Fortunately, Unfortunately...

In elementary school, we sometimes wrote "Fortunately, Unfortunately" books. Oddly enough, I felt one of these narrating itself inside my head the other day. Now if only I had artistic skills to illustrate what is in my head...

James finished up a week of day camp at Calvin, where he learned to program in "Scratch" (check it out here) to write a simple computer game.

Fortunately, on the last day, all the kids in the camp had 5 minutes to present their games to the class and family members. Unfortunately, I had to take all the young family members (Maggie, John, and Helen).

Fortunately, the screening was on-campus so Jeremy could stop by just for James's presentation. Unfortunately, he had to leave right afterwards, so I still had 3 kids to keep still and quiet in the one fancy movie theater on campus while 20 middle school boys each gave a spiel.

Fortunately, only Helen shrieked and made noise while we waited for James's presentation. Unfortunately, Maggie was enjoying the show and wanted to stay afterwards so then John got antsy.

Fortunately, there were computer kiosks in the lobby just outside the theater, which interested John for entertainment purposes. Unfortunately, the internet connection to the Lego web site was inadequate for him to play a game as he wished.

Fortunately, he decided to entertain himself with a trip to the restroom instead. Unfortunately, he decided to go alone while my back was turned chasing Helen.

Fortunately, the restrooms were very close and I heard him calling my name from inside. Unfortunately, I couldn't find him even though I could hear him.

Fortunately, I did eventually figure out where he was. Unfortunately, he was in the Men's room and asking for help with wiping.

Fortunately, there was nobody else in the men's room right then. Unfortunately, the elderly man coming in as I came out looked very confused and disturbed.

Fortunately, while I was helping John to wipe, Helen stayed out of the stalls and thus avoided splashing in toilets as she loves to do. Unfortunately, I didn't know that urinals also have water in the bottom and should be blocked from her access.

Fortunately, she didn't appear to get water on any of herself except for her hands. Unfortunately, I discovered her hands were wet when she flicked the water all over my legs.

Fortunately, by the time I got her and myself cleaned up, Maggie was bored and willing to leave. Unfortunately, we still had to get all three kids to walk out of the building, across the pedestrian bridge, and halfway across campus, then get on the bikes and ride home.

Fortunately, I had Maggie with me to carry the diaper bag and James's backpack that I somehow ended up with. Unfortunately, Maggie somehow managed to pass to me, without my noticing how, both bags, in addition to Helen, whom I was already carrying.

Fortunately, Maggie stayed with John. Unfortunately, they were both too far ahead of me to hear me telling them to stop and wait for struggling me.

Fortunately, Maggie waited for me where she got on her bike. Unfortunately, John did not.

Fortunately, John was just over the next hill, waiting on the campus lawn. Unfortunately, he was also terrorizing pedestrians with his bike.

Fortunately, we had nowhere else to be that afternoon, and we eventually all made it home.  The End.

Helen is talking more

It seems that Helen's speech has just exploded in the last few weeks. Perhaps she was just ready. Perhaps it was the week away from the older siblings, with just Mom and Grandpa to cater to her. Whatever the reason, she has new words every day.

I have now heard quite distinctly, at one time or another:

Mom
Mammah (for Margaret, I assume, since she was hugging her enthusiastically at the time)
Dada (for Dad)
Baby (for her doll)
Pease (for please)
Up
Down
Up-py! (Not sure if it is "pick me up" or "happy" but it seems to be a joyful noise)
Ball
No

She still has some old favorites, like:
woof (dog)
shoe

Though she also seems to have dropped a few, like:
highchair

Of course, the real difference is that she now talks in paragraphs. We can't understand a single word, usually, but she opens her mouth and just starts making sounds. While we don't recognize words, she does have all the expression (both verbal and facial) and tone as if she were holding a conversation with us. She gestures and talks with her hands at the same time as the babbling, and can really go on and on. So, I think when she decides to talk, she might have a lot to say.

Little Imitators - Vol. 1 (John Reading)

Children truly are incredible imitators. Helen is proving to be the queen of all imitators, but I will save that for a different post. Today is reserved for John and reading.

The older kids have been reading quite a bit this summer. Margaret, in particular, can't be separated from a book. She came home from Grandma's and Grandpa's house last week stuck on the Harry Potter books (again). She is not only reading them, but reading them competitively. Last summer she had read the first and part of the second in that series. Perhaps inspired by her cousin Rebekah who was reading them last week, she started up again where she had left off. I have been getting regular progress updates.

"Mom, I finished another chapter."
"Mom, I have read 124 pages since breakfast."
"Mom, I have finished the second and third books already."

All of this has not been missed by John. John has been on the brink of reading for a number of months now. Through two years of preschool, he has learned all his letters and letter sounds. He is interested in stories, of course. And with James and Margaret absorbed in their own books, he desperately wants to figure out how to read to himself, as well. So yesterday and today, he took matters into his own hands.

"Mom, I am reading the first Harry Potter book!"

"You are?"

"Yes! And I have already read this much," he exclaimed, holding up a chunk of pages from the book.

