Mom Remembers

Soren: * recognizes himself in the mirror * recognizes himself in pictures * recognizes his name (both spoken and written) * identifies objects as "mine" * communicates likes and dislikes * know the different parts of his body * tells me when he is "stinky"

What the heck does cognitive development even mean?  Wikipedia says it relates to "information processing" and "language development"; I guess in this post, I'm using it to mean "stuff people think makes a kid smart".  Traditionally academic knowledge, like numbers and letters.  Soren is really good at this kind of stuff; he's great at memorizing sounds and recognizing symbols.  Of all the areas of development, this is the one Soren really excells in.  He doesn't understand the abstract implications associated with the symbols, but he retains the more concrete connections well, storing them away for future use. Soren can: * count to 12 * recite his alphabet forwards and backwards! * recognize all the letters and numbers * recognize all the major shapes * remember the text from his favorite books * remember the words of favorite primary songs * identify conifer trees He's getting to the point where it's pretty easy to teach ...

Developing theory of mind (or understanding that other people have minds, feelings, and goals separate from your own) supposedly takes off around a child's second birthday.  These first sparks of rudimentary empathy are exciting and certainly worth recording. As of his second birthday: * Soren hides where I can't see him , * offers favorite food to others (especially his brother), * uses words like please, thank you, you're welcome, and bless you , * complies with simple requests , * understands the necessity of a trade-off , * asks for help when he can't accomplish something on his own, * and does not take toys from other children . This is an area that Soren is really blossoming in right now and I am excited to see what the next year will bring.

Fine Motor Skills Soren can: * build with blocks (especially legos) * scribble with crayons * turn doorknobs * complete a puzzle * turn pages one at a time * use a spoon and fork * open boxes * put on and take off a hat * draw a circle, make dots with a crayon   Gross Motor Skills Soren can: * stand up unaided * walk * run * bend over to pick up toys without falling * dance * walk backwards * seat himself in his "high" chair * help put his arms in sleeves and his legs in pants * throw a ball * walk upstairs upright while holding my hand

A, again, all done, alphabet, amen, animals, apple, art, asleep, away B, baby, back, bag, bagel, banana, beach, bear, bed, bird, bite, black, blanket, bless you, block, blues, boat, boo!, book, boom!, bowl, box, bread, brown, brush, butt, butter, button, bye C, cake, caps, car, cards, careful, Carl, carrots, cat, cedar, cereal, chair, cheese, child, chips, church, circle, clothes, coat, cold, colors, computer, concert, conifer, cookie, cool, cough, count, cow, cracker, crayon, crazy, cross, cup D, Daddy, dark, diaper, dinner, dinosaur, doctor, dog, doing, doom, door, down, drop, dry, duck E, ears, eat, eggs, eight, eighteen, elbow, elephant, eleven, eyes F, face, feet, fight, fish, five, flower, fly, flying V, follow, food, foot, fork, four, free, frog G, game, geese, George, get it, giants, girl, go, God, good job, got you!, grape, grass H, hair, hand, happy, harp, Harry, hat, head, heart, Heavenly Father, hello, here, hey, hi, hooray!, hop, horse, hot, house, how about ...?, hurt I, ...

Soren has been attending nursery for 6 months now. How time flies! I remember thinking that he would never be old enough for nursery (18 months) and now he's almost two! I am very grateful that Soren enjoys going and that he doesn't give the nursery leaders any trouble. The biggest tip-off that things are going well for everyone involved is the drop-off. It has always been surprisingly easy, with no tears on Soren's part and lots of enthusiasm on the part of the leaders. Soren huddles near Scott for a moment or two, then rushes to whichever leader holds out the most enticing toy. He is always cheerful when we come to pick him up and the leaders (embarrasingly) gush abour how smart and happy he is. I really am grateful that it is going so well. But I had a bitter-sweet moment a few weeks ago when I realized that he was growing up a little bit each week without me. He is learning things in nursery--things I didn't teach him! For example, I didn't teach him ho...

Goals for Soren: * learn to recognize colors * sit down while eating at the table * say "yes, Mom" when given a job to do Goals for Carl * reinforce good sleep habits * play independently for 10 minutes twice a day * tummy time Goals for Carolyn * practice one hour * do one hour of housework * read the scriptures for half an hour Goals for Mom * make Soren laugh * make eye contact with Carl when picking him up * make one-on-one playtime inviolable