Skateboarding already

S. and M. have been trying to skateboard with their new gear their Dad had got them. S. is quite good at this, better than me (which doesn’t take much !). Anyway it seemed to calm down his hyperactive energy burst on Sunday afternoon. You could tell he was proud of himself, as he was in a positive mood on the way home. The boxer who won silver in the Olympics was apparently hyperactive which was why he was sent to learn boxing. I think busy hands need to be kept occupied or else they end up in trouble. The behaviour of students (male) in the program ‘That’ll teach them’ dramatically improved when they were busy learning how to change a tyre. This is why, although the temptation is great, I do not hide the lego. It is a double edged sword, its hand-occupying abilities versus the time spent putting it away, extracting it from between one’s toes, bedcovers or yelling in excruciating pain when it is stepped on, just about win it over.

H. is now waking up when it is light (sometimes) which means the days suddenly seem separate and not merged into one. I think getting them all in to a routine when school started helped, but it is a relief at the weekend not to have to rush around first thing in the morning.
H. is now not so complacent if you want to remove an object from his hand which is inappropriate e.g. CD case. Loud protests follow.

M. had a go at ‘writing’, drawing himself a line and then scrawling along it, much as I do myself. He was able to tell me to select the racetrack with a ‘B’ in it when playing a spaceship computer game.

Now H and M (not the shop) are both asleep I’d better get my exercise and do the laundry (3 flights of stairs 8 times I think).

Autumn's here and so is school...

S. is finding school OK, although like any other nursery he adamantly says he won’t go in the morning. He’s been coming home on the mini-bus the last few days. It does feel like he’s grown up suddenly. We decided against him being picked up in the morning as it was going to be a ghastly five past seven pick up, much too early!.
S.’s love of fires continues, and we tried to see how to make one without matches from the internet but it does look tricky. I think his dad is going to have a go this weekend, but keeping some matches on hand in case all fails. S. really wants to go camping but the weather is getting distinctly autumnal and a bit of planning is also required.
Today we read a bit from his space book and tried the suggested experiment about there being no air in space. This involved a candle, much to the kids delight. However as usual my experiments never seem to work as the book says. The candle went out before it was supposed to. I hope that doesn’t mean we have less oxygen in Sweden !?. S. consolingly told me , don’t worry that’s what experiments are for, to try things out to see if they work. (I think I must have used these words before to him ).I think I was more disappointed than he was !
M. drew a person for the first time a couple of days ago, just in time for his 4 year check up with the health visitor, which he managed to pass with flying colours. Surprisingly his height is only average (but Swedish average) and slightly above on the weight side.
H. copies his brothers with their intonation patterns (as in ‘Where’s the baby ?’) and screams etc. My ears feel like I’ve been talking on a mobile too long after all the high-pitched sounds they put up with.

Career prospects loom

S. has now decided he does want to go to school to learn to read and write as well as learn Swedish. (I did try to let him know I would be there to help with reading etc. too !)

This is because he has also decided he wants to have three jobs when he grows up. 1. Doctor, as his Dad is encouraging him 2. Lego builder. 3. Space engineer. Being literate is of course a prerequisite for these professions.

He plans to have weekends off though. The thought of earning lots of money is very interesting to him, as his current pocket money obviously takes quite a while to accumulate into enough to buy what he wants.

He’s tried to do some maths in the sticker book his Granddad gave him today. He was ok at adding up in multiples of 2, 3, 4 etc. He didn’t want to follow my advice to use fingers, but wants to do it in his head. It was as if I could almost feel the heat from his overworking brain.

We watched a bit of the Olympics Opening ceremony, which for mine as well as his benefit could have done with a world map accompaniment so as to pinpoint the participating countries locations. I do feel sorry for Micronesia, the name somehow gives negative expectations to its team !

Swimming school has been quite a success, although I was hoping he would be able to do a bit of doggy paddle by the end of it. However he has learnt to go under water with his eyes open, swim on his back with a life jacket, and jump into deep water. I suppose they want them to feel confident first. He does know the movements for breast stroke in theory. So he is now eligible to do the ‘dolphin’ course next. M. is still afraid to even blow bubbles in the water so may be we’ll try again next year.

H. has learnt to give kisses on demand and helps tidy away the Lego, he thinks it’s a game !How long will it last ?!

S’s last day at nursery today, with a weekend off and then InshAllah starts six year class on Monday.

H. s little progressions

I keep forgetting to include H.’s small but significant progressions. His walking is now quite confident. He looks like he wants to break into a run sometimes, e.g when he hears the dishwasher being opened. He enjoys playing a sort of golf with a ball and whatever ‘stick’ comes to hand e.g remote control. I still notice he cannot use his hands fully independently, so if he moves one the other moves in the same way although not actually necessary for the task in hand.
He has always been astute at emptying containers, bags, bins etc but I have occasionally come across pots filled with bricks or toys and I think they are down to H.
He’s now keen at feeding himself, and gorges roast chicken like anything. ‘ba’ is a consistent ‘word’ for ‘more of that please’ and has started waving bye saying ‘ta ta’.
He also continues to imitate head shaking for ‘no’ and no waving his index finger as I do sometimes, but with a glint in his eye. ‘mama’ seems to have been used, when he’s in a lot of distress, like when he’s been left in the cot so I can actually sort out that dishwasher.

