This is an old post. I kind of forgot about it for awhile. Last week, visiting our old haunts and watching what seems like an ever growing force of social entropy unfold, I realized even more that the work that my parents did was hard and nessary work. I thought I invented the phrase social entropy, but apprently, I didn't. Interestingly enough, Wikipedia's definition of anomie, the peak of social entropy, contained the phrase "absence of legitimate aspirations," which, needless to say, is fairly common in the Philadelphia area.
Here's the old post (I never did really finish the poem at the end and the milestones are circa last September):
Something about having kids makes you realize that your parents were right. Rules, order, and discipline, and parenting in general, have a whole new meaning when it's you who is responsible for enforcing them.
When I was a kid (and a teen, and a 20er), I was sure that I'd be a "rational" parent. Discussing things with my children to avoid being a tyrant. Just last week, I found myself talking to a friend who has a toddler and a pre-schooler. In her words, "I used to didn't like 'because I said so,'" she explained while trying to get her pre-schooler to finish dinner and go to bed without making a juice-food mixture, "But 'because I said so' is sounding kinda good right about now." In my pre-parent mind, those kind of words were only uttered by merciless authoritarian dictators and my dad. AK and I do hope that AC will develop a firm, grounded sense of judgement, but until he does, I've come to accept that because will just have to do.
On the way home from New Jersey last month, there was a 4 year old whose mother was encouraging her to take a nap. The girl (loudly) "why"ed her mom for the whole 2 hour flight, coming up with new and interesting ways to thwart her nap. Her banter reminded me of a sign that used to hang in Swarthmore that said "Question Everything." I would come to learn that this was a mantra for many forms of passive agressiveness. A more honest kid might have just been straight forward and said: Look. I'm not taking a nap, so please continue to discuss the minutia of my existance while I willfully and happily disregard your request. I think the whole plane was wishing she had pulled out her "because" and spareded us all.
AC has started asking questions. He only has a few now, mostly he asks for things he wants and he asks what things are. Still, I know it's only a matter of time before these what's turn to why's. He's already started developing tactics for getting his way, so inshaa Allah, most of his why's will not be of the "um... I'm not doing that" variety. May Allah grant him wisdom and judgement upon truth. Ameen.
He's already established what I call a "why cry." Often used to show his dissapointment, he reserves this particularly sorrowful plea for times such as when I let him carry the Nutella from the store to the car. He had picked it up out of the bag and walked the whole way chanting "get some, yes, get some." Since I don't speak todder, I was at a loss for the words to explain to him that I had no intention of giving him any Nutella in the car or ever. Once we got to the car, he realized my dastardly intentions as I put the Nutella on the front seat and him in the back. Perhaps it's a hold over from my pre-parenting sense of justice, but as he began screaming at the top of his lungs, I almost did feel like I should give him some Nutella since he had carried it all the way to the car for me. Why can't AC eat Nutella in the car, or ever? I did debate the finer points of this question for all of 30 seconds before I realized the answer. Because.
His potty training has progressed well and he's discovered that he can ask to go to the bathroom whenever he wants and I will usually oblige him. He likes to ask mostly when vegetables are being served. One particularly peeful morning, he asked to go 6 times in a row before I realized that I had been roped into a game and finally learned to say "no potty." I am sure that in a few months as his verbal skills progress, that conversation will have to end in a "because I said so."
I've seen some parents use the "why" themselves in a futile attempt to express their own severe displeasure with their children's actions. The "why would you..." which actually means "If you weren't so small and fragile and devoid of reason, I would punch you in the chest for that." I have been guilty of these thoughts myself. Why would you throw up all over the sheets I just changed?!? Why would you ask for milk and then pour it down your shirt?!? Why would you pee in the chair when you just went in the potty?!? The look on AC's face as he faked his fakest "oh, no" after smiling through this latter incident seemed to suggest an answer. Because.
In other milestones, KC has started to rear up like an angry cat. She continues to move effectively across the floor. Today, she crawled 10 feet to play with the tag on an extention chord, so I assume her vision is doing well also.
I found a quote on a friend's blog the other day that said “Motherhood means agreeing to walk around with part of your heart outside of
your body for the rest of your life.” As AC begins to walk (and stall) a lot more these days, it made me think of this poem.
