The Doodle, our math/science brain!?

Of all of our girls, Doodle is the most like me.  Verbal with a wonderful creative streak.  Sensitive.  Remembers everything.  Warm and welcoming once you get to know her.  Sometimes lacks a filter.  Keenly focused on fairness.  Curious.  Loves organization and lists.  Stubborn.  Loyal to her friends.  Perfectionist. Loves to be in control.  She is so like me in so many ways that I was surprised when we had teacher conferences.

Apparently, the Doodle is great at math and science.  She is also an accomplished and talented artist for her age.  She does just fine at reading but is very quick with numbers.  See, I had made the assumption that because she was like me in many ways, our strengths would be the same.  Not so.  It was a great reminder to keep our expectations of our kids in check.  The good news is, I wasn't actively trying to fit her in a mold or force her one way or another.  It was just that my lens, my perceptions, didn't quite match reality. 


I knew that the Doodle was good at math.  She loves her math homework and wants to do it first.  I knew that she was good at science--I don't know any other kids that as toddlers would watch the BBC Earth documentaries over and over.  It was just that I had never really thought of her as a math and science person. 

Don't get me wrong, ever since Mrs. Guinand scarred me in junior high math, I was determined that our girls would embrace math.  I ordered all sorts of educational toys to increase spacial awareness and math readiness.  I was determined not to pass on my self doubt about math to them.  I've been actively TRYING to raise Science and Math Geeks, with a capital G.

I'm glad she loves math and science.  I'm going to encourage her.  But I'm also going to try to keep my labels in check and try not to over emphasize any one subject over another.  While it's great she is a science/math kid, I'm going to try and make sure that is not all she is.

I'm also going to research serious art classes for kids her age--something I know very little about.  Not sure where the artistic talent came from, but I'm going to try and nurture it.

This was a great lesson in parenting.  And a wonderful reminder to embrace our children as they are, for who they are. 

She said it better than I could- Can we stop the hate?

I've been sickened about the recent suicides of gay teens who have been bullied.  I've been thinking of posts in my head and composing, but the words haven't come together.  Then, I read this post today at Love Isn't Enough and it really resonated with me.

Here's that post again.

It Has Begun

Today I got in the shower and all of my nice shower gel was missing.  You know, the kind that you buy and savor, the kind that is the opposite of "I'm desperate at Targ*t and the baby is screaming so let's just throw the first shower gel I see into the cart so we can get out of here."

Me:  "Girls, do you know what happened to my shower gel?"

Doodle:  "Yeah, it's in our bathroom.  We needed it to take showers while you were gone."

Me:  "You needed both of them???"

Doodle: "Yeah, Moo likes the strawberry and I like the almond. Can you buy us some of that?"

It has begun.  The last vestiges of the things that were completely mine are now gone-- at least most of them (I'm pretty sure they are not ready for bras, yet, although they do like to wear my heels).  The little luxuries that were mine alone are now fair game.  I'm going to need a lock for the medicine cabinet--and not for the medicine, for my good face stuff (the stuff that I buy that I am too embarrassed to admit to my husband how much it costs).  And what is truly stunning about this?  They are SEVEN and SIX, not SIXTEEN and SEVENTEEN.

At least they have good taste.  Sigh.

The Mystery of G, Solved!

I took Kevin's advice (at least with respect to the letter and not with respect to gambling) and sent an email to the company that made the "Meet the Letters" DVD.  To my surprise, the president of the company replied to my email, twice.

The first email simply read:  goggles/glasses.  Kathy

The second email read: Btw, you aren't the first one to ask!  I wish we had done something different with that character!  Kathy

I'm thinking that after reading my email, she was thinking, dammit, not another person asking about G again!  Then realized her terse reply was a bit harsh and sent the second email.  Or not.

Anywhoo, the mystery of G is solved.

Gum, it's not just for soccer anymore and Letter Overload

Since the gum worked so well with soccer, we decided to try it with reading.  Doodle is very self-conscious and sensitive, so when we are reading when she comes to a word she doesn't know, she starts to tear up.  The new bribe rule is that if she reads her decodable books without crying, she gets a piece of gum.  Works like a charm.  Soon I'll be asking for cures for gum in the hair, gum on the clothes, etc.

In other news, the magical unicorn seems to be working.  Moo wears it to school everyday and we're up to 12 days in a row without crying.

