The Zoo Keeper...? You Wish.

I have a young 'Superman' circling my computer as I type. I am trying, to no avail, to teach her that (as cute as I am,) I am not her giant play toy. It is something that I taught the boys at a young age. For the other homeschoolers out there...I am telling you nothing.

When you are 'accessible' to your children, all day...every day, they often have to be taught to occupy themselves or you will get nothing done...EVER. So today, our lesson is 'playing with your [million] toys, not your mother.' I am failing so far. She does not play with toys well. Given a guess...? I would say that this is because she didn't have many (if any) so she played with other children. I am the size of a third grader...perhaps she sees me as a peer?

I know that she will get this. It is a hard lesson to learn but she is smart. Today...she just doesn't want to play by herself. She knows exactly what I am asking for. When she just can't stand to not play with me and I won't let her play...she stands guard over me with her sword and shield (like the guards we saw all over China.) She will protect the doorway for a couple of minutes, trying to engage me in her play until she finally gives up and goes to find her brothers. It is pretty cute to watch and doesn't accomplish what she is looking for because I enjoy watching (and listening to) the absolute stillness and quiet that she models...Hehehe.

She did well in school today. I feel that she is really understanding English to a greater degree. When asked if something was black or white, she replied with a definite answer and it was...right! Yay...

She picked her own books from the library yesterday and we read some of them today. She picked all chapter books but I find she gets a little bored of them quickly. She is still at a picture book level and can get engrossed in a book for a while (when it has them.) Her attention span is about as small as a gnat so we will take what we can get...

Yesterday was another harder day. I think that because it was Loren's birthday, she did not like having the focus on him. It seemed as if she was intentionally trying to ruin things, all day. That made Bart and I work harder to make the day great for Loren. It was his first day as a 'teenager' and of course, a monumental day for us, him being our first born/ first teen. It worked out okay but I have to admit it took a huge effort on both Bart and my part to accomplish.

We laughed last night when singing to Loren..."Happy Birthday to you, you live in a zoo..."

Bart said it was so hard to tease Loren with that line because it seems to be the reality of our lives...I would like to think that I am the zoo keeper but alas, I think that I am just one of the erratic animals on live display circling may cage and looking for an escape.

We continue to work toward our ultimate goal of growth and development. Hopefully, we are learning a little everyday...all of us.

~CP