Learning to honor Ian’s emotions

I think our move has affected Ian more than usual. Usually changes impact Ian’s sleep (or better said, worsen it, because he is a bad sleeper). This time our moving has made him quite bad tempered. Ian is an active child but now he seems hyperactively. His attention span has decreased, he’s been disobedient, reacting very badly when I call him to order: throwing things, kicking and hitting. I don’t know if it’s just the “terrible two’s” or if our relocation has exacerbated it.

At times I forget that he does not have an appropriate vehicle of self-expression and I was punishing him with time-outs, getting caught up in power struggles. Even when those punishments made Ian calmer, they made me feel sad. So, I’ve been trying to identify and acknowledge the feeling behind Ian’s behavior and I came to the conclusion that he is very upset because with the move he has not received much attention from all us and of course we are imposing too many changes in a short time.

Now I am trying to be more empathetic to Ian’s feelings. It is taking lots of self-control from myself and I know I will need much more along with experimentation and practice. I also decided to slow down arranging our stuff in the house to spend more and better time with him. That made Ian peaceful and more willing to do some learning activities. Here is a review of them:

Cookie cutter silhouette matching. I traced the silhouette of some cookie cutters in a paper to let Ian match them with the cutters. This activity was an easy one for him and he enjoyed more sticking adhesive tape along the border of the paper. He is very much into cutting the tape by himself and sometimes he gets it.

Sorting the cutlery. As a first exercise I gave Ian spoons and forks to sort and he had no problem. Later, I let him try the spoons, forks and knives (no sharp ones of course). He sorted them pretty well. For both exercises we used two sizes of forks and spoons, but I didn’t show Ian how to separate the sizes and he didn’t discriminate between them. Next time, I will ask him to attempt to sort them by size.
 

 
Sorting flowers by color in spice bottles. The first time I set up this activity was six weeks ago and Ian was unable to do it, he was not interested in trying more. Now, the sorting is the easier part and he needs more concentration to insert the stems into the holes of the spice bottles. Once more, everything in its time.
 

 
Puzzles. Ian has been working with these four-pieces puzzles for long time and each time he needs less help from me to complete them. When he finishes, he likes to put them in a row, admires his work and calls out the names of the figures.
 
 

 
Floats and sink. Ian has been playing a lot with water lately and one of the things that catches his attention is putting different objects into water, pushing them down and observing what happens. He did this by himself. So I decided to prepare some extensions.

For the first experiment we used leaves and very small pebbles. Ian floated a leaf and tried to put as many pebbles on as possible until the leaf sinks under the weight.

He worked patiently putting the pebbles on the leaves for a while. Then he decided to rush the experiment and dropped all the pebbles from the container.
 

 
And here is a photo showing how our science session finished (lol)
 

 
For our second experiment I prepared two “boats”, one with cork and the other with a piece of Styrofoam; for both I made the sail with a leaf on a pin. I put the “boats” on the water with the idea of just letting it float for a while and then show Ian how to blow it with his mouth. But Ian wanted to continue the previous experiment and in one second flat he disarmed my boats. So I gave him different objects for a free experience.
 

 
By the way, the first time I attempted this activity was when we just started Montessori at home and I still thought Ian would follow the lesson. I took my time to prepare everything including the cards with labels “sink” and “float” following strictly the instructions of an album. I invited my little piggy for an “exciting activity” :-) and as soon as he saw the materials, he put all the objects in the bowl with water including the cards :-) ; he didn’t even observe his “work” and left the room immediately. I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry … but, I laughed heartily.
 
Peeling beans. Ian loves to peel shells and I love to observe him while he does this. He is very focused and ordered. Well, last week, he peeled beans. I broke a bit of the outer pod and he split it open and extracted the individual beans. When he finished, he was not done yet! He also peeled the skin off the beans. If you like beans, I recommend let your children try this activity. It is an excellent exercise to improve fine motor skills, concentration and order.
 

Ian also loves to separate and wash the florets of broccoli. I did some superficial cuts to make it easier for Ian who has to use a bit of strengh to get the florets.