Domestic
Even the wildest flowers
Must bloom
Connected by water and vein
Blood and breath.
Birthed into
Ephermeral blossoms of
Dandilion like moments
Teetering between
Firmness and flight.
Yesterday I breathed.
You rolled and giggled into the world.
Today's breath.
You laugh again
Free to run
To your own destinations
With me
Already barely holding on by the tips of your toes.
Someday,
That breath will send you flying.
For now, we make
These pictures in our minds.
Of the most wonderous question.
How?
The nutfa, the seed, the lump, the flesh
Then formed
Delighted fingers forming perfect waves.
Not, why?
Just barely dancing.
These times
I am thankful for.
Still.
Every day I see you
Standing a little taller and stronger
against the beconing breeze.
Until then
We work and pray.
Preparing for the day
We know the winds will take you.
Brick by brick
That they might guide you
On the strong, straight path.
That someday
After we are scattered dust
We might meet there again.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Spring
There's a twist on the old adage about spring in the Cooper household. Here, April showers bring July tomatoes. Last year, we were really torn between tolerating our landlord and having to tear up our prolific produce patch. We were able to harvest a few weeks worth of greens and tomatoes before we left.
With a much limited space for gardening this year, we knew that getting a substantial crop would be somewhat of a challenge. In order to lay out the design for the hanging garden, we first had to map out the sun on each part of the balcony. The good thing was it only took about 5 minutes to determine how much sun we would be getting on the balcony. The bad thing. We get NO sun. Apparently, our apartment is directly north facing and according to some principles of physics or whatever science describes the rules of the suns rotation, the sun rises in the east, sets in the west, and shines the whole time from the south.
Nevertheless, we've decided to forge forth and go ahead with our full shade garden. For whatever reason, I couldn't find much guidance on growing in full, dense shade on the Internet so i figured that this project would be blog worthy in order to document our growing efforts.
We're focusing on the "roots and shoots" veggies this summer since popular opinion is that those are the only edibles that have a chance of producing with little sun. Some friends of ours were kind enough to give us some space in their backyard for us to grow tomatoes, peppers, and a few other sun loving crops.
This is what our balcony looks like for most of the day. I've seen a number of "full shade garden" sites that show gardens in places that are actually quite sunny. The shadow on the balcony extends about 5 feet over onto the lawn.
Having read up on growing in shade, I am hopeful that the garages that face us will give us just the brightness boost we need in order to get things going with the plants.
With a much limited space for gardening this year, we knew that getting a substantial crop would be somewhat of a challenge. In order to lay out the design for the hanging garden, we first had to map out the sun on each part of the balcony. The good thing was it only took about 5 minutes to determine how much sun we would be getting on the balcony. The bad thing. We get NO sun. Apparently, our apartment is directly north facing and according to some principles of physics or whatever science describes the rules of the suns rotation, the sun rises in the east, sets in the west, and shines the whole time from the south.
Nevertheless, we've decided to forge forth and go ahead with our full shade garden. For whatever reason, I couldn't find much guidance on growing in full, dense shade on the Internet so i figured that this project would be blog worthy in order to document our growing efforts.
We're focusing on the "roots and shoots" veggies this summer since popular opinion is that those are the only edibles that have a chance of producing with little sun. Some friends of ours were kind enough to give us some space in their backyard for us to grow tomatoes, peppers, and a few other sun loving crops.
This is what our balcony looks like for most of the day. I've seen a number of "full shade garden" sites that show gardens in places that are actually quite sunny. The shadow on the balcony extends about 5 feet over onto the lawn.
Having read up on growing in shade, I am hopeful that the garages that face us will give us just the brightness boost we need in order to get things going with the plants.
The kiddos are great too BTW. Abdullah has made himself right at home on the balcony creating all sorts of activities with the planters, rocks, tools, and dirt. KC has gotten her walking together just in time to join him in outdoor schenanigins.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
12 Month Checkup
Milestones are funny things. I remember when Abdullah started coming into the "stacks blocks" phase of milestones. He didn't have any blocks. He has blocks now. Our Afghani friends came over one day and it took about 15 minutes to explain what the point was to having them. Strange to think that something so ingrained in the fabric of American childhood is completely foreign to the rest of the world. I'd love to see what milestones are like in other parts of the world. 12 months old, your child may begin to make pretend rotis and can now push food around with a chopstick.
