Chess at Four?

I admit it, I'm trying to teach chess to a four-year-old.

I was inspired by a mama-friend at my parish . . . well, inspired by her gentle, kind-spirited, artistic, brilliant brood of children (all of whom play chess). Recently I saw on her blog that her #5 child was competing in a chess tournament amid a sea of other players . . . and this child is all of seven or eight years old! So I asked her when a child can be introduced to chess: her answer? She starts exposing them at three years old and they start learning the maneuvers at four! She said that some four-year-old players are already good at the game. This mama waxed poetic about the benefits of learning chess (teaching patience, the ability to sit still, strategic analysis) and I decided that I wanted to discover if John has an interest.

At my friend's direction, I bought Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster. The program arrived, I installed it, and I introduced John to it today . . . and then I could not peel him away for two and a half hours! The program works by teaching the kids seven arcade-style games, each one of which teaches how one type of chess piece moves. (For example, we learn how kings move by playing a game with sumo wrestlers trying to shove each other off the mat.) By the end of mastering these seven games, the child should have a solid foundation for and interest in starting to play actual chess.

John has almost never been allowed to touch the computer, so he was simultaneously learning the computer games and learning how to use a computer at all. I was fascinated to see that a computer was intuitive to his child's mind. I could say, "Click on the icon" and he could figure out what "click" and "icon" meant. He learned how to maneuver through menus and maps that were rather complex. Now he can scroll, drag, double click, and so forth.

Interestingly, the games themselves have the feeling of teaching by the Socratic method--if I'm remembering my one year of law school well. The computer doesn't spit out a bunch of instructions. Instead the player has to take his mouse, click around, investigate, see what pops up, and figure out the rules by trial and error. I could hardly tear myself away from watching how the child's mind worked, how he could learn the rules of a game by giving it a try blindly, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes. John would ask me how the game worked and I'd answer, "I don't know, why don't you try clicking around and find out what happens?" And then he'd learn it! I was also somewhat reminded of how lab rats learn . . .

Also I bought a tournament-style chess board, as recommended by my friend. The board is a mat that rolls out. The pieces are nearly indestructible, even by a teething baby or mischievous toddler. And it all comes in a neat carrying case. Part way through playing the computer game, John spotted me unpacking the new chess set and he stopped, "WHAT IS THAT?" He was so excited that he ran over, set up the pieces in a random way, and insisted we start playing.

I had to tell him that I don't know how to play chess yet! But I could help him set up the board properly as a first step, so we did that. Then we went back to the computer game.

I have to say that I think I exhibited keen strategic skills in my ability to sit with John at the computer for two and a half hours, and do my laundry and dishes, while juggling a two-year-old and a five-week-old!

I am really excited to learn chess myself. I will report back if the computer program is a success in helping teach chess to my boy! The box says that Fritz and Chesster is for ages 8 and up . . .

Homemade Playdough

John has been using Play-doh often lately, making some really neat (recognizable!) objects, such as pizzas with various toppings, a bird's nest with eggs, and a dinosaur with teeth. On Thursday we made homemade playdough for the first time (using this recipe): I had no idea the project was so inexpensive and easy!

The resulting playdough seems of excellent quality, although I suppose I'll know more as the weeks go by and we see how long it stays supple.

Mary's first words upon coming down to the kitchen this morning were: "Can we check on our playdough please?"

My Big Little Girl

There was an administrative glitch at the state with Margaret's PKU test so today we had the visiting nurse out again to readminister the blood draw. While she was here, I asked for a weight check since Margaret and I got off to a slow start with good nursing. Now it's easy as pie and there is no pain, but I wanted to make sure she was gaining appropriately. I had hoped she'd reached about nine and a half pounds. Turns out that Margaret now weighs 10 pounds 8 ounces! That means she's gained an ounce and a half per day for the last three and a half weeks. Go girl, go! No wonder her newborn clothing has already become snug and I'd asked Chris to get the 3+ month clothing out of the attic.

Today John used Play-doh to make a nest with bird eggs in it. I was struck that he wouldn't attempt to draw a nest with bird eggs in it, as he still mostly scribbles, but he was able to create it in three dimensions. It is interesting to me how the mind works. That made me think of Handwriting Without Tears which uses, as part of its program, modeling clay to teach the children how to form the letters before they are putting pencil to paper.

Note in the photo John's pale skin and dark circles under his eyes. He hasn't been sick-sick since Sunday, but he's still obviously sick. His appetite is not returned and he is eating only a few crackers or a slice of toast each day. And each day he spends some time being energetic and excited like his normal self and spends other portions of the day lying on the sofa feeling nauseated. I started to wonder if he was faking it so I stopped letting him watch TV when he'd lay down, yet he still lays there on the sofa, looking pathetic. Last night he went to sleep for the night two hours before his normal bedtime. Poor little guy!

