My Baby Can Read!

Ty Reading from Kate Rober on Vimeo.

I had to share this clip of Ty reading. We just got this book from the library, so the book is not memorized. Apparently the kid is hooked on phonics. He just decided he wanted to learn how to read, and he did. It's pretty amazing to hear him go. I forget that my 4 year old can read until he starts reading through the cards at the grocery store labeled "Humorous" (and they should be labeled "adult") and I start trying to distract him with the "soundy" cards (as he calls the cards that make noise).

I love how in this clip he gets distracted by the pictures and says "It" about twenty times before he resumes reading.

LOST

I'm a fan.

Loved the finale (even though it was two and a half hours long).

Man vs. Man

Yesterday, I learned just what kids are capable if you give them an opportunity to learn.
One of them made the comment at lunch that there is always a bad in movies. Another little smarty-pants refuted this with, "Not in 'Fisher-Price Little People'".

I couldn't help myself. I introduced them to the literary conflicts of Man vs. Man, Man vs. Himself and Man vs. Nature. I gave simple examples of each one, and they really seemed to get it.
At one point I tried to give the example of an inner conflict. "Imagine if you have to decide to go to the park or go to a party. This is Man against Himself."

"That's not much of a conflict, Mom!" Ashlynn was quick to reply.

Then once they all got it, they started going through movies and books that they liked and siting examples of each type of conflict.

I was very impressed. I think we don't give children enough credit. I think if you tech them what ubiquitous means and use occasionally, they will understand.

YSA

How do you know when you are raising your children in the LDS culture?

When they come home from school and say, "Mom. We had a substitute today. She was a Young Single Adult."

Ty Has An Announcement!

Ty asked me to type this on the typewriter. Then he asked me to send it to someone. You better hope you are not the lucky recipient...

In other news, I found a great way to keep the kids crayons and pencils from rolling off the pew at church and through the crack in the back. I got this little bucket from IKEA. Everything was so neat and tidy, and the kids actually colored and kept busy!

Ninja

Ty, like most kids his age, thinks the whole house is his canvas when it comes to coloring. The other day I found a little plastic hippo in which he had colored black with a permanent marker. When I asked him about it he said, "Oh. I was making him a ninja."

Of course.

His preschool teacher was also pleased because he shared some things she had taught him through practical applications at home:

1. While watching vintage episodes of The Mario Bros. show, a character shouted to a turtle, "Hey! You reptile!" To which Ty responded, very miffed, "Turtles aren't reptiles! They are amphibians!" (Manny on Modern Family last night referred to his turtle, Shell Turtlestein, as a reptile. I think this is a common misconception. But Manny and Gloria remain two of my favorite characters!)

2. As I was making some pasta, I poured it into the strainer as Ty watched all of the steam escape into the air. He pointed out very matter of factly, "That's eeeeevaporation. Yea. Evaporation."

Watch what you say around this kid.

Camera Roll:part 5

Briggs and Ashlynn playing chess before school. Briggs knows how to play, Ashlynn doesn't really, which leads to interesting conversations.

This was the breakfast Ty woke me up with on Mother's Day morning. That would be an old package of cheese crackers, Knott's shortbread cookies, an opened bag of rice cakes and a raw egg. When I told him I couldn't eat the egg right away he said, "Yes you can. You just peel it!" and he used his little chipmunk hands to mimic how you peel an egg.

That's gum on the wall... way out of reach of anybody in this house, but conveniently right across the stairwell from where Ty was "fishing" earlier...

Mom! Take my picture! (in the craft store)

At the dentist getting a flouride treatment and picking out a prize.

"Kate. Can you go to the hardware store and get a piece for the sprinklers?"
"Sure. What does it look like?"
"It's a female/female connector."
"Sure. What does it LOOK like?"
"It's black in the center with blue rings on the end."
"Is this the right piece?"
"Yep."

I love these iphones!