I had paints ready for her that day, and there certainly wasn't any need to eat breakfast BEFORE doing the sticker exercise that I always leave on the little table in my office for her, so I suggested that dad just leave her when she chose to do the sticker exercise before breakfast. That was about a week ago and I think she's done the sticker exercise every day since before choosing to eat.
Painting is a great way to "expel the demons", and I suspect the famous painters of old had their share of demons to expel.
I didn't even bother to don her paint smock -- this new paint washes out readily anyway --- and I pulled a chair over so she could sit while painting. When she was done painting (using both brush and hands) the demons had been expelled and she was once again happy and (what most of us notice more) compliant. We had more fun together that day than usual.
Tomorrow is another painting day. I try to fit one in each week even with the added time-waste of a Mickey Mouse video. I also try and fit in a bath play period once/week because we have a huge bathroom tub in our master bathroom that we never use.
Until now, we'd been adhering to recommendations that children under two years old watch zero TV/videos. Somehow she learned of Mickey Mouse, though, so I started searching out free MM club videos.
Local weather has been pretty spring-like lately, so we've been taking walks each time she's here, as well. Last Friday we had magnets I'd ordered, so I tied two of them to pencils and we "fished" for objects on our walk. She caught a pretty big screw.
3 comments:
None of my kids, with the exception of Josie, ever did much for the terrible twos but, boy, did they ever make up for it with the terrifying threes. Josie, breaking from family tradition, has been very, very, oh-so-very stereotypically two.
May the Schwartz be with you through The Astrid Years.
I love your descriptions of your days with Astrid. You have a very calm, centered, matter-of-fact tone that's neat to read and I'll bet Astrid really enjoys being with you.
I love the idea of fishing with magnets!
Terrifying threes? Astrid is a very nice person. Her mother (my first born) was very similar as a child. She wasn't generally as active as my second born girl, who had more the energy of a boy, I thought ... until I had a boy. Now that I think of it, the birth order of my kids along with their personalities allowed me to gradually grow into parenthood. I had a mother's helper who told her mother, "NOTHING bothers this woman!"
Anyway, I'm really enjoying this grandparenting gig and still surprised at that. I just never thought I was the grandmother type.
Issa: I loved the idea of fishing with magnets, too, until I realized that Astrid hasn't had an introduction to fishing for fish. Then again, she made a monochromatic painting on Monday without having been introduced to that concept, either. Maybe it makes no difference if the concept comes before the experience. The concept can come FROM the experience. There's some deep philosophical shit going on here. :-)
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