Developmentally appropriate...I think

So, Nora doesn't really like to learn from me or Matthew.

Our family would never make it in the Homeschooling world. Nora would end up hating me and I would end up disowning her. Thank God for the public/private school systems!

It's funny, I'm a teacher, I stay at home with my kids. People sometimes assume that I spend 3 hours a day in "study" with my children.

Um, I don't. We play a lot.

Oh sure, I'll try and break out some schooling every now and then because the guilt has gotten to me. What usually happens though is that I spend 15 minutes getting all the stuff out, arranged, pumping Nora up for the fun we are about to have and then, either Elyn destroys it or Nora loses interest in about 2 seconds.

Then I remember we are paying good money for her to go to Mother's Day Out two days a week next year and I get out the tea set and we have a party.

I have posted before about how I was worried about how she didn't know her colors...she does now.

I get nervous because she can only identify 2 or 3 letters of the alphabet...then I remember she is 3.

She can count to 20, but skips 15 and 16. Maybe subconsciously she realizes these are going to be, potentially, difficult years of her life and she is already trying to avoid them.

Whenever she "reads" something and points to the letters, she ALWAYS says, "N. O. R. A". So, yeah, she can spell her name, but she thinks EVERYTHING is spelled N.O.R.A.

Speaking of reading, the girl would lay in her bed for HOURS looking at books, so I feel as if I have been successful in that area of her education.

As far as coloring and drawing goes, she is only mildly interested in those. She recently discovered that by staying "in the lines" of a picture she is coloring, she will get a ton of praise from me and Matthew. (And by "in the lines", I mean, NEAR the lines).

She likes to write. She loves to make lists and write letters to people. HOWEVER, if I attempt to correct her finger placement on the pen/crayon/pencil, she gets frustrated with me and insists she can do it herself. Also, if I try to teach her how to draw a letter or a picture, I am met with the same stubborn child.

It's a wonder I haven't given up all together.

Today Matthew and the girls were playing in the garage. Nora ran inside to tell me to come and look at her picture:
I was SO excited to see her picture of a head on two legs! (By the way, it's a picture of me).

I, being the teacher I am, immediately started going through my professional books to find out if she was on track developmentally or, as I feared, developmentally behind.

Here is what I found:

...The next stage is usually referred to as the Preschematic Stage, where
children make their first representational attempts. This stage usually
starts at about four years of age and lasts until around seven. Here
children draw the typical head-feet representation of a person and begin to draw
a number of other objects in their environment with which they have had
contact. (from Creative and Mental Growth)

Well, hallelujah! It looks like she might be on track. (She turned 3 in February.)

I also went to the Internet and found this site that reaffirmed what my outdated college textbook told me.

I rarely get to brag about "what Nora knows", I'm happy to have a reason today.

And thank you for taking a few minutes to humor a proud mom.