Old Post from Jan 7

From Ms. Christine -

Photo was actually published with Jan 10th post.

Holland has spent a lot of time these last few days playing with the new cars and trains that he got for Christmas. Although he will talk to me about what he's got sometimes, he will also spend time playing independently with them. He really likes to line them up behind each other and push them along. I wonder if he's trying to figure out the concept of moving an object indirectly by moving another object that's touching it. Today he brought two cars up to the dining room table, lining them up on a box. He pushed them to the point that he couldn't get the second one back without standing up to reach it (which I don't allow him to do). He showed frustration and I suggested pulling the box closer. He immediately went with the idea and got the car back easily, but I wonder what he could have done if I had encouraged him to try different strategies and given him a chance to problem solve on his own (instead of giving him the answer). I wonder if he would have arrived at the same conclusion himself or even figured out another creative way to get his car back that I hadn't thought of. With some support and encouragement, he could have practiced his problem solving skills, and seen that with some initiative and ingenuity, he has power to have victory over a frustrating situation. Although it's easiest and quickest (in the short run) to solve his problems for him, I really have to hold myself back sometimes to give him opportunities to struggle and come out successful.

One thing that Holland really surprises me with is his balance (and his motor skills in general). He has lately been wanting to walk up (and down!) the side border of the front stairs instead of using the [safer in my opinion] stairs or grass. Although it looks precarious to me, I just stay near him to help if he loses his balance in such a way that it looks like he could hurt himself. Although it's narrow and steep, he's able to make his way up and down on his own fairly successfully - just like when he went on the balance beam at JW Tumbles. He's also been interested in (and somewhat successful at) doing his own zippers on his pants and his jackets as well.

I did some cooking this morning to make sure I used the vegetables I bought before they went bad. Both kids have been so interested every time I cook. It's funny how sometimes Holland will dive into his bed and can be rough with toys, but with cooking, although he's interested, he touches the raw ingredients pretty timidly. I had him help me wash rice in the rice cooker and press the button, and had him help me toss the mushrooms and okra in oil and salt to coat them for roasting, both of which he approached cautiously, just seemingly dipping the tips of his fingers in or handling one vegetable at a time. Oddly though, he's not super afraid of heat, and wants to experiment with touching heated units... so despite the warnings about the rice cooker, hot pans and stovetop burners, he goes ahead and gives them a quick feel. No negative reaction at all. Maybe he's just more tolerant of heat? One time while he was stirring though, he got distressed, and I'm guessing his arm dipped and touched the rim of the pot, but there were no marks and he got over it in a few seconds. So even though we ran it under cold water (he wanted to put his fingers in instead of his arm, which definitely didn't touch), I think he was more surprised than hurt. After finishing up in the kitchen at about 11, he was ready to go to bed, and climbed in on his own, not needing to read a book first, and falling asleep in a few minutes.