Puzzles

Declan is really into puzzles. He enjoys doing them, and figuring them out. But so far, only with adult help. Tonight, for the first time that I've seen, he did a puzzle completely by himself. It was a 25 piece one with a play school picture. He'd done it before with help, but this time, there was no help from anyone.

Interestingly, all the children around this age I've seen do puzzles can't get the idea of edges and corners. Adults sit down to help them, and try to make the edge; the children try to make a part of the picture (like one of the characters).

My first day in school

I've volunteered to spand some time each week in Cal's classroom and this morning was my first time. There was six parents helping with a weekly session called "recount writing". The kids have to recount what they did on the weekend in writing.

It was great getting a view of how Cal's class works and how they all interact. I was sad to have only half-an-hour with them.

I think he gets this from the Lang side

Callum was telling me about his day at school today. He said with great glee, "I tricked Ms Barnett. She asked me to hold up seven fingers. I held up (demonstrates) four on one hand and three on the other, and she thought I was going to hold up five on one hand and two on the other!". I wouldn't have thought much more of it, except I asked Callum whether Ms Barnett thought that was funny. He said, "she said Callum", which sounded pretty exasperated to me in Callum's imitation of her.

Heartbroken

Occasionally, Declan does something to remind us he's still only two. Tonight, he was sobbing inconsolably half way up the stairs, because I refused to turn the house upside down looking for the toothbrush he had bought at the shops this afternoon. He probably would have held it together, except that we found Callum's...

Green

For reasons that elude me, Blueberry yoghurt (as made by Gogurt) is a blue-ish shade of green. I was very worried, when we opened it, that both boys would refuse it with contempt. But luckily, they both scoffed it with gusto. I doubt if that will change their view of vegetables, though.

Wee standing up

As well as a lot of rules (that he loves to share with us) Callum has learned a new skill at Cammeray. He now wees standing up at all times. He's still pointing this out every time he does it, just so we realise how clever he is.

Reproduction

Callum: "When I am grown up I will have to go by myself and find a mummy of my own. Then I can have two boys too."

Swimming free

Declan did his swimming lessons in trunks today - imagine the freedom of not swimming in a water-logged nappy!

The Plan

I went to a meeting with Callum's Learning Support Team yesterday. This is a group who monitor Cal's progress and tailor a curriculum for him. Everyone is pleased with the way he's settling in. In two weeks he and a couple of others from across the K year will start enrichment classes each morning - they'll look at additional areas in detail (solar system and dinosaurs as a starting point). Cal will also get some different homework to the others and the teacher will make a point of stretching him in class. Then the aim would be once everything else has settled down in term 2 after May he'll move up to year 1 for a selection of classes.

Scripture

I went to Callum's school last night for a parent-teacher introduction evening. It was good to have the teacher explain what the kids are doing and so on.

We also had to make a decision about scripture classes which start today. My first inclination was to say that Callum shouldn't attend. The teacher was pretty negative about this option (my evaluation of her opinion was, I must admit, influenced by the fact she's American) saying that the kids end up spending an our colouring-in. (As an aside, it's shameful they don't have an ethics class as an option.) Anyway there were a couple of other families in the same boat so we agreed to rotate the kids through the different denominations available.

Then I had to sit down this morning and explain God and an open mind to Callum before breakfast.

New babysitter

Sarah is the boy's new babysitter. The boys get babysat for an hour or so one-to-two afternoons a week when I have early meetings. They used to look forward to these afternoons with Miah who they had known from before they could remember. Unfortunately Miah moved to Newcastle and so we had to find someone else.

We seem to have lucked out with Sarah who is a slightly older, ex-flight attendant, Canadian with lots of experience. I'd warned the boys she was coming and she spent the first ten minutes I saw them together having the whirlwind introduction to Thomas, Thunderbirds, the big features of our house Callum's uniform, Declan's underpants, and on and on. She's coming back tonight so I think she survived happily.

Got the potty thing

We've now had several days without accident including his naps at school and so I hope it's safe to say that Declan has 'got it' for the daytime at least. We'll leave him in pull-ups for the night for a while.

This morning I got up and for the second day found him walking about without anything on from the waist down. He'd got up, removed his shorts and pull-ups, put the pull-ups in the bin, and then used the potty. That's pretty independent so there's hope he'll get the night-time thing soon too.

I'd forgotten this bit

1 am and a voice comes out of the darkness: "Daddy I need to go toilet."

Stagger out of bed, take Declan to potty, stagger him back to bed where he falls instantly back to sleep, stagger back to my own bed, lie awake for an hour.

Still, I'm very happy he realised he had to go. He also managed all day today at school, including his nap, in underpants.

Premier's Reading Challenge

NSW has a thing called the Premier's Reading Challenge, where school children read a certain number of books from a long list appropriate to their age group. When they've done it, they get a certificate from the Premier. In Callum's age group (K-2), he needs to read or have read to him 40 in a year (it's more for younger kids, as their books are shorter). Evan checked out the list, and we already own about 20 of them, so we showed the list to Callum and told him we could tick off one every time he read it to us.

I was worried we were pushing him too fast.

This morning, Callum had a tantrum at about 7.15 (well as much as he does these days - he retreated into the bedroom in tears) because I refused to let him read one to me before I got dressed. He'd already decided (from seeing the list the night before) which one he was going to read.

