I just gave both kids a bath before bed and after they were sufficiently pickled, I snuggled them into their footsie pajamas (except Genoa's have to have the feet cut off or she pulls at them like snakes are eating her toes) and then I sat on my bed while both kids ran around in circles on the carpet until they fell onto each other over and over again. When I said it was bedtime, Alex asked for more time to run around and be silly, so I told him he could have two more minutes if he told me something in French.
"BONJOUR!" he pronounced. I gave him five extra minutes instead of two.
And because I'll want to remember this, he can now point out the following countries on a map:
Greenland
Canada
United States of America
Mexico
Cuba
Panama
Guatemala
How cute! You are making me think I should consider Montessori (when I eventually get kids that are old enough for that sort of thing).
I didn't have the footsie pajamas thing, but I did have problems with itchy pajamas while growing up. Federal regulations said that all children's pajamas had to be fire resistant, which meant itchy. I could not sleep in those, so I wore adult size pajamas. I have seen pictures and I looked ridiculous!
Posted by: Jen | November 14, 2007 at 08:10 PM
I know correcting people is evil, but I just can't help it - Greenland isn't a country. It's owned by Denmark.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland
However, I think the teacher will give him that one. ;)
Posted by: Garnigal | November 15, 2007 at 10:18 AM
Way to go Alex! My daughter is in Montessori as well and we love it! She has also gotten so interested in maps and different countries since she started there in August. However, she's only three and is not quite at the point of learning the individual countries yet. I love that Montessori lets kids work at their own pace yet the children still feel motivated to explore all the different work and are driven to excel.
Also, what is with the silly running around before bed? My two girls (16 months and 3) have been doing it almost every night lately. They run around and then collapse into a pile of giggles. They couldn't be more cute if they tried.
Posted by: Janine | November 15, 2007 at 11:54 AM
I think that is SO AWESOME that they are teaching him geography.
My Kid is in ninth grade this year and registered for geography. At the beginning of the year, the teacher gave them a "pre-test" to see what they already knew. He scored highest in the class - a 97, and the next highest was like 57. The teacher told My Kid he already knew everything they would learn in that class this year and moved him into Honors Geography. Who even knew there WAS an Honors Geography???
Tell him I said to KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Posted by: kalisah | November 15, 2007 at 12:01 PM
Your kids sound awesome. I like that he knows Guatemala. Clever!
Posted by: DN | November 15, 2007 at 12:58 PM