Working with Tangrams

The other day we were at our favorite educational toy store, Constructive Playthings/U.S. Toy, and I found a set of tangrams that I bought for Nicholas to try. They are just geometric shapes that the child fits into patterns on a card. Sounds simple but I think it is a great workout for the brain. The box calls them "geometric brain builders" and says that they wire kids brains for important problem-solving.

I wasn't sure if Nicholas would get excited about tangrams or not. However, with his recent interest in puzzles I thought it was worth a shot. He was so excited when he saw the box that he didn't even want to wait for me to open it and read the directions. He started working on them right away and made it up to level 3 without a problem.



At one point, I read the card which said that the shapes would make a rhomboid. He said, "That's not a rhomboid! I'll show you what that shape is." Then he ran off and came back with a shape puzzle that Grandmother Chance had given him when he was one year old. He pulled out the parallelogram and put it next to the rhomboid and said they matched.

Goodbye Pink

Nicholas was too busy this morning playing pirate to get dressed. I picked out some clothes for him and asked him to hurry up and get dressed because we were meeting our friends at Studio Movie Grill to watch Pippi Longstocking. Nicholas quickly put on the shorts then he paused and asked, "Have I worn this shirt before? It's pink. I don't want to wear a pink shirt. I can't wear that! I would silly in a girl color! I can wear a shirt that is red, or green, or blue, or brown, or striped, but NOT PINK!"



Granted, I would not have picked out and purchased a pink shirt for him. A friend gave it to him. I think it is a nice shirt and not feminine looking. He's worn it in the past without complaints but I guess my little pirate is more concerned about what he wears now. I guess the brown shirt does look a little better on this scary pirate.

Working on a Puzzle

Nicholas has had many puzzles since he was 2 years old. However, he hasn't had much interest in working them until recently. He would get frustrated when he couldn't figure it out and just want to quit. But recently he has become more patient and will keep trying until he gets it. Today we worked on a giant floor puzzle of construction vehicles. I gave him some direction about placing the corners and outline first and then filling in the center. I gave a few clues along the way when he was struggling to place a piece but for the most part he worked the puzzle by himself.



Nicholas was very proud when he finished the puzzle. He was impressed with how big the the picture ended up being but he had to point out that he was still bigger than the puzzle as he lay across it.

Walk A Little Slower, Daddy

Tonight Nicholas was following Stuart somewhere in the house but he was having a hard time keeping up with him. Nicholas said, "Walk a little slower Daddy. Remember what the Father's Day card said."

I neglected to mention this on the entry for Father's Day this year but Nicholas made a cute Father's Day card for Stuart at his school. It included the following poem which we read aloud on Father's Day but haven't mentioned it since then.

"Walk a Little slower, Daddy." said a little child so small.
I'm following in your footsteps and I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast, sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower Daddy, for you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up, You're what I want to be.
Then I will have a little child who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right, and know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy, for I must follow you!!

~author unknown

I'm always in awe of how well Nicholas remembers things and then applies them so appropriately in real life situations.

An Angel for His Little Sister

A few months ago, we had some problems with Nicholas going to bed at night because he was afraid. We tried everything. He has a night light on during the night. We explained that Daddy and Mommy wouldn't let anything happen to him and that Jesus was watching over him all the time. Out of desperation, I offered to give him a little angel figurine that I was given a long time ago. I told him that the angel would watch over him and keep him safe. He liked this idea so the angel now sits on top of his bookcase at the foot of his bed and looks down on him throughout the night.

Recently, Nicholas said that he wanted to be sure that we got an angel for his little sister's room. It was such a touching idea that I decided to take him shopping to pick out the angel himself. Amazingly, the next day I saw a posting on Freecycle where someone just down the street from us was wanting to give away 8 angel figurines for free. I contacted the lady and explained that we were interested but only needed one angel. She let us come to her house and she pulled out each angel for Nicholas to see. I saw one that was so sweet and was mostly pale pink and pale green which would match the colors of the nursery beautifully. But this was Nicholas choice so I bit my tongue so I wouldn't influence his decision. He picked a rather large one that plays music. The colors are a brighter than I would have liked but they are actually pink and green like the nursery. The angel is holding a scroll that reads, "Praise the Lord!"

A Picnic for you...No, I changed my mind...

This afternoon Nicholas decided that he wanted a snack and went to the kitchen to see what he could find. He came back with two little plates and two cups of orange juice. On the plates were some crackers and cheddar cheese that he had sliced himself with a butter knife. He said that he wanted us to have a picnic together. So sweet! I hadn't even asked for anything but he was so thoughtful to have brought a snack for me too.



Before I had a chance to take a bite, my cell phone rang. It was Daddy calling to say that he was on his way home from work (he only works half days on Fridays). As soon as Nicholas realized that Daddy was on his way home, he said, "This picnic food is not for you. I'm saving it for Daddy. You can get your own."

What?!

Rescue Heroes

This morning, Nicholas decided to pull out all of his Rescue Hero vehicles and line them up on the table. He has quite a few and about twice as many of the actual hero figures. He then directed me to tell a story in which the Rescue Heroes are called to duty. Every day we create tons of stories that we act out either as ourselves or through his many toys.