The month of September has flown by and it's been lovely.
First of all, Jordan had his fifth birthday on September 16th, and there were a number of parties. We had a family party, the daycare had a mutual birthday party with three other friends, and there was also a party at church. Lucky boy! I do not remember getting three different cakes to celebrate my birthday.
"Is it my birthday today?"
"Not yet, Jordan!"
"But, it's soon, right?"
"Yes, soon!"
"How many more sleeps till its my birthday?"
"Two more sleeps!"
"Did you get me a present?"
"Of course!"
"What is it?"
"I can't tell you! If I tell you it's not a surprise!"
"Hmmmm. Okay!"
First of all, Jordan had his fifth birthday on September 16th, and there were a number of parties. We had a family party, the daycare had a mutual birthday party with three other friends, and there was also a party at church. Lucky boy! I do not remember getting three different cakes to celebrate my birthday.
"Is it my birthday today?"
"Not yet, Jordan!"
"But, it's soon, right?"
"Yes, soon!"
"How many more sleeps till its my birthday?"
"Two more sleeps!"
"Did you get me a present?"
"Of course!"
"What is it?"
"I can't tell you! If I tell you it's not a surprise!"
"Hmmmm. Okay!"
The other big change that happened this past month is that the kids are reading now! I've tried too many things in trying to sell the benefits of reading until I came upon the caterpillar phenomenon.
We started out small! I was having them read short books before bedtime, putting the names of one books on one caterpillar body, and taping it on the back of the bedroom door. On the fourth night, Aidan was late coming back from Taekwondo, so Jordan and I read more than three books, and I added all six of his books to his caterpillar. And the competition began! Aidan came home and was appalled that his younger brother's caterpillar was long than his and determined to read eight books the following day to catch up. And the competition has just kept going! They are memorizing Bible verses, learning poetry, reading chapters from comic books, and reading to get more caterpillar bodies on their caterpillar!
Both Aidan and Jordan read over one hundred books in September and I was gob-smacked at how well this worked.
So, what was their reward?
A trip to the bookstore for a book and a toy of their choice!(#readaloudrevival #reading)
_________
And now for a few comments on the use of phones. Really, the phone's main use is to make phone calls! Games, Facebook, texting, are secondary!
My eldest has forgotten that the main function of a phone is to make phone calls and return phone calls! My hubby came home really annoyed yesterday with him. The train from Cheonan to Jochiwon was delayed for 25 minutes and it did not occur to our young man to call either of us to let us know. He was busy playing games on the phone and just didn't think!
For those of you raising teenagers, is this normal behavior for a 13 year old boy? :)
We started out small! I was having them read short books before bedtime, putting the names of one books on one caterpillar body, and taping it on the back of the bedroom door. On the fourth night, Aidan was late coming back from Taekwondo, so Jordan and I read more than three books, and I added all six of his books to his caterpillar. And the competition began! Aidan came home and was appalled that his younger brother's caterpillar was long than his and determined to read eight books the following day to catch up. And the competition has just kept going! They are memorizing Bible verses, learning poetry, reading chapters from comic books, and reading to get more caterpillar bodies on their caterpillar!
Both Aidan and Jordan read over one hundred books in September and I was gob-smacked at how well this worked.
So, what was their reward?
A trip to the bookstore for a book and a toy of their choice!(#readaloudrevival #reading)
_________
And now for a few comments on the use of phones. Really, the phone's main use is to make phone calls! Games, Facebook, texting, are secondary!
My eldest has forgotten that the main function of a phone is to make phone calls and return phone calls! My hubby came home really annoyed yesterday with him. The train from Cheonan to Jochiwon was delayed for 25 minutes and it did not occur to our young man to call either of us to let us know. He was busy playing games on the phone and just didn't think!
For those of you raising teenagers, is this normal behavior for a 13 year old boy? :)
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