But, don't get me wrong, I am incredibly proud of my inquisitive and curious attention-seeking three-year-old. We have been doing some really awesome and fun things with him lately.
Last week he had his first "dance" recital. (He takes an all boys dance/movement class)
He has been learning to read for the last month. We have been teaching him common words like "the," "and," "of" etc. He is doing a really good job with this and will point out the words he recognizes in books, on cereal boxes, on signs--everywhere. (interesting fact: the top 25 of the most common English words make up a third of all printed material in English. Noah knows 12 of those words.)
I have been giving him 5-7 minute piano lessons every day. He doesn't necessarily have the hand coordination and strength yet to play on his own, but he knows that note names of the length of the keyboard--A through G repeat--and can identify a few of the landmark notes. It is also helping to improve his attention span.
When he is in a good mood or there is an incentive, he is really good at helping us with chores--especially the dishes :)
I have found that when I am creative and flexible and find ways to play with Noah while helping him to do the things that he needs to do (ie: giving horsey rides to the bathroom, having races to see who can clean up faster, pretending his clothes are eating him while trying to dress him) we have a really good relationship.
The days when we butt heads all day long are often when I choose to be grumpy and lazy and order him around. Being the good mom takes a lot of energy--especially when Mark is gone a lot due to a stupid rotation. These long rotations help me to appreciate my husband so much more when he is home. I am grateful for Mark who comes home and helps me to carry the burdens of a parent so that I can re-energize. I am thankful for a sweet little baby who is so easy to take care of and is usually very predictable. I am thankful for a happy and healthy three-year-old who helps me to learn the meaning of patience as well as unconditional love. Being a mom and a wife (to a med student nonetheless) is an incredibly hard job, but so fulfilling. I wouldn't change a thing. I am thankful for my family!
Here is Noah's thankful list:
1. candy
2. teddy bear
3. turtle
4. snowman
5. my cars
6. mommy and daddy
7. family
8. Maren
9. pepperoni
10. Christmas
11. Music (Life Could be a Dream)
12. My helicopter (Ron Hover)
13. Play-do
14. Sharks
15. Sea horse
16. lions
17. blocks
18. playing at the park with daddy
19. alligators
20. triangles
21. Circles
22. phones
23. Octopuses
24. The temple
25. pencils and farms
(we haven't finished yet; we missed a few days while we were at Aunt Shelley's. I'll update at the end of the month)
3 comments:
This is a hard age, isn't it? They are so curious and want to know about everything. Nora NEVER STOPS TALKING...seriously, never. If she is awake, she is talking and wants you to talk to her. I wonder where she gets that from??!?!? :)
Anyway, you do an amazing job as a mom. Noah is really blessed to have you to help him grow and learn. And we get to grow and learn from them, too! How great is that :) (most of the time)
AND finally, I hear you about having a spouse at home! Even just the hour in the morning that richard is at home with us, is so valuable. I could never do this alone!
What a cute family you are! I love you guys.
Isn't 3 so hard sometimes? There was definitely terrible 3's for Leah more than 2's, but for Anya 3 is better than 2. It just depends I guess. She still drives me crazy, don't get me wrong.
Noah is such a smarty pants. Can't wait to see you guys!
And you probably already know about it, but I was going to recommend to you "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons." Whenever I tried it when Leah was 3 I wanted to jump off a cliff, but then right when she turned 4 it clicked with her and was great for awhile. But then around lesson 25 she was getting frustrated too much so we took a break again. I haven't started again because I'm too lazy (and she goes to preschool 4 times a week). But I hear it works! :)
I think when they're 3, sight words like you're doing is definitely the way to go.
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