the world according to Kate

Her world includes ...... a bowl of oatmeal today that was actually full of candy. The candies were in the form of "stripes" she had smoothed with her spoon. After each bite of this candy, it was imperative you smooth the oatmeal again, and redraw the stripes. (even mom had to do this). The really imaginative bit about the candy was that it could change color using a special button on the side of the bowl.........

and also...

...... a stuffed bear in her stroller she called a dog. This dog has a lovey and loves to shop at Kid to Kid. You want to know why? Because THIS doggy loves to try on shoes. Ahhh. I informed her that most dogs really just like to chew and slobber on shoes. Well, not THIS doggy. He definitely likes to try them on. (Guess who this doggy sounds like?) Lots of good laughs throughout the conversation.

More and more these days she is making me laugh out loud. She loves to do it, too, then she gets to do her truly favorite thing: laugh WITH me.

Can you tell that she has an imagination? What really gets me are the things she imagines that are so far out of the routine or even something she would see in a book. She really presses me to use my imagination, too. Typically question at bedtime: Mom, can you tell me a story? It used to stop there. Now it's: I want a story about Emma & Kate. When they go to their gramma's house for 5 days. But you have to start at Emma's house. My once upon a time's don't even stand a chance!

We are also doing a bit of preschool several times a week at home. She's learning to color, learning to write her capital letters, and most every school day involves working on a memory verse and reading a Bible story or the Bible. She especially loves her memory verses because we memorize them as songs using Songs for Saplings: ABC Scriptures. When I first got it, I found the cd to be a bit much to listen to all at once, but it has been really wonderful as a teaching tool. We also do Spanish or math sometimes, too.

I'm also reading chapter books aloud to her, listening to books on CD sometimes, and listening to 'Ventures in Odyssey. We've solved my quandary: How can I do my favorite thing of reading while eating lunch with children? :-) Kate loves to listen even though I'm quite unsure how much she absorbs of the stories; they are definitely meant for older children. We have finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on cd, Little House in the Big Woods and are working on the next in the series.

Baths have gone from being bad to good, and she has even enjoyed a few showers. Her shyness is gradually decreasing. She got to go to a grown-up party recently and well in responding to people's greetings and being polite. Also, a big difference can be seen during Sunday School. Even though she liked the idea of S.S., sometimes it was a struggle to drop her off. These days she loves it and does well listening & responding to questions (this we get from her teacher). That is so encouraging to me! She still doesn't enjoy tomatoes, but most everything else (including pickles, olives, and cucumbers) is on her good list. She drinks without a top on her cups and usually gets it on her own, too. She can also bring her laundry basket downstairs to the laundry room. Now, if I could get her to wash the dishes, I think I'll be in business.

More and more, she finds funny ways to play with her little sister. She loves to lead her, keep her safe, interpret her, and have fun with her. Sometimes she is protective of her things because she doesn't want sister to interfere with her dolly, her clothes, her toys, etc, but most of the time they get along well. I cannot wait until they are both playing pretend together!