So obviously toddlers are busy. They are learning gross and fine motor control, speech, emotions, object permanence, their effect on people and the environment and more! It's a lot to do in one day. And if you are lucky like me, you get to be the teacher and guide while it all happens. You get to be the witness. And it's very cool.
I've not written in a bit, but Calvin is getting pretty verbal now. We really pushed to get him to learn 20 words before his 18th month well-baby doctor visit. He hit the 20 mark, then the following two weeks learned a bunch more. I know what he's saying nearly always on the first try. He has a few words that even strangers understand exactly what he means. We play with a girl who is two months older than him who is exceptionally advanced with her language skills. It is amazing to watch how different little people focus on and learn different things, on their own timetable.
A month ago we finished attending Babynastix. It was not everything I had hoped for, the program could use some improvements in my opinion (especially given the cost) but it got us out and Calvin using his little body. At the end of each class they would give the kids a sticker. Calvin would dutifully take the sticker but then be slightly freaked out by it. It stuck to his fingers. It stuck in his hand when he squished it. In general, it stuck and it bothered him. Stickers are used, I am discovering, everywhere as rewards for kids.
Today was our first day at gymnastics for toddlers. It was hard and frustrating and amazing and wonderful all at once. I can't wait to go back next week, once my body is recovered. (Yes, it's for the toddlers, but the Moms have to help and bend and walk on strange surfaces with no support and it's HOT in there). At the end, as you exit, the 'coach' gives each child a sticker. They got to pick which one they want from a sheet. Calvin barely looked before he immediately found his ideal sticker match. She stuck it to his hand and he proceeded to be fascinated for the next 40 minutes! Better than being a bit afraid of it, so I thought we'd pull out some stickers today and play with them.
Having just attended a birthday party where the loot bag had a sheet of car stickers, this was an ideal set up. Calvin is a bit OCD about cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, etc. He saw the car stickers and was excited. We peeled and stuck them to various parts of each other, learning the words for arms, legs, knees, hands, feet, and more. It was nice to see him enjoy the new sensations of the sticky stickers. Small things like playing with a couple stickers can take up an hour in a day, and seems at a casual glance to be no big deal. But for Calvin today he learned so much from this: getting over a fear, enjoying the sticky sensation, cause and effect, fine motor control when handling the peel and stick process, naming body parts, understanding 'his hand' vs. 'my hand'. It's all pretty cool to watch it going down. The more I see it, the less I can imagine putting this boy into daycare. Who would want to miss this? Not me.