Anna Claire has been in the Bunnies class for a few months now. It is a mix of 2 and 3 year old cuties. They have been talking about the letters I, M, H, V, and X. this month. Each week they talk about a different letter and her show and tell item is usually one that begins with the week's letter. This month she took in her ice pack for I (that actually may have been taken in January??), wore a hat for H, wore her pink fur vest for V (she thought she was really something in that vest!), couldn't think of anything for X so shared Cat that she sleeps with at nap ;). I cannot remember what she brought for M to save my life. Maybe it will come to me later!
They do such fun activities with the kiddos. They had X-games for the letter X, and made vegetable soup for the letter V! She did not care for the soup, but I love that they made the effort. Of course, her Valentine's day party was this month. Having candy around again was exciting for Anna Claire.
Anna Claire of course still enjoys ABC Music. She loved popping around to the Popcorn song and had fun playing a wood block quietly. I always play the CD in the car, but this month I did a better job of supporting ABC music at home. Anna Claire LOVED it. We played the CD in our family room and did all the activities and games. I will definitely continue this.
Anna Claire enjoyed:
reading books in the library
painting
drawing/coloring
playing outside (several beautiful days this month - almost spring-like)
seeing snow (some days were very cold!!)
dancing
playing with playdough
Anna Claire was "cheerful" and "sweet as sugar" most days. Some she was even "cooperative", "helpful" and "sociable." :)
She took good naps and ate well everyday, with the exception of one day. She is rarely having pee accidents and often waking up dry after her nap. They are even trying her in panties at nap. Still no pooping in the potty.
Anna Claire also can "run really fast outside on the playground," can "complete all the puzzles really well," and "uses her manners really well" in the Bunnies class. :)
Anna Claire talks about her Bunnies class friends constantly when we are at home, and has mentioned each of them at some point this month, but the ones that come up the most in conversation are Jackson, Hudson, Kinsley, Amelia, and of course, Avery and Amy. Her friends are all so sweet to her and to each other - the whole class really. When we leave she gets no fewer than 4 hugs from friends before walking out the door. Today she got hugs from Hudson, Avery, Ellie and Kendall. :)
I can't write a post on February in the Bunnies class without mentioning
that Olli and Knox moved up this month. These were two very exciting
days for Anna Claire since these 2 boys were among her best buds in the
Lambs class with Miss Krista!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
February Artwork
 |
| Crayon and pencil. Collaborative effort - the sad looking bird in the upper-left was my contribution. |
 |
| Crayon. Look closely and you can see where Daddy traced her hand in the background. |
 |
| Practicing straight lines with crayon. |
 | |
| Crayon. For the longest Anna Claire preferred black or brown since they made the darkest marks. Now she is really liking experimenting with color. |
 |
| Crayon. |
 |
| Crayola Color Wonder Fingerpaints. |
 |
| Color Wonder Fingerpaints +glitter pens |
 |
| Tempura paints using brushes. |
 |
| Crayon and pencil. Really trying to write letters. See the red "M"? She drew "M" then said "I draw 'M'!" |
 |
| Crayon and pencil. Writing some letters! See "C," "O" and "X"? |
 |
| She did this at the Red Barn. She is getting good a circles. |
 |
| Practicing circles with crayon. |
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Anna Claire this week
It's been a whole hour since Anna Claire fell asleep...do I dare start a blog post? It's kind of like when Larry goes outside to smoke at a restaurant...you can bet they'll bring our food as soon as he does. Well, I'm gonna give it a go anyway.
Speaking of nap, I heard Anna Claire talking on the baby monitor before she fell asleep. She said, "Bless Mommy, Daddy, Pop, Stanley, Kitty, March, April, May, June, July, August, September..." She does this kind of quick transition from one thought to another really often. Does it with songs too - lots of medleys at our house. She may get it from me, only when I do it I call it ADD. :\
Anna Claire is also trying to use big words. Today she said, "Mommy, I see a truck. It humongous." And before her nap, she said, "I do think Meme will bring me a surprise, actually." I love it!
