It’s a crackup to be the teacher of the 7 year olds in primary. I love it! They always have some comment that is hilarious. Last week, we had a lesson about being kind to others, even when others were not kind to them. At the end of the lesson, the kids were supposed to draw a picture that showed kindness. One of the kids in my class pipes up, “ I’m going to draw something DANGEROUS.” Of course, being the teacher, I said, “Just make sure that it’s something showing kindness, too.” This prompted a number of children drawing something that they deemed “dangerous” but also kind. The first child drew two people hanging off a cliff, but being kind to each other. Another one drew a carnivorous dinosaur and an herbivorous dinosaur eating together. A third child drew “dangerous scribbles,” as she called them, playing a game together. You can’t get much more creative than that.
Ben has started drawing “letters.” He’ll draw a line on a paper, and say, “Look mom, A.” I’m pretty excited about the time when he’ll actually allow me to help him form the letters on the paper. I think that day will be soon. I’m starting to wish he was as excited about potty training as he is about letters. We’re having a major challenge even getting him interested. He’ll sit on the potty, but he will not do anything. I’m open to suggestions from any other parents who have experience in this topic. VERY open!!
Claire is on the verge of crawling—she gets up on her knees and she bounces back and forth. She just can’t seem to get the forward motion of it, and ends up going backwards. She also has two teeth that just cut this week!! Hooray!! Ben has been waiting for Claire to have teeth for a long time. “Mom, we need buy Cwaire teef. Cwaire need teef, Mom.”
We have been enjoying the Olympics, the last few weeks. Ben is particularly interested in the swimming. “Watch fimming, mom? You watch wif me? Where’s Michael Phelps, Mom?” He’s now Michael Phelps’ youngest fan. :o)
Tune in next week, for my essay on Paper Mache.
I love that Ben thinks you can just buy Claire teeth. That's fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI love your pictures. You are such a writer. My blog is opposite i have pictures and very little writing.
ReplyDeleteIt took us forever to potty train David. One thing that worked to get him to actually pee on the potty was to absolutely overload him with fluids. I let him drink as much juice, kool-aid, water, or whatever as he wanted, and really tried to get him to drink a LOT. That helped get the juices flowing, so to speak! Once they make the connection that they are supposed to pee (and eventually poo)on the potty, they are kind of excited about it. Unfortunately, they then go through a phase where they just don't want to be bothered with going to the potty...it's more convenient for them to go in their pants, especially if they are playing! That's the hard part. We used bribes shamelessly during this phase, trying to convince him that it was worth it to stop playing and make a trip to the bathroom. However, after months of bribes, we eventually also had to make it more uncomfortable for him if he wet his pants. We started giving him a really quick, cool shower after he wet himself. He hates showers, especially cool ones, and that was what finally did the trick in getting him to stop wetting his pants. He was nearly 4 years old by then! So be patient!
ReplyDeleteOne more suggestion...make sure he helps you clean up any "accidents", as that also helps make it more worth it to him to get to the bathroom. The hardest part is staying calm and not losing your temper! Also, if there are any other boys close to his age (in nursery, maybe?) who are potty trained, peer pressure can be a great motivator. That was what did the trick for Zach. The very first Sunday he was in Sunbeams, the teacher took the class to the bathroom, and then they had to come find me to get another diaper for Zach. I was embarrassed, but used the opportunity to point out to him that he was the only boy in his class wearing a diaper. That was all it took...he started wearing underwear, and never had another accident. (I had put him back in diapers to keep myself from killing him when he would hide behind the couch to to potty rather than go to the bathroom!) It takes a long time for boys to be potty trained. Be patient, and don't let it turn into a power struggle!
ReplyDelete