Nevertheless, KC's appointment went well. Aside from her new word(s?), they also checked off the following milestones for her:
* Tries to hug. (Still working on her aim)
* Says mama and dada/imitates you. (She's said Umi, Dijah, and Jeddah and a host of objects so far, but all only as imitations)
* Says one word, (See last post)
* Bangs two objects together. (Whatever you got)
* Helps/messes up around the house. (More of the latter, but she did toddle over to the shoe shelf last week and put back one of the 12 shoes she had pulled down. I think after seeing Abdullah clean them up so many times she realized, what goes down, must go back up.)
* Plays patty cake. (See last post, she's not ready for the big leagues)
* Walks/cruises. (They need a word for walking and then falling over and over again)
* Understands simple commands like come here, sit down (Yes, when she wants to, or she'll try to smile her way out of it)
* Gives you a toy. (She likes her toys too much. She did try to feed me some cheerios one day, but she quickly realized that she wasn't getting them back. Now she just fakes like she's going to give them to me.)
* Drinks whole milk.
They asked again about her waving, but since her 9 month check up, she's given that up. Instead, she prefers to flail her arms wildly. I'm not sure if she's waving or just reminding me that she hasn't disappeared.
She hasn't hit the "says mama and dada correctly" point. There were a couple others that I can't remember. I'm also adding :
* Gets down out of a chair carefully. (Mind you, Abdullah's chair, which she loves to commandeer, is only 12 inches high, but she is very careful in getting down.)
* Plays with toys without mouthing them. (She seems to understand that every toy is not, necessarily, a chew toy. She still sneaks bites of most things, but she likes to play with Abdullah's blocks, Lego's, and puzzles imitating his motions with very serious focus.)
Nevertheless, KC's appointment went well. Aside from her new word(s?), they also checked off the following milestones for her:
* Tries to hug. (Still working on her aim)
* Says mama and dada/imitates you. (She's said Umi, Dijah, and Jeddah and a host of objects so far, but all only as imitations)
* Says one word, (See last post)
* Bangs two objects together. (Whatever you got)
* Helps/messes up around the house. (More of the latter, but she did toddle over to the shoe shelf last week and put back one of the 12 shoes she had pulled down. I think after seeing Abdullah clean them up so many times she realized, what goes down, must go back up.)
* Plays patty cake. (See last post, she's not ready for the big leagues)
* Walks/cruises. (They need a word for walking and then falling over and over again)
* Understands simple commands like come here, sit down (Yes, when she wants to, or she'll try to smile her way out of it)
* Gives you a toy. (She likes her toys too much. She did try to feed me some cheerios one day, but she quickly realized that she wasn't getting them back. Now she just fakes like she's going to give them to me.)
* Drinks whole milk.
They asked again about her waving, but since her 9 month check up, she's given that up. Instead, she prefers to flail her arms wildly. I'm not sure if she's waving or just reminding me that she hasn't disappeared.
She hasn't hit the "says mama and dada correctly" point. There were a couple others that I can't remember. I'm also adding :
* Gets down out of a chair carefully. (Mind you, Abdullah's chair, which she loves to commandeer, is only 12 inches high, but she is very careful in getting down.)
* Plays with toys without mouthing them. (She seems to understand that every toy is not, necessarily, a chew toy. She still sneaks bites of most things, but she likes to play with Abdullah's blocks, Lego's, and puzzles imitating his motions with very serious focus.)
Friday, March 22, 2013
It's Official....
KC's first word.
KC likes "social play" a lot more than Abdullah who treated any attempt to stop him from moving as a punishment. So it's no surprise that her first word is game related.
First, a brief history of Abdullah's first words since the world has missed out on his feats.
It all started with some word I don't exactly remember sometime shortly after his first birthday, so for those of you who are counting, KC wins again.
By around 15 months, he had a few words such as book, ball, up, go, orange, khubs (bread), dog, cat, in, some animal sounds, and goot (cookie). There may have been more, but whose counting (except grandparents). Nose came in somewhere around then too thanks to some drills with GS. It was around this time, as his walking improved, that he began to be able to obey commands related to items not in the room, such as going to throw something in the trash.