Easter 2011

Mary's sickest days were Friday and Saturday, John's sickest were Saturday and Sunday morning, so we couldn't attend Easter Mass. By Sunday afternoon the children were feeling well--although I know they were (are) still sick and contagious, and we had them on meager, sick kid food rations. We gave them their Easter basket and let them hunt plastic eggs, with the strict instructions that they were not allowed to eat any of the candy till they were no longer sick!

I asked to take a photo of the kids and Mary instantly climbed as high as she could to pose. FYI, John is wearing his pajamas, which he wore all day.

The 70-cent pinwheels were the most popular item in the Easter basket. The kids are simply mad for them!

We completed our Crown of Thorns Lenten craft by removing the remaining thorns. (I'm sure the kids had done enough good deeds, but the project had gotten away from me so I wasn't daily reminding the kids that they had just done a particular good deed and should go take out a thorn.)

Then we affixed "gemstones" (from the dollar clearance section of wedding decorations) so that Jesus could have a beautiful crown in Heaven.

For our Easter dinner feast, the children ate plain white rice while Chris and I ate take-out food so that we'd have no dishes to wash . . . since doing countless loads of laundry and sick kid clean-up had worn us out!

He Is Risen!

My big brother and big sister are sick with some kind of gastroenteritis, so there are no Easter Liturgies, Easter baskets, or egg hunts for them today! We didn't go to Easter vigil Mass, but Daddy was awake all night anyway doing sick kid duty!

I'm five weeks old tomorrow!

Homeschooling Closet

Recently we were able to reclaim the space in the utility closet off the kitchen. We have transformed it into a homeschooling supply closet. I am excited to have everything in one place!

Catholic liturgical calendar

Arts, crafts, games, manipulatives

Books on homeschooling theory

Books on Catholic liturgy within the domestic church (aka, the home)

Workbooks for preschoolers

My Smashing New Hat

Hello, I'm Miss Margaret Anne, almost five weeks old (not that a lady likes to talk about her age). Nice to meet you. I received this smashing new hat, hand made by a dear friend of my mommy. I think the red really suits me. She has the most generous friends, let me tell you!

You can't really tell unless I'm undressed, but I'm growing some lovely new fat rolls, especially on my thighs. I nurse about 15 times per day, that's my special diet secret! Although I sleep one solid stretch from about 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., then I achieve quite a few of my nursing sessions by waking every hour thereafter until I'm up for the morning at 6:00--and that's on a good night! Last week I stayed up fussing much of each night, but the last two nights I've decided to relax a bit more. All that partying isn't good for my complexion.

This is my Big Brother John. He takes wonderful care of me, often entertaining me. I try to maintain my humility, but I must point out that I am the very first person that John and my Big Sister Mary visit each morning (even if Mama is still sleeping!). I'm very popular around here.

I try to maintain my fans having access to me by making sure my Mama never puts me down. She tries throughout the day to set me down oh-so carefully when I am fast asleep and she thinks I won't notice, but I keep ever vigilant. I wake up as soon as she sets me down--or, ideally (to teach Mama a lesson), I start screaming as soon as Mama has walked all the way back downstairs so she has to come back up the stairs to retrieve me. We go through this enough times each day until Mama gives up and agrees to carry me and let me take all my naps on her for the rest of the day. When will that Mama learn?!

Good Friday 2011

We dyed Easter eggs on Good Friday to have them ready for our priest's blessing of Easter baskets on Holy Saturday (a Slavic tradition).

Sleeping Margaret was along for the ride. She's pretty much in the thick of everything.

Our colors were particularly vibrant this year. I figured out that the trick to having the kids be patient enough to leave the eggs in the dye was to ply them with snacks at that time.

Chris took John to Stations of the Cross at noon and I took Margaret to the Passion liturgy at three, but unfortunately none of us made it to Tenebrae at seven.

First Business Trip

I got through Chris' first business trip since having Margaret. He was gone for two daytimes, two bedtime routines, and one overnight. I found myself pretty humbled because it was a short trip and I even had our two-mornings-a-week nanny come in for six hours one day to help me, yet still I was exhausted and felt "at my limit." (To be fair to myself, it didn't help that Margaret had a 5-day stretch of giving me only two to four hours of broken sleep per night, and then the first night she slept vaguely okay, the two-year-old screamed bloody murder throughout the night. I've been "running on fumes.") It's quite something to anticipate the lengthy absences he has coming up.

Putting the kids to bed myself resulted in John making this strange little camping mat for himself. That pad is narrow and meant for a window box seat.

And Mary fell asleep on the floor in the landing upstairs instead of in her bed. I kept putting her in her bed and she kept coming out. Eventually she fell quiet and this is the scene I found!

