I had to fill out an "about your child" questionnaire for Henry's new school. Here's what I wrote:
Childs Name: Henry DOB: December 11, 2008
Describe your child… personality, reactions, likes, dislikes, etc.
I have a lot to say about Henry…I know it is a lot, but my hope is that this information will be useful to you. We are so blessed that Henry is such a great kid, and such a sweet, nice, loving boy. Sometimes he is prone to being a little whiney, especially when he is tired, but besides that he is just so sweet and fun. He has a great sense of humor, and likes to make jokes. For example, he puts things on his head that he knows are not hats, and cracks himself up. Sometimes he will do something silly, and then say “noooo” to indicate that he knows it is a joke- like the hat example. He still loves games of peek-a-boo, or games that involve making silly noises. We really crack each other up sometimes. He is also extremely ticklish.
Henry understands sharing, which is something we have worked on for a while. He understands the concepts of taking turns and trading. Sometimes he protests, but overall he is a very good sharer, especially for his age. When he is playing with someone else, he will often take two of a toy and offer one to his friend. He also likes to share food, and will often try to feed his friends.
Henry is assertive, but rarely, if ever, aggressive. I think in helping him learn to share, we have curbed some of his assertiveness, and I would like to see him continue to be assertive, if it is his nature to be so. In other words, I want to make sure that we don’t give him the message that he has to be passive just because he has to sometimes share.
Henry is very social, and enjoys other children and adults-- adults more than children sometimes. If Henry is ever shy, it only lasts for about a minute. The only exception to this is sometimes when he first wakes up from a nap, he can be clingy and shy. This can last up to a good half hour, but it is not the norm. In addition to being very social, Henry is also very independent. He is comfortable playing by himself as long as he knows an adult is nearby. Often he will take an adult by the hand and lead them to join in his game, whether it is gesturing for them to sit down with him, or handing them a truck to play with him, or a book to read with him.
In the past, and only once in a blue moon, Henry has been known to bite me, but it is always in a moment of love. He has never done it out of anger. He has not bitten me in a while, but I mention it just in case.
Henry usually does not seem to have too much separation anxiety, relatively speaking. For the past month, he has been content to just say “bye” to me and give me a kiss when I tell him I am leaving for the day. I think this is a sign that he is happy, and I am hopeful this will continue at Montessori.
Motor Skills: Henry is very physical. He walked at 9 months and has reached physical milestones early- lifting his head, rolling over, crawling, etc. He always solves any “problem” he has physically- for example, if he wants something, he is so much more likely to find a way to get it himself than ask me for help. He is very resourceful this way. I think that his fine motor skills are above average, and that he is very strong for his age. For instance, he can pull himself up in a chin up on a bar, and push heavy objects around. He can throw and kick a ball, and loves to spin around until he makes himself too dizzy to do so. He sometimes likes to experiment with body positions, and likes to put his head down with his tush in the air.
Verbal Skills: As an initial matter, Henry is being raised in a bilingual household. My husband speaks to Henry exclusively in French. Therefore, there are some words Henry says in French. The most obvious right now is that he says “oui” instead of “yes.”
Henry has always been very vocal, even as a baby, babbling constantly. Starting at about age one, he liked to “talk” on the phone to his grandparents, babbling as if he was having a real conversation. He then started mimicking our intonations in these conversations around 15 months.
He continues to say real words, and repeats many words that we say, sometimes without prompting. Henry will often use words when encouraged- for instance I ask him if he wants some strawberries, he will nod, and then I will ask, “oui?” and he will repeat “oui!” He does the same thing with the word “please” and “more.” He also uses these words independently of my prompting.
Significantly, he also recently said “Henry” which he pronounces like “Hah-nee.” For many objects, Henry refers to them as the noise they make rather than the word, so we have been working on asking him to repeat the word. Examples are vehicles and animals. During the past month and half, Henry’s vocabulary has exploded, with him saying new words whenever it strikes him to do so.
Also, he has very recently started putting two words together.
Progress in Toilet Training: [REDACTED]
What do you hope your child will gain from the Montessori experience?
Quite simply, we just want Henry to be in a loving environment. Everything else is secondary as long as he is cared for in a compassionate, loving and patient environment. We think that if that is the case, he will be free to develop naturally as a confident, curious, kind individual. So far, this approach has seemed to make him a happy and healthy child.
What would you like the teacher to know about your child?
The only thing I have not yet mentioned is that Henry is extremely musical. He has rhythm, and can carry a tune. He also is a great dancer, and has developed many different dance moves. He loves musical instruments, and loves to drum on anything, with sticks or just with his hands. Certain members of our families are very gifted, musically, (although it seems to have skipped us) but we are thrilled that Henry seems to share in this love of music.
We have a cat, and Henry adores cats and many animals.
Also here are a few tips about “deciphering” Henry, in case you ever wonder what the heck he is doing:
Personal space:
Henry likes to make a raspberry on people’s belly buttons and when he is comfortable with you, will try to lift your shirt to do so.
Henry likes to press your nose and have you stick out your tongue. Cute, until he tries to touch his tongue to yours.
Sometimes Henry will try to kiss you right on the mouth, open mouth.
Henry tickles you by basically pinching you and rotating his wrist. We are working on teaching him how to wiggle his fingers to tickle.
Words, noises:
Henry currently refers to animals and vehicles by the noises they make. The least obvious is his elephant, where he puts his hand to his nose, tilts his head, and makes a “woo” sound. Also a monkey is “eeeee”. And a bird is kind of like a cat, I think.
I am trying to encourage him to say “please” and “more” when he wants something, even if that is the only thing he says.
Sometimes he calls to someone by covering his mouth, palm out, and calling their name. He is mimicking when we amplify our voice by putting our hands next to our mouth.
Henry says “oui” instead of “yes.”
“Guy” can refer to any noun. “On” can refer to anything he wants.
Other:
Henry loves to sing the following songs: twinkle twinkle little star, wheels on the bus, itsy bitsy spider, alphabet, old macdonald, old suzanna, knick knack paddy wack, ants go marching, row your boat, hands up baby hands up…
When henry sees a helicopter, he makes 2 fists and pulls his elbows in and twists from side to side. He wants you to make a helicopter sound (chukka-chukka-chukka etc) and will stop as soon as you make this sound. Similarly, for an airplane, henry sways from side to side with his elbows sticking out and his fists in front of his chest. He will stop when you acknowledge that you see the airplane too. Henry loves trains, cars and trucks equally.
Henry calls all bugs “bee.” He used to be absolutely terrified of house flys, but I have tried to teach him that flies are sooo cool, etc. It seems to be working as he is less afraid.
We will use the word “patience” if Henry is ever having a hard time waiting for something.