I always like to blog about neat words she's learned to read on her own too. This week she read "please" and several other words at church, much to the surprise of her teachers. One teacher said, "She can read? We about fell out!" Oh, and Larry said she read the word "Snacks" on one of our refrigerator drawers. We have not specifically taught her either of these words.
We let Anna Claire use an ink pen this week for the first time. She loves it. And she is very careful with it and good about minding us that it needs to stay at her art table. The thing we like about watching her write with pen and pencil is how controlled and deliberate her little marks are. Larry thinks she's trying to write letters. She is also representing people by drawing large upside down Vs.
Important to Anna Claire this week:
Well, I did it, a whole blog post, and my baby is still sleeping. Success!
Speaking of nap, I heard Anna Claire talking on the baby monitor before she fell asleep. She said, "Bless Mommy, Daddy, Pop, Stanley, Kitty, March, April, May, June, July, August, September..." She does this kind of quick transition from one thought to another really often. Does it with songs too - lots of medleys at our house. She may get it from me, only when I do it I call it ADD. :\
Anna Claire is also trying to use big words. Today she said, "Mommy, I see a truck. It humongous." And before her nap, she said, "I do think Meme will bring me a surprise, actually." I love it!
I always like to blog about neat words she's learned to read on her own too. This week she read "please" and several other words at church, much to the surprise of her teachers. One teacher said, "She can read? We about fell out!" Oh, and Larry said she read the word "Snacks" on one of our refrigerator drawers. We have not specifically taught her either of these words.
We let Anna Claire use an ink pen this week for the first time. She loves it. And she is very careful with it and good about minding us that it needs to stay at her art table. The thing we like about watching her write with pen and pencil is how controlled and deliberate her little marks are. Larry thinks she's trying to write letters. She is also representing people by drawing large upside down Vs.
Important to Anna Claire this week:
- previously mentioned ink pen
- toy microwave (cooking Juju's eggs in it...lol, Miss Sandra, if you read this)
- altoids tin (contents have ranged from crayons to coins)
- yellow bucket
- step stool (extremely important)
- her checkbook
- My Big Girl Potty Book (she's potty trained to pee, but not poop...we can tell she's thinking about it)
- Caillou/Little Einsteins DVDs
- Cat
- Baby Gorilla
- and as always, her blanket
Well, I did it, a whole blog post, and my baby is still sleeping. Success!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Months of the Year, Days of the Week
First off, here is a little video clip I shot today of her saying her months of the year. She said all 12 perfectly! My trigger finger wasn't quite fast enough, so you'll only hear May through December.
Anna Claire knows her days of the week and has for some time. She also knows what happens on each of these days. If I tell her it is Sunday, she can tell me we will go to church and see Meme. If it's Thursday, she knows she has ABC music and show and tell. She also asks me everyday, "Mommy you goin' to yoga class today?" I have told her I only go Mondays and Wednesdays, and she now gets that I never go on weekends and has stopped asking those days.
---
I would also like to take this opportunity to keep current on all of Anna Claire's little sayings.
She loves ending sentences with:
Either: I can't reach that EITHER.
At all: I'm not happy AT ALL.
Instead: I can have banana INSTEAD.
Lately, after getting mad or saying "no" to us, she'll add, "I said that to you!" or "I talked to you like that!"
I may have mentioned these in a previous post, but it is just so cute, and said with such feeling.
---
She loves playing "magic show" and making coins "disappear." She will stack like coins together, like dimes for example, and then announces, "Ta-da! I make them disappear. It magic."
---
When I pick her up from school, she is still asking for hot chocolate, even though it's been weeks since we've had any. Thirty days to break a habit, right?
