Posted by nathan on Nov 30, 2007 in
Daughter,
Father Yesterday, EJ granted me the priviledge of being able to sleep in until eleven o’clock.However, as soon as the bowls of ceral were consumed, she started to dress herself and once she got both pants and a shirt on, she began calling for her coat. The end result was a funky little outfit that only a 2 yr old is capable of throwing together, right down to the boots on the wrong feet (How can they be the wrong feet if they are the only ones you’ve got!?!)
With that force of motivation driving us, we both got dressed and headed out the door. On the way to whereever it was we were going, I decided what it was that we were to be doing. So we got off the train at 34th st and walked up 6th Avenue straight to Bryant Park.
It had been raining so, I knew that we would be able to get in easily, and of course we did. Then we settled the special equipment demands and stowed our gear, ready for some fun at a new activity.
Ice Skating!!!!
At first, it was difficult to get her to support her own weight but she was game to try. Then after a couple of laps we had the worst happen. She decided that she had had enough when we were on the otherside of the rink from the entrance, I had already been warned about carrying her while I skated, and she did not want to do anything at all. So, she threw herself on the ice and had a perfectly practiced tantrum.
I got her off the ice, and we had some chocolate milk and popcorn. Then the Zamboni came out and resurfaced the ice. After that performance was nearly over, it was all I could do to restain her from rushing out on the ice again. Once everybody was given the all clear signal, we went out on the ice and did several quick laps where she was actually holding her balance really well. Then I slowly eased us into a one handed hold and made her provide her wn locomotion before I startedto skate backwards and puull her along- this was a very different shift in her balance. We ended up in the center area where the figure skating and beginner’s lessons happened.
There were colored cones set up for practicing skills. These were really quite attractive to EJ and she wanted them So, I let her stand on the ice all by herself and she decided that she wanted to collect the cones. I et her go, and very quickly it was quite apparent that she was ice skating. She did not know that is what she wasdoing, but she was doing it. Soon we were skating all over the beginner’s area and covering all sorfts of distances by herself. And the smiles were enormous. So much fun she was having!
Then as she was beginning to get more and more tired she wanted to be pulled aroud the rink- but at this point the compter geek who hasn’t had much exercise lately was starting to feel it in his back, so we had to leave before there was yet another meltdown on ice.
I am so proud of her for learning to ice skate on the first day. I suffer no illusions, she will fall and need more practice the next time she goes, but I am very aware that she is at a stage of deveopment where she is poised and ready to learn all sorts of things.For instance, she is currently opening all the applications on the Mac mini in the living room, probably looking for Blues Clues.
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Posted by nathan on Nov 28, 2007 in
Daughter EJ has had the concept of “I” for a couple of weeks. Examples of usage,
- “I click”
- “I poo poo”
- “I hungry”
today she identified herself as “me”.
Posted by nathan on Nov 21, 2007 in
Father
Posted by nathan on Nov 19, 2007 in
Daughter,
Father,
Mother So, (EJ just randomly starts her little monologues by putting her hand on her hi and saying, “So”) we al slet in yesterday and totally missed the morning services which we had been planning to attend. THen left us with the just continuing our plans from there, which meant going into the city and meeting Jack for lunch at a diner.
It was great to see him, and catch up with him and his ersonal life. He still has a show on East Vilage Radio that’s also available as a podcast.
Then we were going to walk to a playground so that we could let the wiggle worm get busy on the monkey bars, however we decided that it was much too cold to be able to let her loose outside. We managed to make it to Union Square and by then we had warmed up quite a bit from our stomping about, before we went into a furniture store.
We looked at lots of beautiful furniture that we felt would fit into our sense of ascethics and even help the environment. The company recovers all wood from abandonned barns and hovels in Brazil, discarded canvases that used to cover trucksn the the road and other materials from the same sort of process. Then a very talented designer produces pieces of artistic furniture.
After that new exprience we walked and walked and walked until we found ourselves sitting in Bryant Park, staring at the Ice Skaters while the midget slet in her stroller. She slept all the way untl we were at the Church for evening services. Then we had the traditinal late night with the family when we all got home.
Posted by nathan on Nov 17, 2007 in
Father
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Set of steps for me to try to get the touchscreen working on my precious.
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These page has a rotation script that might be quite handy for switching the screen orientation.
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Generic recipe for touchscreen on linux.
Posted by nathan on Nov 15, 2007 in
Father
Posted by nathan on Nov 15, 2007 in
Daughter,
Father The past couple of days, maybe four or five if you want numbers, we have had a bit of a routine around here. While I spent my morning writing in my journal, reading and responding to email and shifting through my RSS news feeds, EJ has been learning to read. Yup,- she’s been pretty focused on using the tools available at a really great website called Starfall.com.They use a phonic approach which is really great and there are lots of little games and ongs and other stuff that energizes her. She actually worked on the site for two hours yesterday morning!! Then she worked on it in the afternoon as well!
In addition to using that website we have some software on the Mac that runnings Dr. Suess’s ABC’s through, and she likes playing with that as well. However, the downside for us it that we have the following exchange at least a thousand times a day.
“I click” she says.”Click” is the only response I am allowed to give without her repeating it again.
By the end of the day both of us are a little crazy with this repetition and it becomes a drawn out and silly phrase with way too much emphasis on the ‘i’ in Click. On the brightest side, she is learning how to read, and already is doing better at pronouncing some of the letters which she had been struggling with. So there you go.
Technorati Tags: reading, literacy, education, children
Tags: education, reading
Posted by nathan on Nov 12, 2007 in
Father I wake up and sit down at my desk, I have several things to do in the morning at the computer, write my personal journal, shift through email, read news etc. This morning waiting in my Inbox was a message from the crew at OLPC saying that the Buy One, Give One program was now open. So, of course I signed up so that The Bubster can have one for Christmas and another child in a developing country can also have a laptop.
I’m really excited about this project, have been for sometime, and am really happy to be able to put two into the hands of children who are poised to begin some real learning that is fun. If you have a kid in your life, or know of one that needs an advantage, I encourage you to participate in this program.
Technorati Tags: OLPC
Posted by nathan on Nov 9, 2007 in
Father So, while I am in the midst of this big freaking renovation of the applications which serve this website, The Bubster gets a sprained wrist. It was totally the result of a game I invented to keep her from being upset on the train, she is and was quite the trooper but I could tell there was something wrong. So today we went to the doctor to get it looked at.
Doctor says its a sprained wrist, watch out for the grabbing games and go get an X-Ray.
We walk to the hospital, actually I walk because I am not a mollusk, and The Bubrocker rides the stroller. And I have to mention she is quite upset because her nap got cut short to wake up in the Doctor’s Office.
So there we are on the corner of Broadway and Union Square, its a weird little corner with three way traffic and a light that is always working against you. I’m standing there, bent over the stroller trying to comfort the screaming kicking thrashing child when some guy ( Honestly, I have no better description of the culprit) walks right up to us, opens his mouth and out falls the most absurd absurdity that no striking scriptwriter in Hollywood could have crafted on his best day.
You should move to San Diego.
Now, I’m not really opposed to the idea, but really what is that going to do to solve my immediate problem of settling down a hurt, tired and possibly hungry two and a half year old child? But of course that was only the thought that raced through my mind, instead I said, “No, that’s not the problem.” and looked at the guy with all the fury I could muster at the moment. Actually, I probably just looked up and wore the natural frustration I was feeling.
Then of course he says something else, but I can not remember it as it was projected to my back while I walked away.
Move to San Diego? Hmmm, I guess that’s the only city on the planet where babies do not cry for any reason.
Tags: Absurdity, NewYorkCity
