Samantha Update

Ah...Where to start. Samantha is doing so awesome! 

There is so much to say. She has taken such a huge leap and has become a KID! A KID! I am not talking about, talking in complete sentences and showing emotions and such. I am talking, having sleep overs, playing bored games, doing chores. Kid stuff! 

She's getting big on me, as usual. Like I said before, she is exiting the toddler stage and getting into that kid/preschooler stage. She has a lot more interests now. She has been working on a lot of projects and hobbies, especially our Butterfly Garden and Nature Drawer. She really enjoys that. I don't have to really encourage it because she initiates it herself. 

She is wanting to start "Kindergarten," at home of course, but more about that on my Homeschool Blog. She is really excited about being homeschooled though and tells everyone that she meets. 

Spending time with her is even more fun now because she can do more. We Love to play board games and have started a Family Game Night. Jessie and I play a few games with her and then it is "Mommy and Daddy's Turn" to play adult games. I plan to buy her some "Simply Fun" games for her at the homeschool fair this year. And definitely keep look at consignments. 

When we do art projects, she will finish the initial project and then "go at it" with the leftover materials. (Twice the learning.) Weather it is paint or scissors or a toilet paper roll. We bought her a pair of blunt tip scissors the other day and she has been working hard with those, cutting up scraps of paper too small to see with the naked eye, obviously exaggerating. Speaking of art, she is able to draw and paint actual pictures now. She is drawing people even better than before.  She likes to add houses and cars and even small details like a flower in the ground. Her pictures that she paints baffle me. She went from "Scribble Painting" to painting actual pictures! Tammie came over this week too and did some Science experiments with her. We made Ooze, and Samantha had so many questions and so much interest. We will definitely make it again. Experiment is posted on the refrigerator for a future date. :)

One big change in her has been her level of independence! She does well going to class at church. And she really looks forward to going to my Mom's house on Thursdays, even though I won't be there. And when I am making dinner-since I make it and clean up before Jessie gets home, so he isn't able to play with her while I do, she actually plays ALL BY HERSELF! Like actually plays. She gets her own toys and sits down and tells stories with her doll house or whatnot. Used to she would trail at my heals, begging for attention, and I would worry that she is not getting enough freeplay time, because most of her freeplay is at night, but now, thank goodness, she is doing better. So when she is not doing her chores, she is free to play and she does so. It is a nice break for me and for her! (Although, she does help some with the meal, which is nice too.)

Here are some pics. 

Playing a Game, 1-2-3, Duck

Her Painting of a Butterfly, Flower, and Grass 

My Sam