Sea World

We had a great day at Sea World. Miss G was amazed by all the animals, especially the playful dolphins. They swam curiously close to us. I think they were checking us out just as much as we were checking them out.



This guy obliged and stopped by for a photo op.



Miss G didn't want to touch them but she was fascinated by them. She went to see them twice.






We also went to the aquarium. It was full of sharks and other exotic wildlife.



These are poison dart frogs. They are tiny.





The sea lions at the next show were so funny. I was amazed at their speed in the water and how quickly they could jump from the water to the stage.



One of the trainers kicked back and let the sea lion swim in circles.



After the sea lion show Miss G ventured on her first roller coaster ride. She has pronounced that it will be her last. Mr. Reserved said that she never even looked up.



We also went to the water skiing show. Personally, I am in awe of anyone who can water ski. I like to think of myself as pretty athletic, but I could never water ski. I couldn't get up out of the water and on to the skis. Needless to say I was amazed by these performers.



Before the performance they asked all the kids to come down and play on the beach. Miss G ran down and quickly made a friend. She didn't want the playtime to end but the show soon started with some amazing tricks.








One of the last things we did before heading to their water park was to see the big man himself. The great Shamu and associates gave a great performance. In your mind, you know that these are big killer whales. I just didn't realize how BIG they truly are.



By the way, the title "Splash Zone" is a little misleading. Those tails can displace more water than a Sumo wrestler doing a canonball. Thank goodness we sat above that zone. The people below us were completly soaked.

Uno

It's such a joy to watch your children grow and learn...until they start beating the pants off of you. Miss G and I played 8 games of Uno in a row. I am 0 for 8. I don't know how she does it, but she's good.

I grew up in a very competitive family. We played tons of games and everyone, parents included, were out to win. I'm not one of the moms who just lets their children win all the time. I believe children should be gracious in winning and losing and they need to experience both sides. What I'm trying to say is I don't let her win on purpose. I really try to win. I just can't seem to beat her.

You want to know what's really sad. We've lost her card holder and I can see all her cards and I still can't win. I really try not to use her cards against her, but I still find myself reaching for cards she doesn't have. I guess the old adage is right. Cheaters never prosper.

We're going to move on to a game where I might have a chance. I'll let you know how Candy Land goes.

Gaining Confidence

We are safely home from our vacation. It was our first family vacation together and we had a wonderful time. It's not often that Miss G and I get Mr. Reserved all to ourselves for such an extended time. We reveled in the experience. Miss G especially enjoyed her Daddy and I know that Mr. Reserved's arms are sore from so much carrying and catching of our little diva.

The two made quite a pair. Watching them interact, Mr. Reserved always patient and instructive, Miss G completely inexperienced and unsure, was one of the highlights of my trip. The following sequence of pictures shows how the complete trust of a little girl in her Daddy's love can within one day transform her from a scared, teary-eyed, stand on the ladder holding up the line shrieker into a confident, self assured, cutting in line bulldozer.




This frog's mouth was her first attempt at a water slide. She actually stood up and went back down the ladder. After watching other kids on the slide and a lot of coaching from her Daddy, she finally made the leap straight into her Daddy's arms.




This was another slide with another petrified look.




After several times down the frog slide, Daddy convinced her to slide with him on the big blue slide. The water depth in this pool was 2' 6" so she was able to stand up, head above water, for any slide going into this pool.



I think she had her eyes closed the whole time.



Daddy made sure she didn't go under water.




Although we had tears, after a few minutes she was ready to go again.

She continued to go down the slides and Daddy continued to catch her. Her confidence grew all day long and by the end of the day she didn't want us to catch her. We were relegated to the grown-up chairs at the edge of the pool not even near her. I realized watching her from so far away that we had made a fundamental switch that day. Our little baby was not a baby anymore. She was big enough to catch herself.




I know as parents it is our goal and responsibility to grow our children to become independent.




I just didn't realize that it could happen so fast.




What a wonder it is to watch them bloom.

We have interrupted this program...

for some important announcements.

