Moving right along

Ever wonder if what you are teaching your children is really sticking? Like maybe that blank stare is more than them watching for the moment your back is turned to do what they have been longing to do, sit on the dog and play cowboys!

When I draw for Bear he watches me so intently that I am almost certain that he will then grab the pen and start copying my every move. Well, he didn't. He would do the normal 2 year learning thing and pick up the pen and draw circles and lines and then he would write a letter or two.

That is until the other day. We went on a little day trip and took my Aunt along for the ride. J was driving and I was passenger so that left Bear and my Aunt Becky riding in the back of the jeep. She has always been my inspiration in art. Growing up that is my fondest memory of her... ART! Drawings, paintings, sculpting... you name it she would teach us how to do it. My Great Aunt Marilyn did too but I didn't see her as much as my Aunt Becky.

Anyhow, wherever we go we bring Bear's magnadoodle because he loves to "draw" and "write" letters. That day coming from the back seat were scads of requests for this drawing and that by my very anxious son. My Aunt was drawing animals left and right and soon to follow would be the roar, the hiss, the ooohhh aaahhhh aaahhh-ing (whatever it is the monkey does!). It sounded like we had collided with a zoo and the humans had somehow escaped the back seat. To say the least it was an interesting ride. Very entertaining.

But in the midst of the fun and wild inhabitants of the back seat my son was learning and taking it all in. He has been learning... it just sometimes takes a bit to make it to the magnadoodle :).
Now without further ado ... "THE SNAKE"

He is such a talented little boy. I am loving watching and encouraging all these fun talents he displays.

Last night we were going to the "bounce house" for him to exert some of his ENERGY before bed and on the way we made a pit stop at Starbucks for a cup of instant happiness. On our way from the drive thru I hear this from my back seat, "B-T-H-U-B... Bath-tub".

Okay so we didn't pass a bathtub store or anything so he is clearly remembering the side of our bathtub where there sits a label, as most things have in our home these days. And in his recollection he just starts "spelling" it and then says it. Just like he does at home (minus the cards). I am so in awe at the speed he has been learning things.

We have now almost made it through the entire alphabet in sign. You make the letter (out of order) and he can tell you what letter it is and mimic your hand position. He still needs help getting his hands to work with a few like the "K" and the "F", "M", and "R". Other than that he is on top of the game.

He mastered the alphabet several months ago with visual and verbal acknowledgment of each individual letter. So with that we moved onto letter sounds, spelling and word recognition. He is eating this learning up and I am happy to oblige. I love that he is hungry for knowledge.

He has been counting for a while now and can count to 20. He has recognized all of his numbers visually and can count without seeing them as well. When he gets to about 13 and 14 he will repeat 14 until he gets to 16 or 17 and then the rest as follows. He can count groups of things. Like if there are 6 sheep in the pen, he will point to each one, counting it and then tell you "6 sheep".So I decided to see how far we could take this... it's all trial and error teaching him really. Just go to the next stage until they aren't ready anymore, then work there for a while until time to move on up. Anyway, I had his little counting buttons out and we were counting and then I placed 4 in front of him. I asked him to count them. "Four Buttons" was his reply. I said "Okay I am going to give you MORE buttons and we will add them to your four". I added 2 more. I told him to count them again. He counted them again and counted "6 buttons". I cheered him on and told him "that is adding!!" :). I know it all seems so simple and a no brainer but it is so exciting for me to see him learning these things and then spitting it right back at you ready for more.

He loves to explore outside and take long walks on the trails out here. He is a sponge and he is soaking it in. So I will do my part and train up his brain to learn and problem solve. Who knows who God intended him to be... I am so blessed to be a part of this phase of his life. It is so crucial!