Brothers and Sisters

Friends

Up to this point, Gadisae has not done any puzzles. She has played physical games with the boys. Today, Mesai and Cooper were doing a 40 piece puzzle with rather small pieces. Gadisae showed an interest, so I got out a puzzle with 30 pieces - a floor puzzle with pieces about 4" in size. It didn't take long to realize there were too many and too small for her to work with.

I then brought out a farm puzzle with 6" pieces - 24 of them. Again, no clue as to what to do.

Next, out came the Discovery Toys 4 piece puzzles. I gave her one of the puzzles and sat down with her and expected her to do it. It was apparent she was not even looking at the picture. She was simply trying to jam pieces together. I showed her how to do it. That didn't help her. She struggled on. I then did the puzzle for her, showing her how the pieces went together, and then allowed her to try to do it partially from memory of what I had done.

I left the room to check on the dinner. When I came back, Briton had moved in with her and she proudly told me she had done the puzzle. I said, "You?" And then she told me that she and Briton had done it, "Berton, me."

"Here, Gadisae."

This is a picture of Briton guiding Gadisae in how to put the two last pieces of puzzle together. He did the first two pieces and her job was to put the second two pieces in. She was struggling with them, so he figured he could show her. This was the first time in Briton's little life that he knew more than someone else! I am sure it was a good moment for him!! *smile* Gadisae was very proud of herself.

She continued to work through the puzzles and between her and Briton they managed to do all four. I am sure she will slowly improve, but this shows what lack of exposure to things can be like for a child!

Cooper and Mesai are doing wonderfully together. They are at par, right now, in school. While Cooper knows his sounds, Mesai knows her letter names. They work well together. I hold the flashcards and say, "A says 'ah'," and they repeat it two times after me. It is like having a one room school house!!

Learning Sounds and Letters

Doing Math

They work side by side in their math book. We are waiting to buy their individual ones, so right now they are literally using the same book. But they are a fantastic team!

Mesai Copying Cooper's Design

Cooper was asked to set the table and I asked Mesai to help him. As he gave her instructions to follow him, I heard him say enthusiastically, "Good job, Mesai!! Mum!!! Mesai is putting the placemats on the table without even watching how I do it!" *grin* And the two of them are so cute in their manners. When one says, "Good job." Or "You look beautiful," the other will always without prompting say, "Thank you." So sweet.

Speaking of manners. Tonight, big brother, Colt, age 17, was trying on some dress clothes. And it was the funniest thing. Mesai, who certainly knows all about how to talk to different ages of people (very smart little girl!) walks in, walks past him, and then says, "You beautiful people, Colt." Too funny!!!

When I say she knows how to talk to people - When an adult says, "How are you?" she will reply, "I am fine, thank you," in perfect English, in a very prim and proper voice.

Today, a teenage boy said, "How you doing?" To this she replied, just as clipped, "I'm fahhn." That is one smart girl!

Mesai Working on Her Alphabet Sounds

The Two Littlest Ones

While the big kids are schooling the little ones are outside playing. This was when they were having a hot chocolate. The time for them to play outside by themselves is a good thing. It has given them a chance to bond. It is so sweet to see the relationships forming. Briton has named Gadisae - ''Didi' - so we now call her Didi. He calls Mesai - 'Didi two' - as he holds up two fingers. I have tried to tell him that it is Mesai, but he is determined to call her 'Didi Two'.

At dinner tonight, Gadisae, Briton, Mesai and Cooper were sitting at the eating bar. They were conversing about names. They went over the names that Briton had called the kids. It was Cooper that began talking about the fact that there was Didi and then Missy, as we call Mesai. Then Mesai got going with her giggles and humour. She pointed at Cooper and said, "Ohpar." Because that is what Cooper is called by Briton. And she can get his accent exactly right! It was so funny to see her connect Briton's names for the girls with the fact that he can't say his brother's name correctly either. Too funny!

Mesai is the master of folding properly, so when I gave out laundry to be folded, she folded the clothes and Cooper put away towels, socks, and pajamas!

If you didn't have a brother, how would you ever learn how to look like a monkey??

Monkey Gadisae

Creative Kids

These two took off by themselves one day, with a roll of tape, a pair of scissors and a couple boxes. They came back a couple hours later with this! I was most impressed! I am sure Mesai had a lot to do with it, as Cooper doesn't usually take the artist initiative! Great teamwork, yet again!
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