I went to Liam's parent-teacher conference last week. Of course I loved hearing (and was not surprised) them to tell me that he is very polite, has lots of friends, is very curious and learns things very quickly. His most advanced areas so far are language (from me), geography (from Nick), and zoology (??). He is doing a year ahead in language and his phonics skills. He does letter boxes where he matches objects with the letter that they start with. He spells around 20 words from memory, is learning the states and countries, and knows how to say hello in about 10 languages. For his Fall Festival this week, he is singing a Spanish song and a Chinese song. He is very imaginative, and does very well in the 'practical life' modules where they role play chores around the house, restaurants, grocery store, etc. His teachers said he's very observant, one day noticing that his classmate got a vegetarian meal for lunch. Liam asked his teacher if he was still getting a lunch with meat. She answered yes, and he said "Is it because I'm a carnivore?" She thought that was so funny, and loved telling me that story. Guess his school has caught on to his love of dinosaurs as well. He recites the pledge of allegiance, can recognize a few flags from different countries, and knows the planets. He easily adds and subtracts 0-5 in his head. I could go on and on with all the wonderful things they had to say about Liam :)
We are often in slow motion around here now that Liam is so independent. I totally appreciate that when he calls out in the morning, I can hit the two-way button on the monitor and tell him he's allowed to get up, then watch and talk to him while he opens his shutters, goes potty, and gets dressed for the day..all while I lay in bed an extra 5 minutes :) But his independence also means that I often ask for certain things (put your shoes on!) multiple times before they are done, always on the way out the door. Today when asking Liam for the millionth time to put his shoes on he turned to me and said "I don't see your shoes on". To be fair I was going to wear flip flops so I knew I could slide them on immediately before walking out...but touche, he got me there.
At dinner while rapidly chopping green beans and chicken as fast as Bryn was stuffing them in her mouth, Liam paused from eating to ask me "Who thinks Mom?" Hmm, I didn't know where this was going so I tried to stay broad..."People think" I said. "No," Liam replied "animals think...it's camels and dogs, mom." "That's cool, Liam". Then he went on to say, "Camels and dogs know when there is fire nearby...they will go next to the fire to stay warm...that's how they think." I don't even know if this is right (do camels get cold?!) and was tempted to google...then stopped because I felt dumb googling something my preschooler told me. I can pretty much guarantee that even when he slightly confuses facts, at least 90% of what he says (which is something he heard and memorized) is correct, so I guess I'll go with him on this. If I ever get on "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" I might get to use some of the information that Liam has taught me so far :)
Today, Liam asked me for some goldfish as a snack. He had already a granola bar, so I said no. Liam asked if the goldfish were all gone. I took the easy way out (which turned out to be bait) and said yes. Then he told me that he had some for lunch today and there was a lot left..."did you eat them all Mom?" No I didn't eat his goldfish but told him I couldn't remember where they were (knowing they were high up in the pantry, partially obscured). A few minutes later "I found them Mom! They are hiding behind the bread, but I see them" All those cunning maneuvers earned him a few goldfish :)
Because Liam is so proud of his spelling, we often spell to each other in conversations..."Mom, is it C-O-L-D outside today?" "No Liam I think it's going to be H-O-T." Liam: "Yes, it is! Because it's S-U-N-N-Y too!" (good thing we have concentrated our spelling on weather words :) There is no spelling anything like 'c-r-a-p' (or any other word) around him because he will just spell it back to us asking 'what does that spell'? Or worse, he starts to sound it out phonetically :)
Even with all his intelligence, I love that he remains so innocent. Just like as a baby when we taught him not to cross the line into our kitchen and he didn't...just because we said so. He listens so intently to what Nick and I tell him, and I can tell he takes it to heart. I never worry about him getting out of bed, getting into cabinets or destroying things around the house, going outside without our permission...he follows our rules to the letter. We have taught him how to call 911 in an emergency and how to tell them his name and address...and although I'm very thankful and hopeful we'll never use this skill, I actually think he could do it. He also believes with such intensity in things like his routines...and in things like Santa and his elves. I'm sad for the day when he decides to really 'test' us and our rules, or when he stops believing in things like Santa. Deep down, I know that we are raising a good boy with good morals, values and respect (I will keep reminding myself of this during his teen years)...
I am so proud to be mommy to such a wholesome, caring, brainiac...and so thankful for google so that I may continue to keep up with him :)
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