I said they did not.
"No, they DO. They DO in 'STRALIA!"
I said that they don't have much ice in Australia but they have scorpions.
"Are they THIS BIG?" he wondered, holding his arms out to their widest extent.
"No, they are only tiny." I showed him with my fingers.
"No, in 'STRALIA they are this big, " he assured me.
"I am glad they aren't that big because they have stings. If you see one at Granny's you must tell me."
"I must go to Granny's house if I see a scorpion?"
"No, if you see one AT granny's you must tell her."
"I must go to Granny's house" he concluded.
This is typical of the circuitous and strange conversations we have thesedays.
Cherries
Wren and I are playing a game in which you turn a spinner and pick the corresponding number of plastic cherries from a tree on the board and put them in your basket. Some spins will make you lose cherries because a dog upsets your basket or birds steal them.
Wren doesn't like these rules.
If he gets cherries consistently he gets frustrated. He wants to lose cherries sometimes and insists on putting some back. The goal of the game is to pick all the cherries but if Wren's tree becomes bare he quickly tips some back from his basket. This way, the game never ends. Eventually, he says "lets do something else".
I wonder when kids become "rule conscious" and what the means, developmentally.
Letters
Wren has started to become aware of letters and writing. He writes his name on drawings as a series of dashes and scrawls. When he sees the big W Huskies sign he shouts "THERE IS MY NAME!" or "THERE IS DOUBLE YOU!!" He also yells this when he sees M's or W's in words on buildings or signs outside places such as the dentist. He tries to draw W's but by mistake his hand keeps going up and down to make a pattern of jagged waves rather than just a W. This is very frustrating to Wren and he shouts and complains that it is not right.
He also recognizes a few other letters (like O and S and V) but none others consistently. I am not sure whether I should teach them to him.
The Five Love Languages (of Children)
Last night at preschool parent meeting we were told about the 5 love languages. This is a pop psych theory that says we all have a preference to one of five modes of expressing and receiving love. This morning I gave Frost the survey for older kids to see what his dominant love language is.
Not surprisingly, his is GIFTS.
He said that the ones that made him feel most happy and special were when his parents give him a surprise gift and when he likes people he likes to give them money and things. I asked him whether that is just because he likes more stuff? "No, no" he said. I like to make my friends happy like that and even if its a little thing, like one D&D miniature, I really like getting a present. He gave more examples, and I believe him.
So, to show Frost you love him - send him a surprise present in the mail!
Here are his scores:
Physical touch: hugs, kisses, high fives: 1
Words of affirmation: telling him he is special: 3
Acts of service: Liking people doing nice things for them and helping them. 3
Quality time: Doing things with him, hanging out. 5
Gifts: Feeling good when they receive a special present or surprise 7
Quality time is a fairly close second which also makes sense. Frost interpreted a few of the quality time questions as 'gifts' because they involved doing something with him that was a gift. Time is a gift.
Me? I like acts of service and GIFTS! Surprising gifts are the best.