Maggie was not anxious to let this bald-faced lie go unchallenged. "What just happened in the book, then John?" Undaunted, John gave a detailed report of the antics of Harry and Hagrid and a monster. (He apparently watched the movie at Grandma's house last week and could piece together some of the story to report.)

John's reading grew more and more flamboyant throughout the day.

"Mom, I just read 20 pages."
"Mom, I just read 100 pages."
"Mom, I just finished the first Harry Potter book. Will you please get the second one for me?"
"Wow, this book is really interesting. It just keeps getting interesting-er and more interesting-er."
"Mom, I finished the second book!" (Gleeful giggle.)

Finally, I asked John if he would like to actually start learning to read. "YES!"

Jeremy had actually picked up several second-hand, teach-your-child-to-read books some time earlier. I dug one out and worked through the first lesson. Unfortunately, this book/method insists on working through the lessons in order, and assumes starting with a student completely unfamiliar with the alphabet. John zoomed excitedly through Lesson 1, which involved recognizing and pronouncing the sound of letters "m" and "s."

Except, for the very last part of Lesson 1. This was a writing exercise. The student is not expected to work on penmanship, but rather practice writing letters as a way of practicing to recognize them. I was to show John how to properly draw the two letters, then have him copy my letters, then have him practice on his own. John could copy fine, but got upset when trying to write them on his own. As he added extra humps to the "m," he got flustered. As I tried to help him bring a line all the way to the bottom, he got bumped and collapsed into tears over his ruined "m." I decided that he was too tired and we would call it quits on the writing portion of the lesson. John, however, would not hear of it. He was done writing letter "m" and letter "s," certainly. But, he announced that he would instead use the paper to write a story. Since this is the first time (to my knowledge) that he wanted to write a story, I thought I would preserve it for posterity. I will also provide some translation assistance.

At the top of the page are John's attempts to copy my first "m." Then, you see his story. He made up the whole story, and had no help in "writing" it, other than occasionally asking how to spell a word. In those cases, I told him to sound it out and write what he heard.

What John largely wrote is a first letter for each word, though occasionally he added extra letters for middle or ending sounds. There is of course no observation of word or line breaks. John's story, then, reads:

Daddy is working for Mommy because he is taking Mom out to a show.

I kinda like the kid's style. Are you listening, Daddy?

James at Eleven

Sometimes he seems so grown-up...

But I am glad he is still a kid, too!

James turned 11 last month. It is still hard for me to believe, sometimes. I was looking back over my blog and realizing that I mostly post about the youngest kids. After all, they are changing so quickly. Also, young kids tend to do the most surprising things, that seem notable or cute for posterity.  But I recognize that the older kids are pretty amazing, too. Just because the changes come more slowly doesn't mean that I shouldn't take note, now and then.

Grown-up enough to light his own candles

It is really nice having an 11-year-old in the family. James can get himself to and from swim practice on his bike. He can also pick up and bring John home from swimming, when necessary. He can take Helen for a walk around the block in the stroller. He is interested in cooking and inventing his own recipes based on things we have cooked as a family. He likes to run errands that give him some independence, like biking up to the grocery store for an item or two for dinner. He is usually generous with his siblings and likes to do nice things for them, like when he asked to bike them up to the grocery store with him so that he could buy them each a doughnut. (If you are reading the blog regularly, you might start to notice that despite all my intentions of keeping the family eating healthy foods, we are all beholden to doughnuts.) He also is reasonably willing to entertain John. James prefers to do this with a computer game, but he can be swayed. I asked him today to kick a soccer ball with John and he hopped right up to do it - even helped John find his shoes.

John and James on the computer together

James is poised, sometimes precariously, between childhood and youth, it seems. In a very grown-up moment, he asked me if he could learn algebra this summer. (This seemed to be prompted by his taking the ACT and discovering it was full of math that he hadn't learned yet - he also has a bit of a competitive edge, though he tries to keep it hidden.) Of course, he is still a kid, too. He hasn't actually opened the algebra book that I borrowed for him from the library - the call of the computer games is too loud. His TV viewing shows a similar contrast. (Our only TV content is what is available via live streaming over the Wii right now, which does create for an odd selection, I suppose.) One moment he is watching cartoons with John; the next he is arguing with the other kids because he wants to watch another NOVA episode. ("Mom, I was right in the middle of How to Make Stuff Stronger and John keeps switching the show.")

One sure sign James is growing up...he got books and bike gear instead of legos for his birthday.

But, James still knows the value of a new squirt gun.

John is now five

After a week away from the three older kids, it was nice to tuck them into bed last night. John, who turned five while we were apart, gave me a big, upside-down smile (because he was laying with his head hanging off the top bunk) and said, "I have a surprise for you, tomorrow."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Do you want to know what it is?"

"Sure!"

"A four-year-old hug."

"Really? But you are five, now, aren't you?" (Before I left on my trip, I had asked for a great, big 4-year old hug from him because I wouldn't be able to get any more; he would be 5 when I saw him next.)

"Yup, I'm five. But I saved up dozens of 4-year-old hugs, too, just for you."

Yup, five will be nice, too, John.