---
Anna Claire knows her days of the week and has for some time. She also knows what happens on each of these days. If I tell her it is Sunday, she can tell me we will go to church and see Meme. If it's Thursday, she knows she has ABC music and show and tell. She also asks me everyday, "Mommy you goin' to yoga class today?" I have told her I only go Mondays and Wednesdays, and she now gets that I never go on weekends and has stopped asking those days.
---
I would also like to take this opportunity to keep current on all of Anna Claire's little sayings.
She loves ending sentences with:
Either: I can't reach that EITHER.
At all: I'm not happy AT ALL.
Instead: I can have banana INSTEAD.
Lately, after getting mad or saying "no" to us, she'll add, "I said that to you!" or "I talked to you like that!"
I may have mentioned these in a previous post, but it is just so cute, and said with such feeling.
---
She loves playing "magic show" and making coins "disappear." She will stack like coins together, like dimes for example, and then announces, "Ta-da! I make them disappear. It magic."
---
When I pick her up from school, she is still asking for hot chocolate, even though it's been weeks since we've had any. Thirty days to break a habit, right?
---
Monday, February 13, 2012
Taylor's 10th Birthday!
Anna Claire looked forward to Taylor's birthday all week, "I go Taylor birthday! I pway with Taylor and Carowyn! I have birthday cake! It will be blue!"
Anna Claire loves her cousins so much. She loves coloring with them and playing with their dogs and guinea pigs. She prays for them every night before bed, "God bwess Taylor and Carowyn and Taylor and Carowyn and Taylor and Carolwyn!"
Anna Claire loves her cousins so much. She loves coloring with them and playing with their dogs and guinea pigs. She prays for them every night before bed, "God bwess Taylor and Carowyn and Taylor and Carowyn and Taylor and Carolwyn!"
 |
| Taylor's Angry Birds cake! She got an iPod touch for her birthday! |
Friday, February 10, 2012
January at Red Barn
I'm flipping through Anna Claire's January daily sheets with a smile on my face, loving the comments: cheerful, cute as a button, sociable, helpful, energetic, cooperative, sweet as sugar. That sounds about right!
It looks like the month of January was filled with good days and a few bad (she had a couple of long-running cold viruses, which would make anyone grumpy).
Anna Claire enjoyed art, was a good listener, and as usual, LOVED going to ABC Music on Thursdays. Best $45 I spend all month. :)
As she is getting older, she is getting more and more excited about show and tell days. They bring in something that starts with their letter of the week. (By the way, Anna Claire recognizes all her letters, and can tell you the sound many of them make!) For letter B, she brought her bread basket, and for I, her ice pack!
Anna Claire is getting better and better about cleaning up her mess when asked. She is even starting to pick up without being asked at home sometimes.
She enjoys playing with play-doh with her friends, as well as the linking stars and blocks.
Anna Claire loves to tell Miss Sharna and Miss Caitlin about Walmart. She tells them everything is from Walmart and that she will be getting some hot chocolate and a bowl of marshmallows and that these also come from Walmart. Despite the arrival of Publix, Anna Claire's loyalty remains to Walmart. Miss Jessica says Walmart should hire Anna Claire to do commercials for them.
Anna Claire came home one day this month and was so excited to tell us she went down the slide by herself. She is also confident riding the toy cars outside. These are big milestones for Anna Claire as she has always been about 6 months behind her peers physically. She didn't start walking until 18 months!
She loves circle time so much and learns so much at the Red Barn. She says the pledge very well, and knows the words to the Star Spangled Banner. As a result of their multicultural unit, Anna Claire pointed out Africa on a world map to me, and was wanting to talk to me about Germany and China. We have since checked out for her a book of little maps that she loves. I love that the Red Barn is curriculum-based!
I am rushed in the morning at drop off, and tired from my work day at pick up, so I question how well I convey this on a daily basis, but I cannot say enough wonderful things about Anna Claire's teachers and the owner and directors of the Red Barn. It is a class act, and I feel so blessed that my child is a part of this wonderful place.
