Toddler J, the sponge

I have been trying to fill Toddler J's mind with as much as she will take with Tot School ( a phrase coined by Carissa) Let me first clarify that it is not school per say but structured play so that I can expose her to whatever skills she may need in the future. This blog serves as a summary of what Toddler J is proficient or has mastered as of today December 17, 2013.

Math

- counts ( I do mean actual counting not memorization) 1-5. At least that's what we have seen so far

- counts in German 1-10

- knows the basic shapes (circle square triangle and a few more )

-identifies numerals ( so far I have only heard her say a few as she sees them. I am not fully aware of how much she knows)

- sorts by using a common attribute (eg colour)

Motor Skills

Her gross motor skills are off the chart so I will not get into details. She can walk (started at 8months), run, jump, climb etc

Alphabet

-recite alphabet

-knows her uppercase letters

-knows most of the lowercase letters

- knows the phonetic alphabet

- starting to sound out words 

Writing and Talking

- I have noticed that she is attempting to write. She wrote the letter 'e' a few days ago and I actually knew it was an 'e'

- pretty sure her language explosion started earlier than the norm. Her doctor did say she was extremely advanced. Points to note: she uses the appropriate pronouns and refers to herself as I, constructs sentences,asks for help etc. 

Music

- she bangs on whatever she can find and calls it a drum

- loves playing with her wooden xylophone ( a gift from someone at church)

- loves dancing and is picking up songs when she heard them. 

- favourite songs: One Thing Remains ( the version by David Wesley or uncle David to her), Written in the Word ( learnt it at Kidz Klub), I Love Learning Baby Sign, Deep and Wide and that's all I can remember at this moment.

Fine Motor

-zips, snaps, 

-stacks blocks ( highest count that I have seen is 12, pretty sure it will get taller as she grows)

-holds crayon and pens ( unfortunately my favourite pens) correctly

 

Being a Toddler

- succeeds at this stage with flying colours

- loves playing and assigning objects different uses ( who knew a box could be so fun) 

-wears her heart on her sleeve

-love to play( did I mention that already) 

- has a deep love affair with books as well as Caillou ( we let her watch it in German) and Leapfrog.

-loves her baby brother Baby C to pieces 

- funniest word to date: 'louding' the process of increasing the volume on TV. 

The New Normal

Baby C is here and Toddler J couldn't be happier. At first she had that teenaged 'don't care about anything' attitude but the moment he came home she couldn't stop kissing him. She calls him her baby and wants to hug him constantly. So happy that jealousy didn't set in.

Pregnancy weight is all gone and Diastis Recti is here. Oh joy! 

I must admit the first month was a bit rough with Baby C wanting to nurse constantly and me not getting enough sleep. I even cried! To all the moms I secretly made fun of about being weak, I apologize. On the other hand, I am very happy that nursing is going quite well this time around and Baby C is mainly breast fed. I guess our little talk ( when we first locked eyes, I told Baby C that we are both going to be patient and see how it pans out) worked. 

I am learning how to manage 2 children under 2 and still struggling to come to grips with the fact that I am a mom twice over. Doubt I will ever get over that fact as I am still working on the fact that I am married. 

Hubby has taken to being a daddy of two quite well and is waiting for Baby C to get older so he can play with him as much as he does Toddler J. 

Well back to nursing.