After that, he added words from his daily life including shoe(which meant shoe and sock), head, toy, and the like. His comprehension increased rapidly and he could soon perform common household tasks such as cleaning up toys and emptying the dishwasher.
At 23 months, he said his first sentence "some more water please." This, of course, was just a cheat sentence since he was actually just saying all the words he could think of that might lead to him getting some water. He kind of has this mentality towards talking today although now he puts whole sentences together to make often awkward "paragraphs."
He kid of added words one at a time until he started asking what things were and remembering the names of things he found. At around 27 months, he decided that, much in man fashion, he didn't need to ask anymore and started to tell me what everything was, holding it out to make sure that he was correct. It was around this time also that his comprehension improved to the point that he could complete most requests without spinning around in a circle to see what you were talking about.
To this day, Abdullah continues to spin in cricles for fun.
But, I greatly digress.
KC's first word is: TAP TAP!
Definition
TAP TAP
noun: the act of tapping one's hand on an object, usually one's own stomach.
verb: the act of requesting a parent or sibling to tap on one's stomach.
She makes a lot of sounds that seem like they might be words and has a few hand motions that she taught herself, but it's sometimes hard to pick out which of her sounds are words in a string of baby talk gibberish.
In other news, Abdullah has started taking after his father and greatly enjoys all forms of cooking, both real and imaginary. He's been cooking for awhile, but lately, he's begun instructing KC in the culinary arts. So far, his lessons have focused heavily on mixing and tasting. Fortunately for him, KC is a wonderful study and has a strong passion for tasting and banging two objects together.
KC likes "social play" a lot more than Abdullah who treated any attempt to stop him from moving as a punishment. So it's no surprise that her first word is game related.
First, a brief history of Abdullah's first words since the world has missed out on his feats.
It all started with some word I don't exactly remember sometime shortly after his first birthday, so for those of you who are counting, KC wins again.
By around 15 months, he had a few words such as book, ball, up, go, orange, khubs (bread), dog, cat, in, some animal sounds, and goot (cookie). There may have been more, but whose counting (except grandparents). Nose came in somewhere around then too thanks to some drills with GS. It was around this time, as his walking improved, that he began to be able to obey commands related to items not in the room, such as going to throw something in the trash.
After that, he added words from his daily life including shoe(which meant shoe and sock), head, toy, and the like. His comprehension increased rapidly and he could soon perform common household tasks such as cleaning up toys and emptying the dishwasher.
At 23 months, he said his first sentence "some more water please." This, of course, was just a cheat sentence since he was actually just saying all the words he could think of that might lead to him getting some water. He kind of has this mentality towards talking today although now he puts whole sentences together to make often awkward "paragraphs."
He kid of added words one at a time until he started asking what things were and remembering the names of things he found. At around 27 months, he decided that, much in man fashion, he didn't need to ask anymore and started to tell me what everything was, holding it out to make sure that he was correct. It was around this time also that his comprehension improved to the point that he could complete most requests without spinning around in a circle to see what you were talking about.
To this day, Abdullah continues to spin in cricles for fun.
But, I greatly digress.
KC's first word is: TAP TAP!
Definition
TAP TAP
noun: the act of tapping one's hand on an object, usually one's own stomach.
verb: the act of requesting a parent or sibling to tap on one's stomach.
She makes a lot of sounds that seem like they might be words and has a few hand motions that she taught herself, but it's sometimes hard to pick out which of her sounds are words in a string of baby talk gibberish.
In other news, Abdullah has started taking after his father and greatly enjoys all forms of cooking, both real and imaginary. He's been cooking for awhile, but lately, he's begun instructing KC in the culinary arts. So far, his lessons have focused heavily on mixing and tasting. Fortunately for him, KC is a wonderful study and has a strong passion for tasting and banging two objects together.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Bagles
Just a recipe box post.
These are the best bagles I've ever tasted outside of NYC. I'm tempted to never go back to NYC to get bagles because I may discover that the bagles there actually pale in comparison and my memorises will be ruined.
For some reason, I got 15 bagles (and I did weigh them too), but who'se complaining. None of my carb loving crew for sure. I know KC was happy she had that tooth to help her out with these. The crust was unbelievable.
