Someone told me that after the child turns 2 and 1/2, the child will be able to play more independently. That has def. been the case with Mr. A. Of course, he still like for someone to play with him but there are times in the day where I found him playing by himself. For example he will play with animals and he is doing the pretend talking. Before, it was always "I want you to make the (insert animal) talk".
A is also making progress socially. While the older kids are in their homeschool classes, moms with small children gather in the nursery and the children play. It is very unstructured. Before, it was very difficult for me to talk with other moms since A needs me a lot more. But recently, probably in part because he has become used to the routine, he has been playing more independently. Last week, I was there for about 1 1/2 hours, and A did not need me at all! I was shocked. It was wonderful. I had a great time chatting with other moms and he was happily playing. Also recently while we are in the library, A played with another little boy who is 4 and even let the other boy hold his hands and lead the play. Before that, the two boys played on their own. Mostly because A gets defensive when other children comes close. He is very protective of his personal space. When he came back, he says J is his friend and he likes him. :)
One activity I have found that occupies A for quite some time is water play. I give him a big bowl filled with water and add little detergent and little water color to make it more appealing. I also give him a funnel, a test tube and two containers to pour water back and forth. Of course, I also give him a towel to wipe his spills. He loves this and plays happily by himself for 15-25 minutes. This is great since sometimes A will say "I want to do something!" which is his way of saying I'm bored.
Ok, just now, A is saying, "Somebody play with me!" :) Also, at church, gone are the days when I have to worry if I will get paged or not because A is crying. In fact, he likes going to Sunday school. We'll just have to work on him liking preschool in the fall because we do plan on sending him. I think that help him get more comfortable with other children and adults. Just yesterday, I told him I am going to take him to see different preschool and see which one he likes. He points and touches my nose, and says, "I like mommy preschool." ha-ha! Guess I can't trick him.
A is increasingly aware of his feeling and is not shy of saying them in front of others. A favorite saying is "I don't like you!" :( He has little outbursts of emotions but in general recovers quite quickly. A lot of times, he put himself in timeout, like facing a corner or hide in the pantry and close the door for 5-10 sec. then he'll come out and be happy.
One thing that has been consistent is he never wants to go bed although on rare occasions, he will say, "I want you to put me to bed". A also never wants to take a bath. So we still struggle with that.
Something A continue to love is singing. He knows quite a few songs and surprisingly is not afraid to sing it in front to others. I have taught him few simple Chinese songs and he loves to sing them. We love to hear that, makes me happy to hear him sing. It def. makes him happy.
So overall, A is doing fantastic! He has not been sick at all this winter and is the only person in our family who has that distinction. Most he has had was a little running nose. For that, I'm extremely thankful.
No comments:
Post a Comment