Caleb is 3-years-and-5-months-old today. As always, he is very into pretending. Lately, he has been pretending to be Spiderman, The Green Goblin, Batman, a pirate, and of course, Peter Pan. Now, he has never seen any of the first three except on posters in the toy store, but he got the idea that they were very strong and impressive. I think he thinks that Spiderman and Batman actually turn other people into spiders and bats.
Caleb has also been doing very well with learning his phonics sounds. I started teaching the sounds about 3 weeks ago using starfall.com and the Leapfrog Letters DVD. He now knows which sounds the first 15 letters make, and he'll probably know them all in another 2-3 weeks. I also got him his first little Kumon workbook (the capital letters one); he loves to trace and practice writing the capital letters in this book. Puzzles and coloring are two more daily favorites. I figured out that it is really easy to print out any type of coloring page from the internet, so we currently have six different pictures of Spiderman hanging in our play room. He much prefers markers to crayons right now, and has gotten considerably better lately about staying in the lines. (I have never said anything to him about it, but he just started doing it.) He is very intent and focused when coloring, and to date has never quit without completing whatever he is working on. He actually cried one day during class at church because the teacher tried to put the paints away before his picture was done. I like that he wants to finish what he starts :). The puzzles he does are mostly the 48-piece Melissa and Doug wooden ones, of which we only have four, but he just does them over and over. We also have a few 24-piece ones that he'll do when he wants something different. (I wish Melissa & Doug made something in between 48-pieces and 1oo-pieces.)
Though I admit I've had little to do with this because I haven't started teaching any math, Caleb has also gotten really good at counting lately. He can usually accurately count up to four or five items in a group in his head. I ask him how many are there, he looks at the group, and then tells me. If he gets it wrong, he can count them out loud and get the right answer the second time.
One of the cutest things about this age is his love for "impressing" and "being a hero." He is always coming up with some new jump or tumble or fighting stance, and he ALWAYS wants an audience and feedback. "Is that cool, Mama? You like that, Ethan?" is a chorus in our house right now. He is always telling us that he is so strong and showing us his muscles. Nothing exacts such instant attention and cooperation than when I start a phrase with, "Caleb, are you strong enough to... [carry this bag upstairs and put it on daddy's computer chair]?" He immediately hops up and does it, saying "Yes, I am!" He also loves to do anything that he can view as heroic. When Ethan is darting away from me at the library counter or at the park, I tell Caleb, "Go save brother! He's trying to get away!" Lickety-split, Caleb has Ethan by the hand and is leading him back to me. (It's very cute how willing Ethan is to be led by his brother...if I had tried the same thing, a fit might have ensued.) Most of his heroics have to do with saving Ethan from either running away, putting something "dangerous" in his mouth, trying to touch a bug, etc. I love that he sees himself as his brother's protector (even though I have to admit that he is also his brother's tormentor at times).
One of the difficult things about this stage is Caleb's ability to weigh consequences in his mind and go ahead with a misbehavior because he's decided that the consequence is worth it (or he hopes that he won't get caught.) That is driving me nuts. I try to motivate him in all kinds of positive ways with verbal encouragement, reminders of positive consequences, reminders about how things make other people feel, but there are still so many times that he chooses to be mischevious and has to have a negative consequence doled out. I get so tired of taking priviliges and toys away from him, but I guess that's just the way things are with a little boy.
Another challenge is his increased ability to use words to avoid the little verbal "guides" that I'm used to setting up. Like when I give him two choices of which I find both acceptable, he persistently argues for the 3rd choice of his own making, and refuses to pick one of mine. He remembers EVERYTHING now, and is always looking for logical holes in the general statements that I make. Here's an example conversation:
"Don't drop things on your brother's head, Caleb." (something he has heard literally 50+ times)
"Why not?"
"Because it might hurt him."
"But it didn't hurt him. See, he's not crying."
"Not this time, but it could next time."
"No it won't, because I'll drop it just the same. I think he likes it."
"Regardless, I do not want you to drop anything on anyone's head. That is the rule in our house and I expect you to follow it. If you do it again, you're going to have to sit in time-out."
"Okay, Mommy, I not going to do it again."
or it could be...
"Caleb, don't throw toys."
"Why not?"
"Because the toy might hit someone."
"But it didn't hit anyone."
"Yes, I know, but the next time it might."
"But it won't because I'll throw it over Ethan like I just did."
"We don't throw toys! That's the rule! Obey the rule or there will be a consequence that you don't like!"
And so it goes :)
No comments:
Post a Comment