Thanks to the local Europa market, we were able to accet these with smoked trout salad and smoked sausage. I think that's my bagle calories quota for the year.
These are the best bagles I've ever tasted outside of NYC. I'm tempted to never go back to NYC to get bagles because I may discover that the bagles there actually pale in comparison and my memorises will be ruined.
For some reason, I got 15 bagles (and I did weigh them too), but who'se complaining. None of my carb loving crew for sure. I know KC was happy she had that tooth to help her out with these. The crust was unbelievable.
Thanks to the local Europa market, we were able to accet these with smoked trout salad and smoked sausage. I think that's my bagle calories quota for the year.
Just Wait
Abdullah got Play Doh this weekend. I've given up on play dough, the slightly overly gooey amalgam of flour, water, salt, and whatever else the latest mommy blogger said would make best "best play dough" recipe. After having to throw out the latest batch after it started to separate in the cabinet, I turned to the professionals.
But I digress. Abdullah was extremely excited about his new acquisition of "orange." He happily placed his two new containers into his cup holders for the long ride home undoubtedly imagining the moment he'd be able to crack open his new delicacies. After some errands and a play place run, Abdullah's anticipation was clearly growing.
Once we finally arrived home and got the week's groceries unpacked, he sat down to finally get a peek at the vittles that had been eluding him all day. Much to my surprise and his, however, we found that Play Doh is not easy to open. Perhaps that's intentional since I'm sure more than a few carpets have been ruined by the stuff.
Nevertheless, Abdullah pulled and tugged at the container from every angle offering a few "uff"s just to make sure that I knew he was having trouble. I let him try for about a minute or so. After informing me that it was hard for him to open it and asking for help a few times he placed the container on the table, looked at both cans squarely and calmly said "Just wait." Then he sat. Staring blankly at the cans for about 30 seconds before he picked one up and started to try again.
The incident made me think of this hadith:
Narrated Thabit Al-Bunani: Anas bin Malik said to a woman of his family, "Do you know such-and-such a woman?" She replied, "Yes." He said, "The Prophet passed by her while she was weeping over a grave, and he said to her, 'Be afraid of Allah and be patient.' The woman said (to the Prophet). 'Go away from me, for you do not know my calamity.'" Anas added, "The Prophet left her and proceeded. A man passed by her and asked her, 'What has Allah's Apostle said to you?' She replied, 'I did not recognize him.' The man said, 'He was Allah's Apostle."' Anas added, "So that woman came to the gate of the Prophet and she did not find a gate-keeper there, and she said, 'O Allah's Apostle! By Allah. I did not recognize you!' The Prophet said, 'No doubt, patience is at the first stroke of a calamity.'"
I don't know if being unable to get at your Play Doh counts as a calamity for most, but I'm pretty proud that Abdullah's got the wherewithal to remind himself to have patience when things are tough.
In general, I think he's crossed the milestones tracking mark since he can do pretty much anything that he needs to do aside from ride his bike long periods in a straight line, but that's probably more of a want than a need anyway.
KC has put a few more notches in her belt this month as she rounds the final turn to 1. Her first tooth finally came through and she started walking. I suppose stumbling would be a better word. She's got Abdullah beat again on that milestone.
But I digress. Abdullah was extremely excited about his new acquisition of "orange." He happily placed his two new containers into his cup holders for the long ride home undoubtedly imagining the moment he'd be able to crack open his new delicacies. After some errands and a play place run, Abdullah's anticipation was clearly growing.
Once we finally arrived home and got the week's groceries unpacked, he sat down to finally get a peek at the vittles that had been eluding him all day. Much to my surprise and his, however, we found that Play Doh is not easy to open. Perhaps that's intentional since I'm sure more than a few carpets have been ruined by the stuff.
Nevertheless, Abdullah pulled and tugged at the container from every angle offering a few "uff"s just to make sure that I knew he was having trouble. I let him try for about a minute or so. After informing me that it was hard for him to open it and asking for help a few times he placed the container on the table, looked at both cans squarely and calmly said "Just wait." Then he sat. Staring blankly at the cans for about 30 seconds before he picked one up and started to try again.
