Workbook Day

Yesterday was mostly just a fun day for the kids. On Wednesday afternoons, a local high-school girl, who is studying childcare, will be completing part of her internship at our house. She will spend 2 hours a week here, playing with the kids, so I can get some work done! The kids loved having her here, because she spent the whole time building Lincoln Log houses with them. She interacted very well with them, encouraging them to describe what they were building and admiring their work. And, I did a few loads of laundry, washed dishes, completed a logo, and made four scream-free phone calls. I am amazed at how much I can accomplish in just two uninterrupted hours!

Today, we just had a workbook day. Hannah loves practicing letters and going through the pre-K workbooks I bought this year. I've noticed that her handwriting has improved dramatically from just a few weeks ago. We were going through a number book, and she really struggled to write the numbers. I pushed and pushed, because her preschool teacher said her fine motor skills were lagging behind her peers. I could see the frustration in her eyes, and she begged to quit.

Realizing that I had been pushing too hard, I scooped her up into my lap. "Hannah," I said, "You are such a smart girl. You know so many things! But, even when you are smart, you often have to work really hard and practice something again and again until you learn it." I also reminded her about Angelina Ballerina (the title character in the book we read that morning), who loved dancing but still had to practice very hard until she became a star ballerina, and I gave her a huge hug and told her how much I loved her.

We stopped writing that day, but now she begs to practice writing her letters and numbers nearly every day we do preschool. In fact, I usually have to make her stop after doing several pages, because I can see her getting tired, and I reward her hard work with a bunch of fun workbook pages that challenge her to think but don't require much fine motor work. Additionally, I see how much genuine praise encourages her, so I give her stars and celebrate when she takes her time and prints her letters nicely. Today, as she worked, she kept showing me which letters she thought merited stars - and she was usually correct!