the OTHER mother

Aw, Shucks

Friday has been Carrie's favorite day for quite a while now. Last year at her old school she had show and tell on Friday, as did Jacob and Pearl, her favorite classmates. This year she goes to a school that only has classes Monday-Thursday. On Fridays Pearl goes to school, I go to work, and Carrie stays home with Marcia. So this year Friday is her super-favorite day! Marcia says this year she likes Fridays a lot too. 

Carrie is an awesome helper, especially in the kitchen. She loves to cook and set the table. She feeds the pets. Last Friday she shucked corn for the whole family, and we had a lovely Shabbat dinner.

Sometimes You Ask Yourself...

How did we get here?

Tonight was the first parent night at Pearl's new school, so Marcia and I both attended, and Marty the babysitter came to hang out with Pearl and Carrie. We are delighted with all the people at the school and feel fortunate to be a part of the community. The teachers are professional and passionate and attuned to the individual child. Our teacher said she wanted to be Lucy Caulkins when she grew up. I was impressed with that.

Nevertheless, the feeling of being parents in a PTA is a bit of a shock to the system. We didn't notice any other two-mom or two-dad families at the event. The discomfort was nothing a good frozen margarita with salt ($4 special on Ladies Night) couldn't quell however. When we got home, the babysitter told us Pearl's last words before she went to sleep. She sat up in bed and screamed: MARTY, I'M IN KINDERGARTEN!!!

School is Cool, but Fred is Dead

[Warning: Headline contains spoilers!]  Pearl cried when Marcia left her in the kindergarten classroom this morning, and although I didn't ask, it seems somewhat possible that Marcia shed a tear herself. But when she picked Pearl up this afternoon, she was a happy student. She reported four (yes, four!) things that had happened in class and said her teacher "has some cool ideas." This is high praise, coming from Pearl.

Unfortunately Marcia had sad news for Pearl when they got home. One of her African Dwarf Frogs, Fred, had died. Because of who she is--and no doubt amplified by the anxiety du jour--Pearl was heartbroken and sobbed for over an hour. Eventually, though, Pearl helped clean the aquarium for Tad, who has always been the more exuberant of the two frogs. By the time I got home, a pizza party had started. Carrie had had a great day at her new preschool. They were ready to celebrate.

Marcia's word for today was "bittersweet," and it's fitting. One of the books we read tonight was Cynthia Rylant's Dog Heaven. Afterward Pearl imagined Frog Heaven, the new home of Fred the frog. One day, we'll all be there together, swimming.

Kindergarten Begins for Pearl

Here are pictures of Pearl's first moments in kindergarten.

Pearl's classmate Nathan shares a funny book.

(Thanks, Diana, for taking these photos. We forgot our camera.)

Float Like a Cannonball!

Here are two quick clips from Pearl and Carrie's last swim lesson of the summer. You can see what they've learned. The cannonball activity that Carrie does is actually a float test. She passed.

Question of the Day: Kindergarten

Since Pearl starts kindergarten next week, we've been thinking a lot about our early school experiences. What do you remember about kindergarten?

Dodge Rambler

1. Pearl starts kindergarten in one week! Pearl starts kindergarten in one week! Pearl starts kindergarten in one week! I'm hyperventilating. Is this for real?

1.5. Both girls will be at new schools. Also they will not be at the same school. Lots of change.

2. The girls took swimming lessons in June and August. They've made a lot of improvement with the help of their cool teacher whose name btw is Cricket.

3. BAD news: Lori Hahn might stop blogging! Make her feel the love!

4. My knee is bothering me.

5. Next month Marcia and I are going on a getaway.  Yes, a weekend away. Just us! If you have suggestions for a wondrous destination, let us know. Both of our passports have expired, so it can't be in a foreign country.

Swimming Lessons

This morning Marcia taught at the hospital, and I took Pearl and Carrie to swimming lessons. It was my first time. I was impressed with how much the girls have improved, even in the past week or so. (video = 7 seconds)

Swim Lessons

 

Doodling 101 (Oh to be a Kid Again!)

Are you familiar with the Taro Gomi coloring books?

There's a series of them. This one, Doodles, is Pearl's first. Each page spread has an unfinished picture and the sentence at the top contains a suggestion of how the child might complete it. For example, the picture (below) asks that you give the girl a fabulous dress. The second one asks you to fill in the boy's talk bubble with the saddest possible sentiment. (Pearl has written, "I lost my puppy.") The third picture asks that you fill the tree with birds. I would have LOVED this kind of book when I was a kid. 

Pearl's First Writing Camp

Carrie's First Writing Camp

Some art and writing from Carrie (age 3):

 

Apologies for my sloppy scanning!

"The Magic Lantern"

Pearl and Carrie and friends wrote and performed a play called "The Magic Lantern" at Writing Camp this summer. Carrie played a cheetah, and Pearl was a puppy.This is Pearl waiting to make her first entrance.

