No alligators today

This morning we watched the creation video provided by the Read and Share Toddler Bible, which not only captured but held Creed's  attention. I'm thinking he's visual, so I'll try incorporating this into his learning style. An additional way will be using the felt board I created on the wall. 

tire track lines

We headed to Holly Beach late in the morning to go on our color and shape walk. Our mission - to find the color blue and line shape, as listed in the curriculum. I keep asking myself is a line really a shape? It just sounds odd. I looked on the web and under many definitions, but none specified it as a shape, only a mark. We looked for lines none-the-less. Creed asked me what a line was. I drew one and noted a line is like the number one, we use lines to make letters and numbers.

bird footprint lines

drawing lines

^{Among the obvious debris left by careless patrons of the beach we were hard pressed to find anything that was true blue other than the sky, that came from nature. There were various undertones of blue on discarded shells and a bright blue rake in child-like proportion. It's not as picturesque as most beaches we've been to but at least we can hear the waves crashing as they break the Gulf Shores. I asked Creed if he saw any lines and he pointed to the tracks left by a tractor that had swept the area. We also found bird footprints. Creed spotted a stick that was perfect for drawing lines all out of play of course. He picked up an old broken styrofoam plate and asked, "What's this?" I answered, "It's trash." He disagreeing stated, "No. It's a wing. A bird's wing," out of his imaginative all-things-created-beautiful way. I adore him. And there's a lot to be learned … from him, through the eyes of a child where everything is wide open.}

no alligators today

We stopped by the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge Wetland Walkway in hopes to spot an alligator on the way home. Other than a crossing sign, no alligators today. What we did see was an orange butterfly, tall grasses, and a line of seagulls sitting on a covering atop a view of the bayou. Something small to us is a magical wonderland to a smallish someone who's literally seeing everything for the first time.

^{Please and thank you is on the curriculum for this week, however we've been practicing this as well as sir and ma'am for a while now.  Learning to say please and thank you also requires learning the correct undertones when using polite language, for it's no longer polite when stained with sarcasm or disdain. I always make Creed say please and thank you and out of force of habit, it has evolved in its own time. Creed wanted something a couple of days ago and I responded by reminding him that I didn't hear him asking anything. He, in turn, in frustration and annoyance said please, with a demanding sarcastic undertone. I said, no, ask nicely. He complied, tilting his head to the side smiling. Demanding chocolate milk with an, "I want chocolate milk," won't fly in mama llamas house. Embarrassingly enough I find myself correcting other children who are playing with Creed, especially in sharing, but children need direction. It's my hope that I don't ever overstep, however growing up I was taught that I should listen and show respect to elders, including teachers and authority figures or undoubtedly suffer the consequence. Of course, I did suffer the consequence now and then, but I'll call this growing pains. How many times must we be disciplined for the same action finally learning that changing our behavior can avoid the consequence? For me, that was countless. Sometimes in relating to my Heavenly Father, I'm still learning the same lessons. Creed's misfortune is inheriting that stubbornness from both sides of the family tree. At least in this particular behavior trait in the long run it will produce an older child developing later into an adult that won't be lead around by the nose, on the flip side … we can occasionally have the tendency to dig in our heels.}