We are on vacation this week.

We are headed for sun and water and animals and games and laughter....and several other "ands" that I just can't put into words I'm so excited.

We'll report in soon with our many adventures.

Have a great week.

Lapbooks

I have been without Miss G this week...(sniff, sniff)... so I have been working on her curriculum for this fall. Since she is only four years old, we are going to dive into all things that interest her. Right now that includes drawing, coloring, cutting and anything that has to do with glue. Can a person have too much glue? Not according to Miss G. Oh how she loves the stuff. She "accidentally" gets it on her fingers and then she pulls them stickily apart. It's great fun. I vaguely remember a time when yours truly was just as enamoured with the sticky white stuff. And don't get me started on paste! Do they still make that stuff? I'm going to have to look for it. Oh what fun we...I mean she could have with that.

But I digress...one of the tools we are going to use this fall is a lapbook. It's a book that you create about any subject you're studying. This website explains the concept much better than I could. I know that Miss G will thoroughly enjoy making her own book about subjects that interest her. We have already made a trial, "pretend" book and she loved it. We put the book together and she put stickers all over it. She carries it around with her stopping to read it from time to time. One of the benefits about creating these little books is that your student can re-read their books to reinforce the material they have learned.

You can also create little games with these books. While Miss G has been away, I created a matching number game for her. She can already count and recognize numbers and now it's time to recognize the number words. In the picture above, she'll take the numerals out of the envelope and put them by the correct number word. We're still working on our phonetics too so this will be a good way to reinforce phonetic reading of our number words.

The possibilities are endless for lapbooks. They're like little scrapbooks for your mind. Try a few in your life.

Miss G's Favorite Place

We are without Miss G this week. She is visiting her Grandma and her Popaw and she is in heaven.

Grandma and Popaw found her a bike and she is learning to ride. She has played on the slip-n-slide, in the pool and in the yard water. She has played games and dress-up dolls. She has ridden her bike with her new helmet and her new "fast-running-shoes". Today they are going to the library and to shop for a new horn for her bike. I believe that she is also eating them out of house and home. The food always tastes better at Grandma's. She hardly ate a bite in the previous week and now at Grandma's it's ALL good.

I know how she feels. We love going home too. At your own house you fret and stir thinking of things your should be doing, never truly relaxing. It feels good to have someone else take care of you for a few days. I sleep so soundly at their house. We call it the napping house.

Grandma is also an excellent cook and we always end up eating way too much there. I rarely cook elaborate meals just for the three of us. Grandma spoils and pampers us by cooking our favorite foods.

What's not to love about Grandma and Popaw's house? All your favorite things are there, especially your favorite people. Ah...it's good to be loved.



P.S. Thank you Grandma for the picture.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff Debate

Anyone who has ever read a book to Miss G knows how difficult it is to finish the book without a debate or a "what if" statement. I am grateful for her curious mind but her questions are constant and exhausting. Most of the time her questions come right in the middle of your sentence. I pause, try to answer the question, wait a few seconds and try to continue. While reading Charlotte's Web yesterday, I started the same sentence 4 different times only to be interrupted by a question. "Why did Avery want to capture Charlotte? Why did Templeton want that egg? Why does Wilbur like manure? That's gross. What if Charlotte can't save Wilbur?"

Today we have been debating the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Miss G asked...

"Why did the billy goats want to go across the bridge?"


"They thought the grass was better on the other side."


"Wouldn't the grass be the same on both sides?"


"Ah...and now you've hit upon an age old, human conundrum."


"What?"


"I think the grass is the same on both sides but maybe they have eaten all the grass on their side."

She thought a moment, twirled around in a circle and said,

"Why did the troll sink like a stone?"


"Maybe he couldn't swim."


"But Mommy...he lived UNDER the bridge."


"Oh...yes...so he did. Well...maybe when the biggest billy goat gruff hit him he killed him."


"Yeah....he killed him dead." As she wilted to the floor and rolled her eyes to the back of her head said, "and he sank like a stone...blub, blub."