Firsts

We're now firmly back on our feet at home and the school year is up and running. Anselm is very happy with his new class and teacher and is cheerful as ever to race off to school in the morning. This evening he tried something new which was a big hit: judo. He did some aikido a year or two ago, and enjoyed it, but did lose enthusiasm with its rather formal style. We thought he might be ready for something that involved more actual wrestling-- and made use of the standing rolls he has perfected around the house. He had a wonderful time and came home glowing.
He is enjoying reading very much and reads for an hour at a time without a sound. This week he chose to start The Secret Garden, but after a couple of days told me, with disappointment, that he was finding it difficult. It is difficult, with a lot of transcribed dialect-- and language constructions of 1910. I encouraged him to try something else, and now he is romping through James and the Giant Peach.

This week was Eliot's first week in preschool. Every evening she tells me all about what snack she ate and the name of the child she played with. She is going to a Montessori school three afternoons a week, and a Spanish immersion preschool two (short) morning sessions a week. Today was the first Spanish day. They painted. Not much more was said about it.. and she needed to be in bed asleep at 7pm, so I think it was very tiring for someone with such an intense need to understand everything going on around her. She was positive, but she is not one to admit complaint or defeat. I hope it works for her.

She also started writing her name this week, and has been sounding out and writing words like "Dad". She is also starting to try to read for information.. while looking at pictures of fruits, there was one she didn't get, so she sounded out the label below, "m..a..n..g..o". While she can do three-letter words, that was a little difficult for her to put together, but I was thrilled to see her instinct to use the word to find out what she wanted to know.