The last things that we moved to our new home were the flowerpots and Ian was so happy to have them again because he really enjoys taking care of the plants.

And challenging his balance

Let's Wiggle / Bailemos

As I told you in the previous post, Ian is having so much fun dancing. He is exploring the ability and function of his own body. He suddenly has become very active, wanting to move around and explore whenever he get the opportunity. And dancing is doubtlessly advantageous, and for toddlers, it also helps them to learn more about how they can move their bodies and exercise different parts.
The music/song of the following video is part of the The Wiggles's CD Let's Wiggle. Ian loves The Wiggles music. Their lyrics and choreographies are simple and very fun, which is perfect for young children.

Como les conté en el post anterior, Ian se está divirtiendo muchísimo bailando. El está explorando las habilidades y funcionamiento de su propio cuerpo. De repente, el se ha vuelto muy activo, se mueve de un lado a otro constantemente, explorando cada vez que tiene una oportunidad. Y bailar es sin lugar a dudas beneficioso, y para los niños pequeños, esto también les ayuda a aprender sobre cómo pueden mover sus propios cuerpos y ejercitar las diferentes partes del mismo.
La musica del siguiente video es parte del CD Let's Wiggle de The Wiggles. A Ian le encanta la musica de este grupo. Sus letras y coreografías son simples y muy divertidas, lo cual es perfecto para niños pequeños.

Walking around the neighborhood / De paseo por el barrio

As a prelude to the rainy season we have had some cloudy days. Early in the morning temperature has been lower than normal. Later, the temperature can reach 35 degrees more or less. So we have taken advantage for a early walk around the neighborhood.

Como antesala a la temporada de lluvias hemos tenidos algunos días nublados. Temprano por la mañana la temperatura ha estado más baja de lo normal. Después, con el correr de las horas la temperatura puede llegar a 35 grados más o menos. Así que hemos aprovechado para salir a caminar temprano por el barrio.

During our leisurely walks, we found a neighbor who has some cows, horses and chickens in house (which is usual in this village). Ian loves to stop there to observe, call and, to my surprise, to count them.

En nuestro recorrido, encontramos un vecino que tiene algunos vacas, caballos y gallinas en casa (lo cual es usual en este pueblo). A Ian le encanta detenerse ahí para observarlos, y para mi sorpresa, para contarlos.

Elections will be soon, so there are many political slogans painted on the walls. Ian paid attention to the big letters and stopped to observe every one. I believe that he thought they were numbers, because he began to point some letters and mention some numbers.

El país está en campaña electoral así que hay muchas propagandas pintadas en las paredes. A Ian le llamó la atención ver letras tan grandes, se detuvo a observarlas una por una y creo que pensaba que eran números, porque empezó a apuntar algunas letras y mencionar algunos números que se les parecían.

Another thing Ian liked was walking across each narrow structure he found.

Otra cosa que le gusta a Ian es aprovechar cada estructura para hacer equilibrio.

Gross Motor Milestones / Hitos de motricidad gruesa

I usually plan Montessori lessons on the weekends. I put away activities and toys that were not interesting or went beyond Ian’s skills and also those he has already mastered. I review his current interests and achievements and then vary the activities he likes and set up new ones.

Normalmente los fines de semana son de planificación para mí. Retiro las actividades y juguetes que no fueron del interés de Ian y también las que ya ha dominado. Recuerdo las cosas que le interesaron y sus logros para incluir variaciones a algunas actividades o crear nuevas.

But, at the beginning of last week, I had just one thing clear: I should involve Ian in the housework again; so, we started our week without any activity on his shelf.

La semana pasada sólo tenía claro que debía involucrar nuevamente a Ian en tareas de la casa; así que empezamos sin ninguna actividad en su estante.

Quickly, Ian learned the sequence of activities to wash his hands. In the middle of the week, he started to do  it at his own initiative, over and over again, and now, he only needs help to dry his hands. The routines to serve his own milk and snacks were also learned fast and, at the moment, I am just assisting him to screw the bottle lids.

