Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Life at 5

Everyone always says that each age brings something new and exciting. Going to school every day of the week has been a big change, but one they love. On school days, their day begins with a 6:15-6:20ish wake-up call. The first week of school everyone bounced eagerly out of bed, and dressed themselves with little help. That ended quickly, but for the most part our mornings are as smooth as they can be for rushing three sleepy five year olds out the door. Each morning as I wake up Jax he says, "oh, man....I didn't get to sleep long." He has a tendency to fall back asleep, so I usually carry him to my room where the other two soon follow. Rick or I dress Jax, while Baylor lays on the floor with his blanket over his head. I dress Baylor and then depending on the morning, Delaney may or may not dress herself, Then, I fix everyones hair, they put their clogs on and we are out the door, hopefully by 6:30. I drop them off at Nana's where they eat and then she takes them to school. They attend school for half of the day, which I think is perfect for them. Going to school every day helps them stay on routine. The early morning and stimulation of school leaves them tired. On most days they take a short nap, yet they are ready for bed a little after 8 each evening.

We had our first parent/teacher conference last week. Their teacher reported that they are doing better than she expected. She said they play together at times, but for the most part have their own friends and interest. They received good remarks on their first check list/report card. In Pre-K, part of their curriculum is studying a letter each week, learning the sounds it makes and how to write it. They have recognized their letters and sounds since they were 3 and a half. Much of what they study is more of reinforcement for them, but I can tell that they are progressing. They are constantly saying a word and then telling me what letter it begins with. Baylor's handwriting/fine motor skills has come along way since the beginning of school. He's writing his name neatly and has gained a lot confidence in that area. Our only areas that they were labeled as "in-progress" were using glue neatly for Baylor and both of the boys tend to do things on occasion from right to left instead of left to right. It was also mentioned that Jax tends to rush through his work, which wasn't surprising. Overall, they are ahead of most of their classmates and she said she might try to pull out some of the more advanced students and begin to teach them blending sounds.

Mrs. Whitehill says she can't wait to see Delaney each day because she always has something interesting to say. Who knows what she tells the teacher each day, but Mrs. Whitehill said she gets a kick out of it. She said she is much more mature than the other girls. (This kind of scares me but in reality they are the older kis in their class). Apparently, Jax is very popular with ladies. Several little girls are constantly fighting over him. And, Baylor just sort of plays with the boys and is into doing his own thing.

My Little Girl...
Delaney's new favorite show is "Jon & Kate, plus Eight." I've been taping episodes and she watches at least one each night before bedtime.

Her favorite toy is the FP3 player she received from her Papa and Granny last Christmas. She loves listening to music and always has her headphones on in the car. This has made our car rides more enjoyable these days, as she tends to stir up trouble sitting in the middle. The only complaint now from the boys is her singing.

My boys...



Jax continues to have a great imagination, but his thoughts and stories are now centered constantly around spiderman. He received a spiderman book for his birthday, which he always wants to read. Baylor has always become infatuated with things very easily, but this is a first for Jax. He wants a spiderman room. He draws pictures of spiderman and is constantly making up stories about spiderman. He's been taping all of the pictures he draws of spiderman on his bed. I guess this is the poor mans version of a spiderman room.

Jax's favorite toy is the Star Wars light sabre he received for his birthday. However, his spiderman costume from last Halloween is right up there, as he still dress up as spiderman almost everyday. His new favorite show is the "Incredible Hulk" cartoon.

Baylor seems to be loving life these days. When learning something new, he has always been one to become extremely frustrated and give up. But these days he seems to be sticking with things. He recently learned how to snap his pants which was a huge deal to him. He doesn't like to have help. He wants to be independent. He's also become quite the video game player as he's developed patience for sticking with something until her learns it. Some of his favorite toys at the moment are his speed racer toy, batman mask, and swinging outside. He is using really big words and phrases these days but they are not always in context. He also still mispronounces a few words such as Hoscume/costume and baschetti/speghetti.

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