The More We Get Together, the Happier We'll Be

After what can only be described as a frigid winter (3 ice/snow days with actual ice/snow!!!), we are happy for longer days and sunshine!  I can finally quit having the same argument with Pumpkin every single morning before school ("Can I wear a dress today?", "No, it's too cold," "What if I wear tights?", "No, it's too cold," "What if I wear a jacket?," "No, it's too cold, maybe next week," "What if I wear boots?" "Fine, but it has to be a long sleeve dress," "But I'm wearing a jacket...")

I've said it before and I'll say it again (but only here, where she can't hear me), there are times (many times) when I feel truly out-smarted by her. She is only 3. I have the advantages of vocabulary and literacy now, but sometimes I wonder what I will do when we are on more even ground (like, when she learns to read next year). A perfect example of her outsmarting me came as I was preparing to implement my latest and greatest parenting idea - Tot School.

This idea started after I noticed that my sweet little, laid back Bug was getting a little, er, shall we say, spoiled?  Unlike her sister, Bug isn't too interested in having long drawn out conversations (or talking at all for that matter); she wants what she wants, when she wants it, and that's it. Simple enough. The problem is multifaceted. First, most of the time I'm not entirely sure what she wants and she has no patience for that. Our dear sweet sitter taught her to do baby sign language to alleviate that problem. Bug picked it up like a pro and it honestly did help - at first.

Now, I will preface this by admitting I've always been skeptical of the baby sign language. I mean, we have to teach them to speak anyway, so why add an extra step in there that they are never going to use in real life. Setting that aside, we all learned some very basic signs and it came in very handy for the months between 9 and 12. I knew when she was "all done" or wanted "more" or to "eat." We all shook our hands in the air at the end of dinner like we were at a revival and there were, honestly, a lot less tears (both from Bug and myself).

However, at the ripe old age of 16-months I am certain that Bug gave me the baby sign language middle finger. It all started with the sign for "please."  It's harmless enough - rub your bent hands up and down your torso like suspenders - "please." Simple and polite enough. Unfortunately, about this time I started making Bug "use her words" to tell me what she wanted. She would grunt and point at a cup and I'd say "cup, cup, c-c-c-cup" and point to my mouth and hers. Instead of even attempting the word, she would sign "please."  I'd continue like a broken record, "cup, cup, c-c-c-up" and she'd start signing faster and faster up and down her chest.  As she was furiously "pleasing" her eyes would narrow into a slit that told me right where I could go if I didn't hand over the "cup, cup, c-c-cup." The baby middle finger.

Right then and there I decided Bug needed some structure and education in her life and I embarked on a Google/Pinterest hunt for help. I was very proud of the hodge-podge of curriculum and resources I pieced together to start her doing a Tot School program at home. I set up an area of the playroom to be her classroom, I made worksheets, progress reports, lesson plans, and learning centers. We were set to kick if off Monday morning with the theme "1 Red Apple." As Pumpkin was helping me carry apples up to the "classroom" she wondered aloud "why [Bug] was learning about A because [she] didn't learn letters first...Miss Angela (her 2 year old teacher) said they were going to learn colors and shapes and numbers before they learn letters and Miss Ashley (her 3 year old teacher) is the one who taught her letters so [Bug] should probably not be starting with letters, she should probably do shapes first."

I stopped mid-stair. Of course she should learn shapes and colors and numbers first. Did I really think this 17-month old kid was ready to bust out phonetics?  Why didn't I consult Pumpkin as my curriculum coordinator, rather than Google?  I had to make some last minute changes to my meticulous lesson plan to make it about red circles.

And she doesn't just have my life figured out; she has also made the announcement that she will be marrying her classmate (we will call him Cutie) and they will be living in New Orleans and having babies once they are married and grownups.

The problem with a smart kid is you can't pacify them with easy answers. She started soccer last week and we have been trying to convince her not to use her hands. We keep telling her you don't touch the ball in soccer and finally, in a moment of frustration she picks the ball up and looks at me like she's 25 and says "mom, someone HAS to be able to touch the ball or you couldn't get it on the field." Touché. Luckily I was able to one-up her by explaining that person is called the "goalie" and also happens to be the one who has the ball kicked at her head. I won that argument (1 for me and I lost score for her).

While I'm bragging, I might as well go so far as to confess she isn't just brilliant, but also wise beyond her years. Every time we go anywhere in the car (and I do mean EVERY TIME), we sing from one of her "church" CDs. One particular song - "The More We Get Together" - is one we repeat often and Pumpkin informed me the other day that she liked that song because it reminds her of her family that doesn't live with her and how it makes her happy to get together with them. I'd say in that one statement, the kid has it all figured out. Now, if she could only teach her sister to speak!