Rápidamente Ian aprendió la secuencia de actividades que le enseñe para lavarse las manos. Ahora se las lava por iniciativa propia, una y otra vez y sólo necesita ayuda para secarse. Las rutinas para servirse la leche y su merienda también las aprendió rápido y sólo necesita mi ayuda para tapar las botellas.

After two days, he lost interest in carrying his dirty clothes to the laundry or, better said, he found other activities more interesting or challenging rather than expend his energy, literally.
Ian was very concentrated on controlling his body and now we are celebrating the achievement of three milestones in his gross motor development: he jumped on both feet, caught a ball and did a summersault.

Después de dos días perdió interés en llevar su ropa sucia a la lavandería o, mejor dicho, encontró otras actividades más interesantes o desafiantes en que gastar su energía, literalmente. Ian estuvo muy concentrado en controlar su cuerpo y ahora estamos celebrando el logro de tres hitos en su desarrollo motor grueso: saltó hacia arriba con dos pies juntos, atrapó una pelota e hizo una voltereta por sí solo.

Last week had plenty of physical activities: Ian and I had so much fun running, rolling and crawling along the house, rolling forward and backwards upon balls and stretching together while singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”.

Ha sido una semana de mucha actividad física: hemos corrido, rodado y gateado por toda la casa, rodado sobre pelotas y disfrutado estirándonos juntos mientras cantamos “Row Row Your Boat” (Rema, rema tu bote).

What I have learned this week is:

• It is very important that Ian does each motor activity at his own initiative,
• My task is to motivate him with music and songs for example
• And especially, participating actively in his games:  hopping, running, crawling, etc.

Como dice la profesora de niños de dos años July Castillo (a quien agradezco por su orientación), lo importante que es que cada actividad motora que Ian haga sea por iniciativa propia, que mi tarea es motivarlo con música y canciones por ejemplo y, sobretodo que me vea saltar, correr, gatear, es decir involucrandome en su juego, siendo una niña más.

The gymnast workout / Entrenamiento del gimnasta

Following our morning routine, yesterday we went to the backyard to perform some gross motor activities.
First we ran everywhere. Ian likes to lead this activity, saying “go” and “stop”.
Then I showed Ian how to roll the ball to knock over some wooden toy men; he did not want to try, however he just enjoys setting our bowling pins and when I missed, he knocked them over with his hands, laughing a lot.
After that we tried to get Ian to catch the ball, but he needs more practice. I think he now understands what “catch” means, and now Aunty Kathy can help me with the demonstration.
After that, I remembered that we have a lot of wood off-cuts, so I used three of them and two stools to set balance beams with two ramps to ascend and descend from the beam. It was a tremendous success. He repeated the exercise many times, walking with a lot of concentration (with my help), and every time he completed a pass he clapped himself with great satisfaction, before doing it again.

Siguiendo nuestra rutina de las mañanas, ayer salimos al patio de nuestra casa para realizar algunas actividades de motricidad gruesa.
Primero, corrimos por todos lados. A Ian le gusta conducir esta actividad, diciendo “go!” y “stop!”.
Luego le mostré a Ian cómo rodar la pelota para derribar unos soldaditos de madera, aunque él no lo quiso intentarlo, disfrutó parando los soldaditos, derribándolos con sus manos cuando yo fallaba o simplemente viéndome.
También intentamos que Ian atrapara la pelota, pero el aun necesita más práctica en esto. Creo que ahora que tía Kathy puede ayudarme con la demostración, recién está entendiendo qué significa atrapar la pelota.
Finalmente, me acordé que tenemos mucho de tablas de madera, así que, usando sus banquitos, improvise una viga de equilibrio con dos planos inclinados para subir y bajar de la viga. Fue todo un éxito. Ian repitió el ejercicio varias veces, caminó muy concentrado (con mi ayuda), y cada vez que completaba el tramo, él mismo se aplaudía, muy feliz, y partía de nuevo.