Disclaimer: I am writing this on a personal leave day. I love to take out little pockets of time on these days to do a few things I enjoy, and writing about my baby definitely makes the list. :)
It looks like the month of January was filled with good days and a few bad (she had a couple of long-running cold viruses, which would make anyone grumpy).
Anna Claire enjoyed art, was a good listener, and as usual, LOVED going to ABC Music on Thursdays. Best $45 I spend all month. :)
As she is getting older, she is getting more and more excited about show and tell days. They bring in something that starts with their letter of the week. (By the way, Anna Claire recognizes all her letters, and can tell you the sound many of them make!) For letter B, she brought her bread basket, and for I, her ice pack!
Anna Claire is getting better and better about cleaning up her mess when asked. She is even starting to pick up without being asked at home sometimes.
She enjoys playing with play-doh with her friends, as well as the linking stars and blocks.
Anna Claire loves to tell Miss Sharna and Miss Caitlin about Walmart. She tells them everything is from Walmart and that she will be getting some hot chocolate and a bowl of marshmallows and that these also come from Walmart. Despite the arrival of Publix, Anna Claire's loyalty remains to Walmart. Miss Jessica says Walmart should hire Anna Claire to do commercials for them.
Anna Claire came home one day this month and was so excited to tell us she went down the slide by herself. She is also confident riding the toy cars outside. These are big milestones for Anna Claire as she has always been about 6 months behind her peers physically. She didn't start walking until 18 months!
She loves circle time so much and learns so much at the Red Barn. She says the pledge very well, and knows the words to the Star Spangled Banner. As a result of their multicultural unit, Anna Claire pointed out Africa on a world map to me, and was wanting to talk to me about Germany and China. We have since checked out for her a book of little maps that she loves. I love that the Red Barn is curriculum-based!
I am rushed in the morning at drop off, and tired from my work day at pick up, so I question how well I convey this on a daily basis, but I cannot say enough wonderful things about Anna Claire's teachers and the owner and directors of the Red Barn. It is a class act, and I feel so blessed that my child is a part of this wonderful place.
Disclaimer: I am writing this on a personal leave day. I love to take out little pockets of time on these days to do a few things I enjoy, and writing about my baby definitely makes the list. :)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Imagination.
Anna Claire lives in an imaginary world much of the time. Aside from doing art, reading, and playing in her kitchen, she spends her time at home creating and building scenes to take what's happening in her mind and make it reality. And what's going on in her mind is often connected to a book she's read.
In just the past two days, she has played: circus, restaurant, contest, zoo, parade, and going to the beach.
One of my favorite scenarios was her picnic at the beach during bath tonight. Like I said, Anna Claire's fantasies are often based on a book we've read. It took me awhile to realize that her beach picnic was a reenactment of Curious George Goes to the Beach, leaving out very few details! She "paddled" out in the water, chanting "paddle, paddle, paddle" to fetch the picnic basket just like George. She explained that the basket was empty because she had fed all the food to the seagulls, just like George. She did add her own little flourishes, such as needing an empty bubble bath bottle so she could pretend it was her sunscreen. Anna Claire also, calls out, "Time for waterfall! Everybody come over!" whenever we turn on the faucet to rinse her hair. :)
Anna Claire also set up a "contest" after reading Tarzan Goes Bananas. It didn't take me long to realize she didn't really understand what a contest was, she just knew Terk and Tarzan had one in the book. So we talked about what a contest was. This led to us playing races outside. She loved me saying, "On your mark, get set, go!" and running to the finish line. She wanted to play again and again. :)
In just the past two days, she has played: circus, restaurant, contest, zoo, parade, and going to the beach.
