Our Kids

The girls have started their classes at Desert Sun. They seem to really enjoy it and you could not ask for a better environment. It is so interactive. Outside they have hoses and let the kids make mud pies and get dirty from ear to ear. There are cans of paint and all kinds of things to use like small toilet stoppers and other interesting things to dip in the paint and use. It is really amazing. The girls get to choose the activities they want to do. It is truly a creative right brained environment where the last class they took was very structured and more left brained.

I did not see it coming but Lela is thriving in this new environment, feeling more independent and enjoying herself. She is also very tired so I know it is exhausting her and today she is showing signs of wear. Piper on the other hand is showing signs of insecurity. I think she enjoys the environment but the freedom of it all is harder for her to adjust to since she prefers structure. They have sort of flipped flopped so on that front I think this is good for both of them.

The first 10 min of the class the teacher assigns them to a center (dress up, playdoh, handwriting, math etc) and then after that they get to pick where they go. She put Piper at handwriting and Lela at art and Piper started to break. Teacher Karen saw this and put them back to back each at their station. Piper reached behind her and held Lela’s hand and she felt much better. The girls have spent the rest of the time together in class and have gotten used to the brief separation at the beginning of class. I can tell they are working together a lot of the time because they are bringing home very similar projects and since it is free choice I know they are sitting side by side and working together.

Monday I am going to volunteer in the class and I hope that I will be able to see how they are interacting with others. All in all I am happy with their 2 hours of interactive time and it has really helped them get the wiggles out in this hot, hot weather. We are still adjusting to the new schedule but every day gets better and better.

I feel like I have not updated you all on Landis lately but rest assured she is awesome. She really is the most delightful little person we could have hoped for should we have set our sights really high.

She is working on potty training, we have moved to the stage where she informs me when she has a poo poo but still at that stage where if I ask her if she is pooing she says no. She will also ask to sit on the potty and really try to go she has not figured out yet that she needs to relax to go.

She continues to pick up words that only a mother can understand but she is working on it. She continues to be in love with her sisters and follows them to and fro, mimics them, plays with them and generally loves them. She has however learned the word MINE and uses it quite frequently but she tends to be more like Piper in that after she sees she has upset either sister she will return the item that caused the strife in the first place.