  She has a smile that makes your heart melt, and loves to be silly.  She understands irony and sarcasm.  She has more expression than any other toddler I have ever seen.  She is not afraid of anything, and thinks that she and Mommy are the two most beautiful people in the world.  She speaks like a 6 year old, and is never afraid to try anything.  CJ prefers to be perfect at something before he does it, Eliza would rather make a mistake than not try it.  CJ figures out a way around things, Eliza figures out a way through things.  They work together remarkably well, and they absolutely adore each other.  They share and they fight, and they are so sweet and caring it brings tears to my eyes.  They see so much in the world every day that blows my mind.  They sing and dance better than their Daddy ever will, but they still love to hear him sing to them.  I know I will never be able to give them every opportunity they deserve but I will do my damnedest every day to try.  I will show them love and patience, and quiet contemplation.  I will never quit, and teach them to persevere as well.  I will quell their fears and support their interests and teach them to reach for every goal.  I will show them my quirky nature so they are not afraid to be different.  I will quiet their doubts with the knowledge that they can do anything they want in this world, if they are willing to work for it.  Most importantly I will instill a love of learning, and a strong sense of family values.  All the quintessential tools for education, and for a productive and happy life.