M. has drawn a ‘lady’ for the first time today, well it was something more than a scribble, and wrote ‘M’ ‘A’ ‘S’ ‘B’ Arabic ‘faa’ on the paper as well, I think inspired by his older brother.

Swimming continues but not for all

Their Uncle has been here this week so have not had a chance to go on the computer so much. S. has been progressing surprisingly well with the swimming. For a start I was surprised how willing he has been to actually go. He has only missed one session when it was a slightly colder and wetter weather. They haven’t actually done much swimming as such , but they are getting them confident in the water. Yesterday he almost dived, accidentally, into the big pool. It was supposed to be a jump but he slipped a bit ! This didn’t put him off.

M. has a plaster cast on his leg as he woke up the other morning in a lot of pain and could hardly walk. After his dad took him from pillar to post, they decided it was a problem with the way his foot was growing, and a cast would give it a rest I think. It should be coming off on Monday. At least he hasn't been so enthusiastic about the swimming, as obviously he’s had to forgo the classes.

H. just today came round to being alone with his Uncle, the day he was leaving. He was in tears for the first few days, and when I had to leave him for a few minutes (e.g. when I had a shower) he got hysterical ! Any potential kidnapper will be returning him pretty sharpish if H. has anything to do with it !
He is now starting to learn how to get off furniture as well as on. There seems to be more and more things that I can only do effectively whilst H. is asleep and his nap time is likely to get less and less (e.g showering, emptying dishwasher, washing the floor..) This also includes using the computer so I’d better get on with some of the afore mentioned tasks !

A first time for everything

 
Due to the cooker (temporarily) packing up, I was checking our housing association’s website as they have a discounted shop for buying these sort of things. Here I noticed there was a free ‘simskola’ for residents. We have  wanted them to learn to swim and thought it would be good as if they did not like it we won’t have paid anything. Anyhow getting something for free in Sweden is a novelty so not to be missed ! The bank charging 50 Kr for forgetting my pin number for example, or 150 Kr per problem at the GP’s.
  So yesterday was M.’s first time in a swimming pool.
The swimming was eagerly awaited by both the bigger boys, but the pool was actually an outdoor one, and the weather is not so hot nowadays. M therefore had to brave the cold as well as the water. A friendly teacher coaxed him in and he stayed in for a good 10, 15 minutes. S was very brave and well behaved. He put his face in the water and did not object to holding hands in a circle with only little girls. He also used the polystyrene spaghetti shapes to try to swim. It’s every weekday for 3 weeks, I assume depending on the weather.
S. still v. enthusiastic about reading Arabic, and trying to teach M. yesterday mashAllah.

 
Well, what's been happening..  I dared to venture out in public with all three of them by myself, and I’m afraid I still get the feeling that in Sweden the idea that children should be seen and not heard persists. Nothing major happened, but on the bus back home it just seems so quiet, hardly anyone was talking to anyone else, so my two big ones playfully singing, talking excitedly and seat swapping made me feel self-conscious. I was checking the bus driver’s expression now and again, as once one got a bit annoyed by them. I’m usually more relaxed if it’s an immigrant driver as they probably see them as normal kids ! Maybe I’m paranoid…… By the way the Swedish word for immigrant is ‘invandare’, ironic as the Vikings were real invaders !!
 
Anyway back to the boys development. H. can now climb up on to beds, chairs, but not down yet, so leaves him looking a bit worried, as am I. I am expecting him to fall off any minute ! He has been pressing buttons of all types for a while now with his index finger. There are many red buttons for the timed lights in the corridors down to the cellar, so when we go he is quite happy. Cause and effect is therefore well established. Another interest are the tv remotes. He looks very confused if we have taken out the batteries to ease our frustration, and hence he can make no change to the TV channel, volume etc.
His walking is quite confident now and he hardly ever crawls, but his stranger anxiety is still there, two elderly people tried to smile and talk to him the other day but he gave them some stern looks, turned away, and tears. So my children are liked in Sweden, sometimes. One other quirky thing he does is to lie his head down and smile if he ever comes across a pillow or cushion lying around, as they do from various pillow fights that have happened.
 
We were watching  'you are what you eat' the other night, I thought quite educational, but as the lady said ´'zinc will boost your sex drive', I could sense the cogs going round for a few seconds and then S. said 'what's zinc will boost your sex drive?'  After a moment's thought all I could come out with was 'I can't think how to explain it'  which AlhammdulIllah he accepted as an answer , surprisingly. I have explained the mechanics of baby making in basic terms when asked, but beyond that I hope it will be a while until he persists on asking about that. But I must not assume 8.30 pm TV, beforethe watershed, is appropriate.
 
