But I'm deeply convicted that I should be doing a better job documenting my little ones' childhoods. I'm lousy at taking pictures, and even worse at videos, but these little years are passing far too quickly. So recently was Georgie in that little premie warming pan in the hospital. Now she's almost 5. Lily (2 1/2) is running, climbing, and asking to read.
So, again, here we are, and I'll start with just a brief description of each child, beginning with Lily:
Lily is the quintessential two-and-a-half-year-old. She pesters and rallies for attention, which she rarely gets enough of, I'm sorry to say. She looks like a precious moments doll, but walks like she's wearing mud boots. She amazes me by answering Georgie's history questions and parroting French language, but will look right at me and ask me where I am. She forgets where her very limbs, food, and sippy cups are, regardless if they're right in view. She loves to love, and is a natural mother, taking great care of all her baby dolls. She will even change a banana peel's "diaper" if given the chance. She also has a fiery temper, and we're working on "not hitting." Working, but not yet succeeding.
Lily loves to be read to, and she's great with building blocks (Duplo, etc.). Her fine motor is great, and she has little trouble taking things apart and putting them back together. She has torn books, but she's really becoming good at turning pages by the corners.
She's a super Dave Ramsey fan.
Georgie is not the quintessential almost-five-year-old. She's tall enough to be 7, and smart enough to be in college. Well, after she masters reading--which she has a great grasp on for her age. She can read any three and four-letter words, and many five-letter words. She can copy well, and is a good counter and budding mathematician.
But there's much more to her than that.
Georgie, beyond a doubt, is gifted. That sounds snooty, but she is, according to all the lists I've found of "gifted criteria," like this one.
This "giftedness" gives her a super attention span and memory. We've almost finished reading The Hobbit over this past week, and she begs me to read it throughout the day. Begs. I mean, I read until my saliva glands start trying to climb to the top of my head and bang for me to stop. And still I read. And read. And read. But I think it's awesome that such a little child would want to hear this great classic.
And I have no doubt that she will remember every word of it. After all, she still remembers the plot line and characters of The Magician's Nephew, which we read around 8 months ago.
At the end of the year, I'll post a list of the books we've read in 2012. Should be interesting.
But her superbrain isn't all a bed of roses. She has all the textbook (ha, textbook) traits of marching to her own beat that go with it. Yes, I'm proud of her uniqueness. But part of that difference involves rage tantrums, usually triggered by something so small as an object not being in its usual spot. Call it OCD or whatever you will, she has it. Lavender helps, as does sorting mixed beans into separate containers. Whatever works.
Anyway, the purpose of this blog is not to gain a great fan base for me, my family, or anything that we're doing, but simply to document my kids' childhoods, and also to have a nice web-based homeschooling journal that I can print out as needed. And I'll also be able to see over time how we will, inevitably, switch back and forth between rigid structure and complete unschooling (child-led learning). Most likely, we will keep the middle ground, known as "relaxed homeschooling."
That's it. If our antics are able to help anyone else, all the better.
Peace!
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