Spicy Dragons & Dinosaurs

Oh, I have been moaning and weepy the last few days! The weather seems to play into my mood -- hot and steamy, making it hard to be outside and hard to cool off the inside. Last night there were fierce storms -- the kind that set off sirens and set me poised to go to the basement. I stayed in bed with Julia, helped her put in ear plugs, and snuggled with her as she fell asleep. And she did! Last year at this time, a wild storm would have had her awake most of the night. She fell asleep pretty quickly and I went downstairs within 45 minutes of tucking her in. And later, when the storm picked up again and there were a few huge cracks of thunder, she did not stir. She was deep in sleep. This may be about as good a test of her feelings of safety as I could imagine.

Last night at supper, we were talking about vacations and traveling. Julia told me that she did not want to go to China. "Cross my China off the list. I stay here in Wisconsin." China is not in our travel plans this year. We'll see about next year.

Julia is really and finally taking care of the dog! She corrals Latkah, tells her to sit, and puts on her leash. Latkah does very little to make the task easier, but she doesn't do much to make it harder either. It is Julia's fear that has been the biggest obstacle to this procedure, and Julia's fear is melting away. She can still be a little afraid and I am in awe as I watch her be afraid and still do what she wants to do. This habit, if indeed we can make it a habit, will serve her well all her life. I am so proud of her.

She brought home a heavy backpack full of the notebooks and folders that we bought and labeled at the beginning of the school year. She has not brought home many pictures or drawings through out the year and now I see where she did her drawing. When I first saw this I was not happy. Yes, there are some numbers in the math notebook, and a few sentences in the writing notebook, but predominately and overwhelmingly, there are drawings.

It is interesting also that Julia has brought home very little art this year. A few projects, nothing incredible. I wonder that this art teacher, who is so active in so many ways, has taken no interest at all in Julia. It is wishful thinking to imagine that every art teacher will be taken with Julia and her talent.

And finally, there was a plastic recorder in Julia's backpack that she clearly has no idea of how to play. She doesn't have the patience for it right now and although her fine motor skills are excellent, she has not grasped the method of holding the recorder so that she can play it.

I weigh these things that rub at me a bit -- should she have been allowed to draw so much, shouldn't her art teacher cultivate the one sure talent that this kid has, and why didn't someone work with her in music class -- against the facts that Julia learned to read this year and progressed almost two years during this school year. She also is gaining, albeit slowly, a real math sense -- counting with more accuracy and a one to one relationship with what she is counting, using numbers in her daily speech, and having some idea of addition and subtraction. I cannot be unsatisfied.

The toy room/den is in pieces all over the living room floor. I did a good bit of sorting and culling yesterday and I will continue today. Also cleaning out my own file drawers and that only lengthens the process, but by sometime next week, we will have a functional work room for the both of us. I have ideas!