M. bought a lego set himself, happy to wait his turn in the queue, but on this same shopping trip he took himself to a computer games shop, giving me almost heart failure in the process as I couldn’t find him for 5 minutes. It was just by Grace of Allah I chose that particular shop to ask where the helpdesk would be and there he was, not a care in the world, deeply studying a computer game box . I thought he was improving in this area, but noone could say he lacks anything in the independence department, maybe the sense department though. Maybe he should take some lessons from H. as it's like he's been reading those separation anxiety sections in child psychology books .
M is now good at writing the letter M since my friend showed him a join the dot technique, so maybe all those Winnie the pooh dot to dotcomputer games have been of some benefit. He also drew an Arabic ‘bah’ on a giroslip whilst waiting in the bank. M's always been disinterested in drawing so I’m glad it doesn’t apply to letters. I’m preparing myself for his failure on the ‘draw a man test’ in his 4 year check up coming up, as I doubt he’ll even draw a head, let alone fingers or toes !

S. has started to read (Arabic)

S. actually asking to learn to read Arabic so his Dad taking on a bit of responsibilty for this as he’s obviously better at this than me. S. actually getting the idea and really enthusiastic although it’s just pages of short words, no pictures etc.
Maybe he’s doing better at reading Arabic than English because he doesn’t know very much Arabic meanings at all (yet) so he can’t just guess. Also Arabic seems to stick to the rules unlike those erratic English vowels (and consonants) He was recognising a few words from Surahs (Sirat for example)

S. has finally got his prize X wing fighter lego set that he’s bought with some of the money he’d been given by Uncle and the rest for giving up sucking his thumb. He managed to stop straight away actually, anything is possible if the motivation is there, but still sucks st night. Next hurdle is nappies at night as well, but wait until settled in school, but how do you change unconscious behaviour !

Bread, velcro and fireworks..

Have had trouble logging on recently as I'd forgotten my username, can't blame pregnancy any more for memory loss, so let's go with chronic tiredness as the excuse...

Anyway here's some of the stuff they've been up to over the last week or so.
S. discovered a new use for toasters; to practise 2 times table (if you have a small one) 4 times table if you have one like ours, a bit more advanced. i.e how many times would we have to use the toaster to get 6 pieces of toast etc.

On the subject of bread M. has been making toast Montesorri style so peanut butter and cream cheese a new combination this week, lots of protein at least...

On a trip to the park next to Ikea, tried to play pooh sticks but no flow in the river. Well it turned out to be a lake with a bridge over the narrow bit. Found the plant that inspired Velcro, name of this escaped me but answers on postcard (couchgrass?) S. wants to make a fire without matches as there are barbeque spots around the lake.

S. and I watched a Gunpowder plot programme which led to discussion of Christianity, catholics, a lot of it too complicated for now, but obviously interested in gunpowder and fireworks. I never was taught the religious background of this, in fact only realised it recently, so British catholics should actually hate nov 5 . Use of language now similar to todays' issues re: freedom fighters, terrorists, harbouring, intelligence, enemy within but I digress....

H. needing only 1 nap a day sometimes, too much excitement going on to stay asleep.

At last Friday ! ( I forgot to publish this, so out of date)

Bismillah

All these early(ish) starts getting them all ready to get one to nursery are a bore. They just can't get back into a early bedtime routine since the excitement of having guests last week, and with the Swedish sunset being around 10 pm it does not help, so grumpy faces in the morning when they have to be woken up.
S. read a word without prompting last night during his bedtime story, 'to' as 'toe' but then very logical as he knows'no'. So sort of explained magic 'e' and that there is a word 'too' that sounds like what he said.
I expect I was interupted mid-blogging by some child-induced catasrophe or other..

A Thunderous day

Bismillah

Well one day of nice weather yesterday and now back to the usual rain. H. really loving making trill sounds, more like a burglar alarm than a mobile phone now !
S. thinking any of my suggestions for activities 'boring' but he decided himself to make a lego space ship and instructions and packaged it up in an old teabag box, giving it a label. Enjoyed listening to and reading along a bit with Dr Seuss 'Sam I am'. He just doesnt want to look at the letters just remember the words or guess from the first letter. Found a word 'for' on a Kit Kat piece and made it with magnetic letters and talked about the different spelling of 4, lots of future work there with English irregular spellings: there/their etc homo something or others I cant remember its been a long time since my speech therapy course !
Big tantrum about his new school in August, he just doesn't want to go, but how else will he learn Swedish?!

Surah learning coming on better than expected, I think it just needs regular practise a little every day.

M very tired walking home from nursery today but a large clap of thunder made him run v quickly with a glint of excitement in his eyes !
Watching old video of Paris trip and now M does admit it is him not baby H on the video.

First day of blogging

29th June 2004
Bismillah
Did the scanning in the supermarket and S. wanted to scan baby H. but he has no code to scan ! H.s started walking 2 days ago and S's first tooth came out. S. watching 'reach for the skies' as loves air, space travel. SO some history and science rolled in to one.
Yesterday tried to do some sight vocab with space type words, but still not so keen, but he does know some. He's interested in the length of words, e.g 'jet' is very short. Still feel he s the only child his age not reading but I know logically this cant be right. But I don't want people to blame it on the fact he's not at school. At least the Swedes think 7 is a good time to start, so no pressure from their part, mainly from myself..