Wed 30 Jan 2008

Diana and Nana

And now, it’s Pat’s turn to post:

One day I was taking care of Diana, and she was playing with fingerpaints. She made some colorful pictures (of course they went on the refrigerator) and she made a fine mess on her hands.

Her father Jack was on his way to pick her up after work, so I told Diana, “Let’s go scrub your hands now.”

“NO!” she yelled.

Oh, great. Her father’s going to be here soon, Diana’s a mess, and she doesn’t want to get cleaned up.

Or does she? I thought about it for a few seconds, and then tried saying it to her another way. I told her, “Let’s go wash your hands, just like you always do.”

Her face brightened, and she said, “OK!” And she ran off to the bathroom.

Conclusion: With people, regardless of their age, sometimes it’s just a matter of saying things the right way.

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Thu 20 Dec 2007

Diana and Nana: Writers in Training

Posted in Nana's Corner at 0:05

Pat watched Diana regularly for about 3 years, and she treasured being able to watch her granddaughter grow from a tiny baby who slept most of the time into a toddler who loves to learn and be active.

After Pat’s hospitalization in September, Jack and Jennie enrolled Diana in a combination day care and pre-school program. However, due to the bad weather around here lately, pre-school has been either delayed or canceled several times, and Pat has been pressed into service once again to watch her.

And as Pat writes, Diana is still growing and still learning:

While we waited for the computer to boot up, Diana picked up a pen and began to make marks on a small pad of lined paper that was on the computer desk. She proceeded to scribble on the paper while talking to herself (or me?) almost as if she were writing down her words. She finished one sheet, and I went to turn it over, but she told me, “No Nana, I want lines.”

I gave her another lined sheet and she filled it up as well. They were not wild scribblings, either. She mostly stayed between the lines. At 3 1/2 years of age, using regular, spaced, lined paper, she did better than some first graders. I’m thinking that someone’s been working with her, either her preschool or her parents.