Potty moves on

Declan has had an accident-free day, including a walk over the Harbour Bridge and a fair bit of time on my shoulders (sign of relief from me, but luckily not from him). He did well, very well, telling us when the potty was required and had a nice al-fresco potty experience in the Rocks.

Contact social death

Callum brought five textbooks home from school yesterday with a request to cover them in clear contact and return them on Monday. I've just been covering the books - and we have BUBBLES. Will all the other kids have bubble-free books? Will Callum's bubbles be laughed at? Will there be whispers and pointed fingers amongst the parents?

Oh, the angst.

Potty progress

Declan has been through most of the last two days without a nappy. He even managed the car trips to and from Manly, which was really flying without a net. He really seems to have grasped the idea.

Precision

I drove Callum to school today, and because it worked out, drove through one parking space into another one (so I could go out forwards). Callum was very perturbed by this. He insisted in walking all around the car, and pointing out all the white lines. "Jennifer, you must not cross a white line in a parking space. And you should always go backwards out of a parking space."

He does like his world to be ordered. I felt a bit better as he pointed out all the other cars in the parking lot that had been badly parked as he walked past them...

Energy

Everyone has warned us that Callum might be very tired now he's going to school. All children get tired when they start, and Callum is particularly young. Well, he hasn't had a full week yet, but it hasn't really been our experience. He's certainly tired (and often hot) when we pick him up, but as soon as he has had a cold (not cool!) drink of water, and something to eat, he perks up amazingly.

This afternoon we walked down to the doctor (just the usual foot stuff - needed a new ointment prescription) and Callum ran the whole way there and the whole way back. He got upset with me when I asked him to wait for Declan and me.

Toilet training

I shouldn't post this, given the risk of jinxing things, but Declan does seem to be doing better with his toilet training. He's just had the third evening (from 4 - 7ish) in a row without an accident, and, even better, has started to ask to go to the potty. Regardless of whether it continues, it's been nice not having to change poo-ey nappies!

Bus madness

I've been thinking we might catch the bus to take Callum to school on some days. It's feasible on the days I don't have to coordinate Declan's activities - which means Wednesday and Friday.

So I got the application form to get Callum a bus pass and it turns out he's not eligible - he's too young. Not unreasonable you might say given that he is young to be going to school. BUT the age does not match up either with the starting school age or with when you have to start paying for a child on public transport, it appears to be an arbitrary point between the two.

Teacher feedback

We had a chat with Callum's teacher this afternoon. She says he's doing absolutely fine, there's not a problem of any sort. Not a surprise but a relief to have what we thought confirmed.

Pronouns

Declan's speech, as we've said a couple of times, has come along in leaps and bounds. He's talking in very full sentences and using quite a sophisticated vocabulary. The one thing he hasn't quite got a handle on yet is pronouns. He's still inclined to talk about any character (real or from the Island of Sodor) as "she". And possibly in a related issue, he uses "him" as a possessive pronoun instead of "his". I was struck by this as he said the other day "Thomas has a truck. She pulls him truck along behind him."

Aidan's party

We went to Aidan's 4th Birthday party in the Mountains today. The kids had a wonderful time running round like lunatics with their friends.

As we left Callum declared: "I'll miss Aidan when I go to Cammeray on Monday."

Schools

Callum seemed to have another good day at school. He was certainly happy when we left and when we picked him up.

Declan had his first music lesson today. We're doing the same thing we've been doing with Cal for the last year so it's strange that now Dec gets to participate instead of watch. He enjoyed himself immensely.

School reactions

When we went to pick Callum up, he was happily drawing a picture of the bubbler, and another one of his buddy Alex. He seemed to have really enjoyed his day, although he did tell us that he was very tired. His teacher agreed that he'd had a good day, and said he was telling everyone all about trains...

He's been gradually telling us about his day all evening, and it all seems good. He told us that you have to go down the stairs on the left, and that he isn't allowed in part of the playground because "his arms aren't long enough". He and Isabel had a phone conversation comparing notes ("where did you put your schoolbag", "who were your new friends") and they both seemed very enthusiastic to each other.

Cal in uniform

The back seats have ears

When we got Callum into his uniform this morning we found we'd lost his uniform socks. A frantic time was had searching the house for them. We didn't find them and he's off to school wearing a pair of roughly green socks (which do at least fit, which the uniform socks didn't).

As we parked to drop Callum off I made an aside to Jennifer about the "sock trauma". There was a pause and then Declan pipes up from the back: "What's a sock trauma?". Callum joins in: "Yes, what's a sock trauma?". Suddnely my aside becaome a major conversational topic.

We really do have to watch what we say in their hearing now.

Callum off to school

Callum positively bounded to school this morning. We reached the gates and he charged off leading the way to the assembly hall. He greeted Alex, his buddy, with enthusiasm and went off with him to the classroom. Jennifer, Declan and I trailed along after. On the way in the car Callum had said he just wanted to go to the class with Alex and he didn't need us there. So a good start.

Callum is in KT and his teacher for the moment is Courtney Barnett. Sue Trisic, is the usual teacher of the class but she's acting Deputy Principal for the first few months of the year. We're pleased he is in Sue's class as she was the teacher we met when we went to discuss Cal going to Cammerary and who made an effort to follow things up for us. She also recognised Callum in the playground.