pre-first day update

Leona. 4 years 4 months and 19 days old. Tomorrow is her first day in kindergarten, and she oscillates between subdued excitement and not wanting to go - mostly it is on the excitement side though, luckily. She did ask, however, why boys and girls had to go to the same kindy, because she is scared of the boys. I told her that there is just one kindy and its good for all kids to be able to play together - and that once she gets to know them she won't be scared of them anymore, just like it was for her with the girl downstairs who was really in her space and who she was therefore scared of to begin with, but now is super ok with. She agreed this could very well happen.

This last week she's started to share some complicated logic and ask some amazing questions. The logic was related to the domino effect of house moving. My mom is moving downstairs at the end of the year, so the tenants have to move out - they've been struggling big time trying to find a new place. However, we recently heard that a family in the village just bought a house close to us and will be moving in next month, so when they move out of their current place the tenants downstairs can move in there and then my mom can move in downstairs, and then someone else can move into my mom's apartment in Tromsø, and the domino effect continues and continues and continues.

And then two days ago she asked how someone can be born when there were no people to give birth to them. Basically asking about the origin of the human species, where we come from. Wow. I was not ready for this question yet, and basically said that was an awesome question, a really hard one, and tried to explain evolution in a simple way and got totally stuck.

She's also been really generous with sharing her push-bike with Eliana. We told them a few months back that when my uncle comes he's bringing a new bike for Leona (from her second cousin who's outgrown it), and then the push-bike will be Eliana's. He was supposed to come in July but things came up and he's still pending. Yesterday Eliana started just borrowing Leona's bike - I thought she was actually too small still, but ends up she's not! And she told Leona emphatically that uncle Jarle is bringing her (Leona's) new bike - that this bike is hers (Eliana's).

[sooo content with life]

 

I also love how she still picks out her clothes, dresses herself, and has started doing her own hair even (usually four ponytails). How mismatched it most often is, and disheveled her hair becomes, and how happy she is with her look every time.

[crocks, socks, tights, shorts, shirt, sweater, necklace, four ponytails, headband, and cape because "I want to fly today"]

Their politeness is beyond amazing (unless they are over tired or overstimulated or or or). The other day both Judge and I were really tired in the morning, and I heard Eliana say she was hungry, and Leona said she'd get her breakfast - ended up getting her a bowl and spoon and the jar of peanut butter. They chatted and chatted and then Eliana said "takkematen" (takk for maten - thanks for the food), and Leona answered "velbekomme" (you're welcome). They say this after each and every meal and snack, as is custom in Norway. And then also often heard is thank you and I'm sorry and that's OK. And "Eliana, I'm getting angry" in an explanatory manner rather than getting all riled up...but only once so far, most of the time it is still the latter reaction (riled up), which it seems Eliana often elicits on purpose.

She's got her first job - to restock the TP in the bathroom when it runs low. She was excited about it to begin with, but after a while she told me she didn't want that job, she just wanted her job to be to work on her computer and telephone. I told her that wasn't an option - we need everyone to contribute at home. She suggested that her job be to help clean every day before bed (already something we do as a family) - I said that the TP restocking could be her and Eliana's job. She wasn't excited about it. But the next time it needed to be done, after she initially said she didn't want to do it, I told Eliana she could help, and when she saw Eliana was excited about it she jumped in and kind of took over the process. Hah.

She's been writing tons lately, and today she wrote her whole name for the first time in a straight line (usually she writes the letters all randomly around on the page). We've only worked on letter recognition and writing whenever she's shown interest, either on her own accord or interest when I point things out or ask her about things, and she's never done any tracing of letters because of an article I read a while back regarding how the brain works and learns using 'free-style' vs. tracing. Watching her develop is so exciting!

[I love the random directions of the letters]

 

She can write L E O N A I W J H S T, 1 3 0 8, and sometimes 2 and 5, can recognize more letters and numbers, and can count to 29 on some days (after which she continues on to twenty ten) and on other days to 16 or 17 before she skips a number. She knows what colors she needs to mix to get other colors, and enjoys looking at bugs and worms - dead bumble bees, flies, and live worms and caterpillars are all things she will pick up to look at closely, and she loves to organize her and Eliana (and Cedrik) in play, to read, to draw, to paint, to play with the girl downstairs, and climb and swing, knot things, put things in bags, backpacks, and bins, and all those things that she's always been enjoying.

[drawing station - from set-up to finish they played about 45 minutes]

 

And a huge development in the sleep department is that the last few times she's woken up at night sometimes and needed to come down to get water or go pee, she's said she doesn't need Judge to go back up with her (she's always needed someone with her for her to fall asleep - she's previously been scared to be alone...and Eliana hasn't counted until now). When I talked to her about it she said it's ok now as long as Eliana is already asleep - if she is awake it is too noisy and Eliana may want to come up and sleep on Leona's bed ;)

 

 

 

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