One of my favorite scenarios was her picnic at the beach during bath tonight. Like I said, Anna Claire's fantasies are often based on a book we've read. It took me awhile to realize that her beach picnic was a reenactment of Curious George Goes to the Beach, leaving out very few details! She "paddled" out in the water, chanting "paddle, paddle, paddle" to fetch the picnic basket just like George. She explained that the basket was empty because she had fed all the food to the seagulls, just like George. She did add her own little flourishes, such as needing an empty bubble bath bottle so she could pretend it was her sunscreen. Anna Claire also, calls out, "Time for waterfall! Everybody come over!" whenever we turn on the faucet to rinse her hair. :)
Anna Claire also set up a "contest" after reading Tarzan Goes Bananas. It didn't take me long to realize she didn't really understand what a contest was, she just knew Terk and Tarzan had one in the book. So we talked about what a contest was. This led to us playing races outside. She loved me saying, "On your mark, get set, go!" and running to the finish line. She wanted to play again and again. :)
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Sweet, Smart, Cute, Funny Girl.
Anna Claire amazes us every day with how much she communicates, understands, and what she is able to do. I affirm her every morning and night, telling her she is our sweet, smart, cute, funny girl. If I leave any of these out, she lets me know it: "I cute too, Mommy?"
Here are some recent examples of her sweetness, intelligence and wit.
I have told Anna Claire numerous times that the doctor said I shouldn't pick her up because I have a hurt back. This morning, she wasn't wanting to come over to me so that I could fix her hair, but I needed her to move along so that we wouldn't be late. So, I walked over, picked her up, and as I carried her over to the couch, she said, "Mommy, you not 'posed to pick me up. That hurt you." Then she hugged me tight and gave me a big kiss. Love her.
---
Anna Claire has concluded that all buildings with a steeple-like point are churches. We pass five on the way to her day care. So I hear, "There a church..." "There a church...." "There another church..." "That lot of churches, Mommy."
---
I walked into AC's classroom to pick her up one afternoon, and had my keys in my hand. As you can see in the picture to the right, attached is a YMCA card with my name printed on it. Anna Claire pointed to my name, and said, "That say 'Angie,' Mommy?" I have never told her my name was on that card. We never intentionally taught her to read our names, but she HAS seen me write all our names on our drawing paper when we color, many times. Repetition.
Another example of accidental repeated exposure method: Anna Claire's most prized possession right now isn't anything we've bought her. It's one of our old checkbooks that we gave her from back when we banked at WaMu in San Francisco. She carries it everywhere. Larry said the other day she flipped through the check register, pointed to the words, "Whole Foods" and said, "Daddy, that say 'Whole Foods'?" She has been referring to the checkbook as her "Whole Foods book" ever since. ;)
Here are some recent examples of her sweetness, intelligence and wit.
I have told Anna Claire numerous times that the doctor said I shouldn't pick her up because I have a hurt back. This morning, she wasn't wanting to come over to me so that I could fix her hair, but I needed her to move along so that we wouldn't be late. So, I walked over, picked her up, and as I carried her over to the couch, she said, "Mommy, you not 'posed to pick me up. That hurt you." Then she hugged me tight and gave me a big kiss. Love her.
---
Anna Claire has concluded that all buildings with a steeple-like point are churches. We pass five on the way to her day care. So I hear, "There a church..." "There a church...." "There another church..." "That lot of churches, Mommy."
---I walked into AC's classroom to pick her up one afternoon, and had my keys in my hand. As you can see in the picture to the right, attached is a YMCA card with my name printed on it. Anna Claire pointed to my name, and said, "That say 'Angie,' Mommy?" I have never told her my name was on that card. We never intentionally taught her to read our names, but she HAS seen me write all our names on our drawing paper when we color, many times. Repetition.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Artwork - January 2012
 |
| Colored this at Church on Sunday. |
 |
| Crayola Tadoodles |
 |
| Made at Red Barn |
 |
| Red, blue, and yellow tempura paints - used fingers and brushes |
 |
| Crayon |
 |
| Color Wonder fingerpaints and glitter pens, then used paintbrushes for the subtractive |
 |
| crayon and stickers :) |
 |
| Crayon |
 |
| Crayola "Watercolors" |
 |
| crayon and pencil |
 |
| Crayon and pencil |
 |
| Crayon and pencil |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)