Caught on Camera

The whodunnit: For a week I've been finding door knob locks removed and thrown to the ground. Who was removing them from the door knobs?

Caught on camera: Miss Mary!

Evidence: Door knob locks on floor, pantry door open, suspect herself coming out of pantry with contraband (marker pen in hand), evidence of usage of contraband (note the marker ink all over her dress)

Mystery solved!

Fun Messes

Yesterday morning the kids tumbled downstairs and, instead of grabbing cereal boxes first thing, they grabbed the "play rice" and started scooping and pouring with old spice bottles I save. I was enjoying that they were occupying themselves until I realized, "I have a four-week-old baby. I don't even have time to sweep the disgusting kitchen floor regularly and I just gave my kids a big bag of dried rice . . . which is now strewn across my entire floor. Smart move, Mama." Well, it got me to sweep up the floor anyway.

At two-and-a-half, Mary has launched into representational drawing. In the bottom right of this page, she drew a sun with rays coming out of it (then scribbled over it). And on the left side, she drew some kind of little person or creature (head, eyes, two legs).

Here, Mary showed me that she drew Mama on the right side (big figure with some skewed facial features) and herself on the left side (smaller figure, two eyes, two arms, two legs). Fun!

This afternoon the kids were occupying themselves beautifully for almost two hours with two spray bottles and a few rags in the sun room. Then I heard screams and protests, "He was spraying me!" "She was spraying me!" I asked, "Were you two fighting or were you having fun spraying each other?" They sat in perplexed silence and I explained, "You could be spraying each other to be mean or you could be spraying each other to have fun. Which was it?" "FUN!" The little guys hadn't known you could have a fun water fight, so then they drenched each other, one spray at a time, and giggles abounded.

Learning to Sew

I've been sewing more often in the last year and I think I'm finally starting to "get it," to understand the big picture. I learned to sew initially nine years ago when I took a class in which we all sewed a pattern together (a pair of slacks). A humorous note is that I gained weight over the course of the couple of months I was taking the class, such that I couldn't fit into the slacks I finished sewing, nor have I ever been that thin again!

That was my only professional sewing class. Then five years ago, my friend Sarah had me over for a few sewing lessons. I pick her brain often, as well as that of one of my aunts who is an extremely experienced seamstress. Then a few months ago, the mother of a friend gave me a sewing lesson on collars, puffy sleeves, and gathering. Lastly, I look up technique instructions online: YouTube is helpful!

I find that reading a pattern and envisioning how these pieces of fabric will fit together is like oragami (for someone who has never been taught to do oragami). I start a sewing project and can't envision how on earth the fabric will create a dress, so I plod ahead with blind faith, step by step. I don't "see" the garment until the very end when it is coming together.

But I think I'm starting to get a sense for it now. I'm finding that I'll see an item of clothing and "see" how it was constructed. Sometimes I think, 'Oh, I could make that. I see how these parts were done, the technique used here and there.' Just on Sunday morning, I dressed Mary for Mass in an expensive designer dress (although, of course, I only buy such things on rock bottom clearance, or even at a consignment store!) and I realized that I could have made that dress and it wouldn't even have been too hard.

Then during Mass I was wrangling the children and suddenly I had an epiphany. Truly out of the blue, I flashed to that sewing lesson with my friend's mother, when she talked to me about sleeves, and I realized that I had made an error on Margaret's Easter dress that I'm currently sewing. It's okay, in that I can fudge it because this is a baby's dress, but I couldn't fudge such an error on a bigger person's sleeves!

I wonder if my seamstress friends can spot the error with the unfinished dress laid out.

Today I sewed Mary a summer nightgown out of an old tee-shirt of mine I'd thrown into the donation pile because the scoop collar had become too stretched out. I had been asking a friend where she buys pajamas for her children, as she and I both buy pajamas only in 100% cotton (no flame retardent chemicals) and without television cartoon characters: a tall order, let me tell you! My friend told me that she sews all her daughter's nightgowns herself out of old tee-shirts, so I took a try at it!

I laid out one of Mary's nightgowns for sizing, then began cutting and piecing together. I made some errors along the way, but nothing that matters much for a two-year-old. (I did this project while wearing Margaret in my Moby Wrap and while involving the bigger kids in "helping"--although twice Mary snuck away and got into mischief.)

Here is the final product! Mary's nightgown reminds me of the dresses worn by some of the female Greecian characters on an episode of the Original Star Trek.

Entertaining the Baby

I don't think Margaret is enamoured of the attention yet, but the children never tire of trying to entertain her. I have to keep a close eye because their ministrations can be too affectionate and end up being rough. It is very sweet though and I think that maybe as soon as one to two months from now, the kids will be buying me time to finish chores by entertaining the baby and keeping her from fussing!

I don't know Margaret's weight right now, but check out the milk fat cheeks growing on this one!