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2008-02-14 - 10:42 p.m. previous entry next entry
A few Arthur things...
I seem to have no time at all to write here! I am still writing at my pregnancy diary when I do get time, because Nathan is still in that "newborn" window where I update there about my new baby :) I will probably keep writing about him there for another month or so maybe. I do have things that I keep wanting to write here, and I really don't like letting them slide by, because then they just leave my memory banks completely.
So, I have maybe five/fifteen/0.01 minutes (!!), and I wanted to jot a few things down here while I can, to make note of them while they are still "news"!
Arthur had a few firsts lately!
On Sunday when we went to church, he had his first session at Sunday School! He has been in creche all this time. They take kids up to age 3 - well, the first group at Sunday School is for kids aged 3-5. They won't take them before their 3rd birthday. After Arthur turned 3, they were rehearsing for the Christmas Nativity play and Rachel (who leads it) said that it would be better for Arthur to join the group in January, as he would come in when they were getting back to normal things again. Then of course, in January, I went and had a baby without warning anyone! ;) So, we didn't go to church much in January.
The Sunday before last, I told Arthur that he could go to the "big group" with Joshie (his favourite friend, who is 5 months older than Arthur and has been in that group since the summer), or he could stay in creche. By the time I went to remind him when it came time for the groups to start during the service, he was already in the creche room, busily drawing with crayons. But after church he reminded me that he was supposed to go to "big school" (bless him, I don't know why he calls it that!). Last Sunday when we went to church, I asked him if he would like to go to creche as usual, or if he would like me to take him to the big boys' group. It isn't just for boys, of course! But for some reason it is all boys (except for one girl, who wasn't there today) in that age range.
Anyway he said yes. Once we got in there, he went soooo shy! He hung back with his ENTIRE hand in his mouth, just toooo shy to take part, which I found interesting, as I was never sure how Arthur would be in a new setting like that. He's a very confident and outgoing little boy, and I had often wondered if he'd be shy EVER, but he has his moments sometimes. I stayed the whole time, and will do so for the next two or three sessions. After that I'll see if he's happy for me to leave. He wouldn't sit down at the table with the group till Joshie patted the chair next to him and said softly, "Come on, Arthur!" He's such a sweet little boy!
I had Nathan in my arms the whole time but he slept soundly so that was okay. Anyway it went great! They learned about the good Samaritan. They had a discussion about what it means to be kind versus mean (soooo apt for Arthur right now *sigh*). They cut pictures from the story and put them in the correct order. Rachel assigned a helper to Arthur to help him with cutting and ordering the story, but I told her that he could cut well, and he DID! I was so proud! :) He cut fast and on all the lines. They seemed quite surprised by how well he could cut :) I asked him which picture came first, and which one came next, etc, and he very quickly put them all in the right order without making any mistakes. So I was pleased that he could get stuck in with the work without being a bit behind in terms of skills learned, etc. Or being a bit young for it, and so on. That was a relief for me. They also did cutting and sticking and drawing (kind faces), and he LOVED that. He drew his first actual picture of a recognisable thing! Arthur's drawing isn't anywhere near what most 3-year-olds are drawing, I think. He hasn't yet done more than scribbles, although he can draw shapes (triangles, squares and circles). He asked me how old I was the other day, and I said 31. He wanted to write it! I carefully drew the number 3 for him to copy, and he said, "I've already done the 1..." and he had, with the little folded-down thing at the top of it too! He did a pretty good 3.
Anyway but he hasn't drawn faces, people, objects, anything like that. He will tell me he's drawing something, and it's just a bunch of scribbles to look at. I know other 3-year-olds who are drawing real stick people with smiley faces and hair, hehe! He'll get there. Perhaps I don't give him enough opportunities, or the right kind of encouragement? Anyway. So he drew a "kind face" - a circle with two slits for eyes, a line for a nose, a round mouth, and then added two lines sticking out of the bottom of the face, declaring, "That's the feet!" :) I was overjoyed!
They did singing with rhythm sticks - a pair for each child. Ohhhh he loved that! Banging things as loud as he could, and being encouraged to do so, hehe! They learned a Bible verse with the rhythm sticks, and listened to the story of the good Samaritan. At the end there was a prayer time, and to me, this was the BEST bit! Because Rachel asked if there was anything anybody wanted to pray about. A little boy stood up to show everyone a big plaster on his side, lifting up his top so we could all see. And another said he had a sore leg. Then - how precious! - the boy with the sore leg (who is 5), closed his eyes and prayed out loud that God would make his sore leg better! And another boy prayed as well. I think that was a real eye-opener for Arthur. I don't think he had any concept of children praying before. I pray with him every day and sometimes ask him if he wants to pray, but he always quickly says, "No, you." and so I do. I won't push him to pray. We also say grace at mealtimes (but honestly, we've only recently started, because we are shamefully forgetful about that usually), and usually ask, "Who wants to say thank you to God for our food?" and he always pipes up, "Mummy!" or "Daddy!" :)
Anyway, so he watched and listened. Yesterday at dinner, Arthur said, "Today, I'm going to be the one to pray!" We closed our eyes and waited, and then Arthur prayed, and honestly I could have burst into tears, my heart was so overflowing. His voice got all shy and quiet, and he said, "Lord.... thank you for our food... and..... Lord.... thank you that we like it. Amen." We found it so sweet that he said "Lord", just like we often do when we are praying aloud. Also, so cute that he thanked God that we liked our food, because he was sitting with a plate in front of him, containing a single piece of dry bread! As usual, he wouldn't eat the chicken casserole I made, and had his usual bread "with NO butter!". I also noted that yesterday was the first evening that I can remember where he hasn't rudely complained about the food. He didn't use the word "yuck" once. Which is a HUGE deal for Arthur, believe me! *sigh*
Tonight he wanted to say grace again :) It's so so so sweet to hear him pray!
I can't remember what the other "first" for Arthur was lately... if there even was one. Nathan just woke up crying so I have to stop for now. I'll try to write more bits and pieces soon!
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