Spring fever!

I love winter, and this year's was a spectacular specimen. Thanks to El Nino we had multiple snows that stuck, when in the last four years we've had none that did so for more than a few hours, so the kids really got some wonderful snow playtime. Unfortunately the main thing we discovered is that if you're going to go play in the snow, it really does pay to have all that "snow gear" that we never see in stores down here in Alabama. After a few good days of playing in the snow, freezing feet (no snow boots) and wet legs (no ski pants) were enough to get my kids over this snow business and ready for Spring. (Secretly, it's left me with a desire to plan a skiing trip in the next few years, complete with enough gear to keep us warm for hours of playing, but I'll tuck that away for now and get on with the point)

We have SO enjoyed the nice weather we've had the last couple of weeks. We've been out playing at parks, playgrounds, our own backyard, the Botanical Gardens with their new "tree house" exhibit, anywhere we can think of. The tree houses in particular have been a great source of learning, from their structure to the features of each, and even the physical skills needed to make use of them. One house even led to a discussion of pioneer living. We're also talking about the life cycles of different plants, why some we have to plant anew each year while others (like our beloved tulips!) come back on their own. And thank goodness, I remembered the butterfly hatching house I snagged on clearance at Target last fall and will soon have Painted Lady caterpillars for the kids to study and raise, AND I remembered the butterfly life cycle poster I bought online on clearance (do you hear an echo?) which I can display while the butterflies are shacking up at our place to help the kids keep up with the process. We also have a friend whose family is trying to hatch praying mantises (manti?), so with any luck our garden will be bursting with beneficial insects this summer!

Further academic news? Today while waiting for me to be free to read to him, Tex decided to just give it a whirl himself. I found this great Star Wars Clone Wars graphic novel at the library the other day when Monkeygirl and I dropped by while the boys were in P.E. at the Y, and it's really the perfect thing for Tex. Lots of picture cues, the words aren't too hard (he stumbled over "circuit" today, but who wouldn't? That word is crazy!), and lots of frames with stuff like guns going "zzzack!" and beasts saying "grrrr" and R2D2 saying "bwooooop". He can have read enough words to increase his confidence, but also get enough of the storyline from the pictures to enjoy it even when he can't read the words perfectly. I always thought comic books would be a good fit for him, I just hadn't found the right ones yet. We'll see where this leads. I can tell Tex's reading confidence is growing, which to my mind is the final hurdle to him being a mostly independent reader. Oh please, please, tell me that light at the end of the tunnel is NOT a train about to spoil my party! LOL

Also, good results with the book I mentioned in my last post. Every issue isn't solved yet, but there is MUCH less violence and much MORE willingness to talk to find solutions that are acceptable to all. It is hard as a parent to make that switch in my brain to acknowledging that having a five-minute discussion at an inconvenient time is still a better choice than having a full-fledged meltdown at a normal time, but more than anything it cements in my mind that Tex is a child who can not be parented in the "old school" fashion. This is a child who sees how Daddy-O and I treat each other, with good humor and flexibility, and his rigid mind sees no reason whatsoever than the rules should be different for his interactions with us. On one hand it's nice to know that this sort of experience will benefit him no end as he grows and forms relationships with many different people in different roles, so that he'll expect and give respect in equal measure, but it does make it necessary for us to give up that image of our family working like a well-oiled machine with Daddy-O and I at the head and our three wee ones following lovingly and dutifully behind as they trust us to know best. On second thought, though, that sounds kind of creepy... I think I like our way better. ;-)