The incident made me think of this hadith:
Narrated Thabit Al-Bunani: Anas bin Malik said to a woman of his family, "Do you know such-and-such a woman?" She replied, "Yes." He said, "The Prophet passed by her while she was weeping over a grave, and he said to her, 'Be afraid of Allah and be patient.' The woman said (to the Prophet). 'Go away from me, for you do not know my calamity.'" Anas added, "The Prophet left her and proceeded. A man passed by her and asked her, 'What has Allah's Apostle said to you?' She replied, 'I did not recognize him.' The man said, 'He was Allah's Apostle."' Anas added, "So that woman came to the gate of the Prophet and she did not find a gate-keeper there, and she said, 'O Allah's Apostle! By Allah. I did not recognize you!' The Prophet said, 'No doubt, patience is at the first stroke of a calamity.'"
I don't know if being unable to get at your Play Doh counts as a calamity for most, but I'm pretty proud that Abdullah's got the wherewithal to remind himself to have patience when things are tough.
In general, I think he's crossed the milestones tracking mark since he can do pretty much anything that he needs to do aside from ride his bike long periods in a straight line, but that's probably more of a want than a need anyway.
KC has put a few more notches in her belt this month as she rounds the final turn to 1. Her first tooth finally came through and she started walking. I suppose stumbling would be a better word. She's got Abdullah beat again on that milestone.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Brief milestones update
I can't remember Abdullah's milestones when he was 9 months, but KC seems to be ahead of him as far as social skills and behind in physical prowess. She now imitates Abdullah (who is imitating her most of the time) and "speaks" in gibberish sentences with inflection. I had thought she might be an early walker since she's been standing for months, but it seems her advanced status has kind of plateaued as she is still cruising. She has stared letting go of things in an attempt to stand. Good thing she doesn't mind falling.
At this age, Abdullah was cruising while drinking from his bottle. KC still hasn't gotten the hang of bottle holding although I wonder if perhaps she's using her frailty as an excuse to make sure that she gets as much undivided attention as she can.
Her favorite pastime is making stuff louder than it needs to be. Most of the time, she can make enough noise on her own to satisfy this new noise craving. When that's not enough, she enjoys banging her hands and toys against things as hard as she can.
At 2 and a half, Abdullah can do anything you can do better. I know this because when he's offered assistance, he responds with "mouh bahk!" Usually, half way through this statement he remembers that there are people much bigger than him in the world who will take away his knife and banana and who have no qualms about leaving him in tears so he adds a gentle "pleeease" at the end.
We've added a few more activities to his repertoire. He made his first sandwich and his first batch of playdough. I made a few more activities for his cabinet including a color sorting box. He did sort the colors one time, but he finished it off by throwing in a few mismatches. He told me they were hot so all I can guess is that he wanted the red paper to burn the others and end the torture of boredom that he was being subjected to. He's also been big into making pretend food lately, so he may have just been "cooking" the whole time. Since this attempt, he's shown no interest in color sorting.
Abdullah is also becoming calmer in using the computer. He seems to have finally put together that the mouse and the cursor are related and that the more he sits still, the more stuff he gets to touch. While I learned about the power of the Internet in middle school, Abdullah already understands that the world is at his fingertips when he has the mouse in his hands. His favorite things to ask for at the computer are ducks and babies. I don't know how long he'll look at pictures of ducks and babies on the Internet since I'm usually the one who has to stop the activity.
At this age, Abdullah was cruising while drinking from his bottle. KC still hasn't gotten the hang of bottle holding although I wonder if perhaps she's using her frailty as an excuse to make sure that she gets as much undivided attention as she can.
Her favorite pastime is making stuff louder than it needs to be. Most of the time, she can make enough noise on her own to satisfy this new noise craving. When that's not enough, she enjoys banging her hands and toys against things as hard as she can.
At 2 and a half, Abdullah can do anything you can do better. I know this because when he's offered assistance, he responds with "mouh bahk!" Usually, half way through this statement he remembers that there are people much bigger than him in the world who will take away his knife and banana and who have no qualms about leaving him in tears so he adds a gentle "pleeease" at the end.
We've added a few more activities to his repertoire. He made his first sandwich and his first batch of playdough. I made a few more activities for his cabinet including a color sorting box. He did sort the colors one time, but he finished it off by throwing in a few mismatches. He told me they were hot so all I can guess is that he wanted the red paper to burn the others and end the torture of boredom that he was being subjected to. He's also been big into making pretend food lately, so he may have just been "cooking" the whole time. Since this attempt, he's shown no interest in color sorting.