Carrie made a costume too, but she was not quite willing to wear it.

The story was hilarious. There was no doubt about it--the kids definitely wrote it themselves.

Question of the Day: What Would Make School Cool?

Today on Big Window, I posted some pictures on innovation school architecture.  So today's question is about school. If you could design a school, how would you set it up? Who would be the teachers? How would the children learn?

More about Dictation with Preschoolers

Pearl and Carrie are going to writing camp this summer. For children ages 3-6, dictation is a big part of the learning process. Last month I did a post about how we record Pearl's stories at home. I thought I'd post this follow-up to see if anyone has tried doing dictation with your preschooler yet. Have you?

At first most children tend to dictate words that are not stories at all. That is a part of the process. Here's Carrie's first try from camp:

The blue got on his face. The blue got on his foot. And he fall.

Perhaps his super powers failed him?

More About Storytelling for Preschoolers: Dictation

Last week I started writing about how, in our family, we like to act out favorite books. Another fun way to help your preschoolers enjoy storytelling is through dictation. Dictation works well with young children because often their ability to tell a story far exceeds their ability to physically write it down.

To start, we usually offer: "If you'd like to make up story, I'd be happy to write it down." Often they refuse. We don't pressure them. When they are interested in storytelling, we get down on their level and set it up so they can see the paper. We write as they talk.

Carrie likes to hold set up plastic animals and she moves them around as the story develops. Don't worry if the story makes little sense or if the child makes mistakes, saying, for example, that a cow laid an egg. Corrections often stop the story. In order to encourage a young storyteller, it's important to listen and, during pauses, ask questions.

Here is an example of a poem that Pearl "wrote" last week. Marcia let her choose a picture from a catalog or magazine that she liked. Pearl chose the one she liked best and pasted where she wanted it on the paper--she chose the color too.  Pearl told Marcia what to write.

The woman who can fly is very courageous. She shows people how brave she is by jumping off houseboats or ships. She soars through the air and is very courageous to be such a woman who can soar through the sky like a bird. Oh my, oh my, the woman who can fly!

by Pearl, age 5

Once the story is done, we read the story to the child, pointing to each word on the page. After each sentence we ask if we "got it right."  Let your child know that she can make changes, if she wants.

At first the words your child tells you may not be stories at all. It's possible you will get a list or random observations. Don't worry. Later, when the dictation process develops into stories, you can even invite the kids to act them out!

** The ideas reflected here come from my work with the Rice University School Literacy and Culture Project.

Drama for Preschoolers

Imaginative play is the favorite activity here in Grrrlville. It is even more popular than television (maybe because we have no cable or reception?!).

When Pearl and Carrie were toddlers they liked to "tell stories." At first they used plastic animals and human figures as characters. They would tell the stories, and we would all move our characters according to what they said. Papa Pig gives birth to baby T-Rex?  No problem. Little girl celebrates her birthday inside of a tea cup with Alice? Sure.

Their favorite stories when they were young were:

• character has a birthday
• character has to go to the doctor
• first day of preschool
• trips or adventures

We like to incorporate into the stories messages that our children might resist otherwise. Perhaps the mouse should try using his words before devouring that lion?  It also gives us a chance to help them expand their vocabularies and knowledge without actually instructing. As we run from the ottoman to the door, our characters "dash" or "flee" or  "gallop" or even "fly."

Now that they're older, Pearl and Carrie have graduated to "acts." We did not initiate the transition. Pearl started it, and of course Carrie followed close behind her. Many of these acts start with characters from books or movies that they know well. Instead of using the toy animals as the characters, they act out the parts.

A great way to start drama with your preschoolers is to offer them the chance to act out some favorite books. Let me warn you, however, that when it comes to acting, all books are not equal. Sometimes a favorite book is a real dud on the "stage." Our girls loved Time for Bed by Mem Fox when they were young, but it didn't work very well for acting because there's no plot.

This is how we do it. Read the book once. Ask "Who are the characters?" Once this is determined, reread the book.  Then ask, "What character would you like to be?"  Then reread the story pausing after each sentence or page so that your kids can act it out.

Here are a few books that have worked well for us:

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Buster by Denise Fleming

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman 

Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

For younger children or children who are hesitant about this kind of play, some good books might include:

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

Here are a few guidelines that have worked well for us:

* no props or costumes unless they're made by your child

* let your child be the director and ask him/her where to stand and what to do

* instead of making suggestions, model

* no corrections from the parent, unless safety is involved

I learned the core elements of this activity from my work with Rice University's School Literacy and Culture Project. If you're interested in the pedagogy, it comes from books by Patsy Cooper and Vivian Paley.

Your feedback is welcome!

[illustrations are from Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats