Week 184 motherhood – Journey to Kindergarten Thornhill, Grimm’s stepped pyramid, babbling, drama queen

One of her first Grimm’s stepped pyramid creations

Week 184 motherhood with 3.5 year old and 15 month old:

March 21 to 27, 2024.

The best part about having the 3 year old take photos on my phone randomly recently is I get candid photos of myself with the younger kid. It’s not often this happens and despite me not wanting her to use my phone much, this is a nice “perk” out of it.
We had the first session of the Journey to Kindergarten program at the Thornhill location and it was again different from the Markham one. It was a much more gentle approach and the facilitators did not force or pressure the child to separate from me. (So again, why does the Markham location do it?!)
We entered the facility as normal (we’ve been here dozens of times), took off our shoes and coats in the main closet area, entered the place and checked in. I saw the kids and adults in the main classroom so we entered as well where one of the facilitators told us to write the child’s name on a “leaf” and then hang it on the tree. For the first time, I guided the child’s name under mine as I printed her name (the “hand over hand” approach). Then I held her up to hang her name on the branch of the tree. It served as their “attendance” marker which was really cute and creative. I loved that they had soft gentle music playing in the background. It made it such a comfortable and relaxing safe place to be.
We joined our friends at the table where they decorated a folder (to be used to keep their creative work for the next 6 weeks). I hadn’t seen my friend’s son in ages and he’s grown so much. Her son is just a month younger than my 3 year old.
Both kids were busying themselves with sticking things on the folder. I was able to catch up a bit with my friend as our kids did their thing. My 3 year old loves arts and crafts and is always focused at the task at hand. I LOVE that they started the program like this — to allow the child to feel comfortable in the space with the parent around to start off.
Soon, we adults were signalled to gradually exit the space to let the children play. My 3 year old caught wind of this very quickly and got out of her chair and stood next to me immediately. The facilitator was gentle and noticed this, so she showed her and counted how many steps it was from the classroom to reach the spot where the moms were going to be. She counted 10 steps and the child followed but once we were there, the child hung onto me and voiced that she wanted to be with me. The other facilitator said it was fine and that they had prepared a basket for the kids to sit with the parent (it had crayons, paper, 2 board books, and some magnetic tiles — such a thoughtful busy basket!).
Thus, my child sat on my lap as we began the parents’ portion of the program. I loved that we sat in a circle and on the floor (on mats). Circle time is the best form of receiving information — you can see everyone and everyone is on the same level to receive and share information. It was so different from the Markham program where all the adults were sitting in chairs in a classroom setting and the facilitators talked AT us and just reading off from a slide on the projector. Day and night practically. This one was engaging and made us feel like we were equal participants.
The first activity they had us parents do was to build a bridge using the wooden blocks on the shelf to allow to car to move through. They purposely didn’t introduce us to each other first and wanted us to be like kindergarteners on the first day of school. Very quickly, we moved to the shelf and various moms suggested ideas and we had a bridge built very quickly the facilitators had given us 10 minutes for this task. Someone wondered whether the bridge was long enough, if it needed to have a ramp from the floor, and then someone said, “Well, they didn’t tell us that and we have a bridge, so I think it’s good.” Thus, we finished it and then had a recap with the facilitators about it.
The facilitators were observing us and said that some of us were more direct and hands-on whereas some just wanted to observe and see what others were doing. And they paralleled it with how our kids on the first day of kindergarten will be like that too — some kids will be more forward and some kids will be passive and it’s all fine. They purposely didn’t introduce us so that we would have to work together as strangers just like how our kids will be like in school too on the first day.
Then we did a song around the circle where we said our names. It was really nice. There was one other parent who had a child on her lap too. Her child was a lot younger though, at about 1 years old, so I understand why she was accompanying her.
The next activity we did was to play with loose parts! This was my very first time “playing” with these toys as an adult and it turned out to be a really great experience and opportunity to be in the shoes of my child.
The facilitators asked us to pick up a tray and then gather whatever loose parts from the shelf behind them as we wanted to play with and build something. There were different trays — wooden ones with an edge, rectangular ones, circular ones, and also metal ones. I wish a took a picture of the shelf because these loose part toys were so nice and of high quality. There were wooden and plastic parts, different coloured blocks, tree-like structures, balls, cones, and transparent plastic blocks too. I picked an assortment of items. Then I just put them together randomly, stuck some inside another, and then was finished. It was really interesting because I didn’t know how to play with them at first. After a while though, I figured out something in my head and decided to go with it.
When everyone was done, the facilitators asked us to volunteer to share our creations with them. My friend shared first. She always liked camping as a child and so she selected the loose parts which would help her build a campsite. She had a fire pit in the middle with trees around it. It was a really nice set-up!
I shared next because I was quite proud of my creation. I said that I picked random loose parts and didn’t have an idea in my head of what I was going to build. But I started stacking and putting together the objects and then figured out that it looked like a rocket launch pad and that’s what I did. I made a sun as well and there were some trees too. The facilitators were impressed with mine, haha, and said that they wouldn’t have thought of that idea themselves.
The facilitators commented that it was interesting almost everyone built their sets on the trays and that one mom was going to build hers on the floor when she noticed everyone else’s was built on the tray and that’s when she shifted hers. They said loose parts play is “uncomfortable” at first because most of us don’t know what to do with the objects initially but it is a form of play that you can “never master”. They could ask us to put the items back on the shelf and then choose again to build something else and they could have us doing this hundreds of times and we would come out with building something different and new every single time. This involves creativity and problem solving and critical thinking, things that they want kids now in kindergarten to have — as in, classrooms are changing over to these toys now. Some classrooms might already have these, but this is the ultimate goal for all classrooms now. It makes so much sense and it’s such an open-ended form of play. It really reinforces what DH and I learned about from Jules at Stories of Play too.
The 3 year old said to me, “What you build is really pretty, mom”.
Next, we went into the theory part of the program where they showed us slides from their tablet which was about play-based learning. I liked that their slides were designed differently from the ones at the Markham location. They were bright and colourful with pictures and even though they were reading from them, it didn’t feel as cut and dry as the other location. They really put a lot of thought into their work product.
My 3 year old sat on my lap the whole time and just watched. Towards the end though, she did draw a little bit with the crayons and then wanted me to read the board books to her. I whispered them in her ear so as not to disrupt the rest of the circle.
They had 3 reflection questions for us to wonder and some parents shared their thoughts with the circle.
By this point, the 3 year old was getting more antsy and I was reading to her so I didn’t hear some of the moms’ thoughts. I wish I could have though because what little I did hear was very valuable.
It was getting close to 3 p.m. and the facilitators told us that every week, they will get the kids to go out to “recess” and then we could watch them from inside before dismissal at 3:30 p.m. The kids would practise putting on their clothes and shoes, so we would have to bring weather-appropriate things for them. I brought the 3 year old to the door at this point where all the other kids were getting ready out the door to see if she wanted to join them. Unfortunately, she did not.
We all finished up the circle and then went into the classroom where we watched the kids play outside. Some were on bikes, some were just running around. It was a nice spring day. The 3 year old wanted me to hold her, as usual, so I did.
Then, it was time to go home.
I really enjoyed this first session at the Thornhill JTK program! It was so enjoyable and relaxed and fun! The loose parts play was super special and valuable and I’ll never forget that opportunity to play like that. It makes me want to get more loose parts for my children to play at home, but like the facilitators mentioned, you just need random objects like yogurt cups, caps from those fruit pouches, cardboard boxes, and basically anything that your child wants to play with — to use their thinking and imagination. And Jules always teaches that you never have to get more open-ended toys for your kids. What you have already at home is sufficient.
When we got in the car, the 3 year old snacked from her lunch box. She has been really enjoying using her lunch box these days (along with her new lunch bag)!
We cleared out some of the unused items from their play mat area to make the play mat a true “flat surface” so that the 3 year old can build again. Since clearing off items, she’s been using the magnetic tiles like before to build. And I love seeing her creative projects like building a house and using the peg dolls in it and giving them places to sit, etc.
The 15 month old sees her sister peeling a tangerine and so she wants to peel it too.
We met up with our friend and her son to another EarlyON location that was celebrating the Persian New Year (Nowruz). I wanted to see how they celebrated it there differently, haha. This one didn’t have as many dedicated Persian activities. They had music playing so everyone could dance if they wanted to. They had a paper wall with some Persian characters on it and the kids could stick fabric flowers on it or stickers. The facilitators prepared Persian bread with cream cheese for everyone. This was a big hit as the kids sat around the table and ate bread together. The facilitator had to keep cutting and spreading more cream cheese because the kids kept clearing the table lol. My child ate about 5 pieces alone. They had a station to grow sabze (wheat sprouts). During circle time, they sang songs in Persian. They actually said they were initially planning the entire program in Farsi, but since they saw there were non-Farsi-speaking individuals, they did half the program in English too. It was a nice opportunity to once again see how another culture celebrates their new year.
The 3 year old wanted to help with vacuum cleaning this week. She was able to hold up the vacuum to do it. Vacuum cleaning is one of the chores I like to do and while it’s nice that she likes to help, I would rather she not lol. But I have to be patient and let her.
We had our friends come over to our house this weekend to play. It was cute to see both tiger babies interacting. My friend’s daughter is just shy of 22 months. She was so good and playing next to us and sitting quietly and eating her food at the table. My 3 year old didn’t want to be in the same room and wasn’t comfortable. After they left, she passed out on the play mat. It was a long day as we had been cleaning the house before they arrived (a lot of anticipation), and then they stayed for 2 hours to play and then another hour or so for dinner. So the 3 year old wasn’t used to all this time of being “on”.
The 3 year old had cheese string for the first time. Instead of peeling it down like a banana to eat, she liked to break it up into chunks.
We finally opened the Grimm’s stepped pyramid blocks to play with! Grandma bought it for the kids for Christmas last year and for some reason, we just haven’t opened it until now. The blocks are so beautiful and sturdy and I understand why they’re like a luxury toy item. The 3 year old got to building with them right away by standing the long blocks on the wooden tray and then putting the single cubes on top of them. She called them “people”. The 15 month old wasn’t very interested in the blocks and flittered from the blocks to the keyboard to the chalkboard to the table to draw.
The 15 month old has been asking me to open the caps of the dot markers and then moving on to another activity.
She also brings me books to read to her often. She has been loving the Baby Feminists book still. She loves to open the flaps and this is one of the books that she can sit through until the end.
We told the 3 year old to keep the Grimm’s pyramid in the family room only to play (so she doesn’t mix it up with her other blocks) and so far she has been following our instructions. It’s not a bad idea to mix her toys but so far, this is what we’re doing. She did bring some of her other smaller blocks over to the Grimm’s set which is fine. She made a “table” and put a toy steak on top of it. I was really impressed that she was able to make the frame of the table first and then fill it in with blocks that fit. In addition to make the frame with different sized blocks to begin with is not an easy feat because you need to know which sizes can fit in the frame. So much math involved!
I was telling DH that the Grimm’s set is like real-life “Number blocks”. I watched an episode of this popular Netflix show for the first time on YouTube and now understand why it is so popular and how kids are able to grasp math concepts so quickly. It really is so smart and simple the way that they break math down. I want to let my child watch the show, but we’re also concerned that it could be a wormhole into her watching a lots of cartoons down the road — or asking for it. She’s already been asking for my phone a lot more often this week to listen to songs on YouTube, draw, and to look at photos. I don’t want her to have any more increased screen time if possible.
I hope they play with the Grimm’s set often to make full use of it and to develop patterning and math skills and make lots of creative sets.
The 15 month old this week has been loving seaweed. She brings the package to me from the cupboard and then I’ll open it for her. I give her a small piece and then she likes to rip it apart in her hands. It’s smart that she puts the smaller piece into her mouth first. She really likes it (and the crispy mushrooms too).
We tried their swimsuits on to see if they still fit in preparation for our upcoming trip. The 3 year old didn’t want to try it on though.
We had the make-up appointment for the 15 month old where she got her chickenpox shot too. The pediatrician asked if she can say “mama, daddy” (yes), if she is walking (yes), if she can climb stairs (yes). Both kids got the TWINRIX vaccine (part 1) for the combined hepatitis A and B shots as well in preparation for the trip. The 15 month old cried when getting the shot but was fine immediately after it was done. It was quick. Same thing for the 3 year old. She cried and didn’t want to get the shot, but once it was done, she was fine.
It was really hard to put the 15 month old on the scale to have her weighed because she was refusing to sit. She also didn’t want to have her height measured because she couldn’t lay flat nor still on the table. The nurse was like, “How are you going to get your shots if you’re like this?” and just generally amazed at how squirmy she was. Good thing we got the measurements last week already though.
She continues to be on the slightly below 50% percentile in terms of weight and height, which is normal. She’s growing well along the curved line.
We expressed our concerns to the doctor about the 3 year old making off-colour remarks and thoughts, serious tantrums, and being possibly very sensitive to stimulation. He listened to us intently but did say it seemed normed for a 2 to 4 year old to have tantrums. He said that it could be related to her sister too and that she still wants to be a baby (which is exactly right) and that it’s all normal. He said there was nothing biologically or physically wrong that he could see at the moment. (Later at home, DH said that he’s just a doctor that focuses on the physical and biological but he’s not a psychologist, which is true.)
We had dim sum with my grandma and uncle (first time in a while) and the 3 year old wasn’t that afraid of my uncle this time. She tolerated him, I would say. We saw the dinosaurs inside of Woodbine mall afterwards too. My 103 year old grandmother is getting more tired and sleepy each time we see her. I explained to my child that she’s 100 years older than her! And that she’s a senior and gets tired and sleepy often and needs our help to take care of her.
We went out for dinner again and after “my turn” of eating, I went with the kids to the front restaurant entrance where they had space for them to run around and walk. They had fun climbing up on the chairs and sitting and playing. The 15 month old can just freely walk and run out if you don’t keep your eye on her. She is a free spirit.
The 3 year old has been throwing terrible tantrums again. One night this week, she woke up at 3 in the morning and was thrashing around and just would not sleep. It was really tough for grandma and DH.
She also does not want to go in the potty again. I think it’s because of the JTK program and the fear that’s invoked there that is causing this regression. It’s too bad because we were doing so well.
She again stayed with DT at the second session of the JTK program in Aurora this week. The facilitators don’t force the kids to separate, so she did not.
The 15 month old has been sticking out her tongue and “speaking” more this week. It’s so cute. She always laughs when I tickle her neck. She is such a joy.
This week also, whenever I say no to her, she will arch her head back and cry and then fall to the ground and keep crying until someone picks her up. Sheer dramatics!! Such a drama queen this little baby is lol.
When she is walking or walking really fast and falls to the floor, she will quickly pick herself back up. It’s unlike the older child who would just stay on the floor until someone gets her. She is very independent (until she wants to be dramatic, that is).