Abdullah is also becoming calmer in using the computer. He seems to have finally put together that the mouse and the cursor are related and that the more he sits still, the more stuff he gets to touch. While I learned about the power of the Internet in middle school, Abdullah already understands that the world is at his fingertips when he has the mouse in his hands. His favorite things to ask for at the computer are ducks and babies. I don't know how long he'll look at pictures of ducks and babies on the Internet since I'm usually the one who has to stop the activity.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Activity Time
There were a few take aways from the book that I felt were practical for me and beneficial for Abdullah were. One of the main ideas for me was that toddlers need stuff to do. You can choose the stuff or they will choose the stuff and it probably wont be stuff that you want them to do.
1) The shelf: Since there was only space on the changing table (i.e. the everything table) in their room, that's been converted into a two tier shelf with his clothes on the top and 3 play options on the bottom. Right now, he's only got his toys and two box objects.
2) The
3) Activity turn over: We don't have much space for toys and many of the toys Abdullah has aren't really ones that can occupy his attention for long periods of time. In the world of toddler activities,
This week, in addition to his toys, I made some box objects for the independent play shelf.
The first is an object permanence box, which was meant for KC. Ball goes in the hole. Ball comes out. The second was an extension on that. I call it the Go Get the Mail box. Fold up the papers, put them in the slot, they don't come out, you go get them. There's a small opening in the bottom so you have to reach pretty far to get the things out.
Abdullah rather enjoyed pushing, pulling, and fishing. Part of me keeps waiting for him to be like, really mom? But so far so entertained.
After about 20 minutes he decided his box was too slow and commandeered KC's which has a ramp for the ball and proceeded to experiment with seeing how balls, tops, and other random things he could find would come down the ramp. During his 2nd play time, he decided he needed "in." I don't know what's with him and going in places, but I'll be sure to make his box objects big enough to get in or small enough that he wont think to go in them (although he enjoys standing in shoe boxes).
4) Life Skills: To be honest, Abdullah has been all about life skills activities since they involve moving. Since these kinds of things were mentioned in the book, I thought I'd mention them here. Recently, we put hooks in since Abdullah frantically looks around after showers and trips to try to find where he should put his things since he can't reach up in the closets.
5) Arts and Crafts: I'm laughing to myself writing this because somewhere someone is putting out the idea that toddlers can do arts and crafts in the sense that we think of school aged kids doing arts and crafts. I've been perusing some pins lately and am confident that 99% of toddler arts and crafts basically consist of adults making an object and then letting a toddler ruin it decorate it with love.
This is Abdullah's first creation. I call it "Thank You for Letting Me Play with Scissors." Abdullah's face on realizing that he was actually cutting things with scissors was nothing short of joy. He must have been watching and plotting for awhile because I didn't even think he'd know what they were. He immediately picked them up and proceeded to stab the paper with them making his confused face since things weren't immediately turning to shreds. Btw, Abdullah failed this assignment. As you can see, he definitely failed to place the correct number of objects in each column. He also doesn't seem to understand that you leave the glued pieces on, hence debris look. It's post modern.
This was a good attention span activity since Abdullah worked on this for about a half an hour and didn't want to stop using the scissors. He only got up twice.
After reading toddler activity blogs, I've also come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to start collecting more trash. Kareem threw out a perfectly good egg carton that I had my eye on. Sad day. Maashaa Allaah.
Whole Wheat Pitas and Spinach Fritters
Sounds like some toddler torture device, but Abdullah loved them.
Pitas were a basic recipe, but the one I used specifically came from Emeril. Oddly enough, I could only find spinach fritters by Rachael Ray. I feel so commercial.
Abdullah couldn't figure out what the fritters were so he kept swapping out cookies and bread while he sat asking for them repeatedly as I was frying them. Who am I to correct him?
Pitas were a basic recipe, but the one I used specifically came from Emeril. Oddly enough, I could only find spinach fritters by Rachael Ray. I feel so commercial.
Abdullah couldn't figure out what the fritters were so he kept swapping out cookies and bread while he sat asking for them repeatedly as I was frying them. Who am I to correct him?
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