As for the Newbie, she's doing great.  She's now obsessed with the mouse in Goodnight Moon.  She scours the pages looking for the "teeny tiny mousy" or TTM.  And she says it in the cutest little voice.  It's the Newbie's new nickname:  Teeny Tiny Mousy, or TTM for short.  I'm currently scrapping the Elmo idea for Halloween and am in search of a "Teeny Tiny Mousy" costume in a size 18-24 months.  I'd appreciate leads.  I'm not having much luck.

Our TTM  is also obsessed with this DVD. We bought this one and "Meet the Sight Words" for the Doodle since she is such a visual learner.  We put the "Meet the Letters" DVD on the other day and she (TTM) is literally obsessed.  While I see the educational value and know that the DVD is better than other cartoons, it is SO boring it makes me want to stick a fork in my eye. Repeatedly. The DVD consists of animated letters, uppercase and lowercase doing an activity while saying their name, "A......A......A."  Seriously, when you get to Z your head is ready to explode.  Also, all the letters are doing an activity that matches their letter; i.e. D is dancing, N is napping,  H is a house, etc.  G, well, G is in a baby pool with a snorkel.  If any of you have any ideas, I'm open to hearing them.  It drives me nuts and it drove Mary Poppins nuts, too to wonder what in the heck that wacko G was supposed to be doing--and we've watched this DVD so many times we had plenty of time to ponder the G.  By the end of Doodle's time with the DVD we were/are quite hostile towards G.

We do no TV or screen time at least two weeknights a week and last night was one of those nights.  TTM lost it.  "Letters.  Letters please.  Letters please MOMMA.  I WANT LETTERS TV NOW!"  It was ugly.  Full blown temper tantrum.

In a desperate attempt to save my sanity and Hoosier Girl's sanity, we bought "Meet the Colors" and "Meet the Numbers." No dice.  TTM's only obsessed with the letters.  On the up side, she is really learning her letters.

So that's it.  Our lives in a nutshell-- gum, unicorns and letters.  I'm sure you're all jealous.

Motivation, No. Gum, Yes!!

(photo credit: popsop.com)

The Doodle lacks a certain motivation, a "fire in the belly" if you will.  For example, she likes soccer.  She likes to practice soccer.  She LOVES her red soccer shoes.  She goes willingly to her soccer games. She knows defense and offense and that the goalie can use her hands inside the box.  She can see where the ball is going and is among the pack of kids around the ball.  However, in the games that I watched, I never saw her actually kick the ball.  What's worse is that she galloped or even pranced to it, not always going at full speed.  The Doodle twirled her hair.  She ran to the ball and would then chill out like, "What ball? I wasn't really going to kick it, I was just getting close to it."  This drove me NUTS.  She was a bit afraid, but mostly she didn't seem to want to do it.  This year especially, she was one of the taller kids, so she really didn't have much to fear.

I am not competitive in a mean spirited sort of way, but I am a fairly motivated person.  I played competitive sports--well, volleyball and tennis and competitive badminton, if that counts (and in my mind it does).  When I want something, there are no limits to the lists and planning and effort I will put in to get what I want.  Doodle and I are alike, very much so, except for this one fact. Oh, that and the fact that she's way more girly than I am.  If there is something else I cannot stand, it is a wimpy girly-girl.  I was so fired up about this soccer thing and trying not to show it.

At first, I solved the problem by avoiding the games when I could.  We had the "give it your best" talk and the "support your team" talk.  Nothing.  Then I was talking to some folks at work.  "Bribery," they said.  "Nothing big, like a DS game, but something small, like candy or gum."  Hmmm, I thought.  Gum.  Doodle loves gum.

So two weeks ago, I told her that I would give her a stick of gum every time she touched a ball and a whole pack of gum if she scored a goal.  I even bought the gigantic size of her favorite gum at Cost*o.  I was ready.  Then, we had a rain out.

Last Saturday though, was the first outing with the gum.  I began to feel guilty.  Why I am I bribing her to do something she should want to do?  I did ask her if she liked soccer and she said "yes"(emphatically).  What to do?

Well, TEN sticks of gum later, she had a great game.  Doodle did so well her coach had her on middle forward on offense most of the time.  I've been trying to emphasize how much fun soccer is when you touch the ball.

For now, it worked.  I'm going to have to figure out if I'm comfortable with the bribe.  After the game, Moo asked if she could try soccer next year.  Was it the fun or the gum?

Why? Why?

Last night, the Newbie put three un-popped popcorn kernels up her nose. One in one nostril, two in the other. I was not prepared for this.

That is all.