Our Children Are Our Greatest Teachers

Learning is something Matthew enjoys very much, however, he also knows what to do when things are getting harder with learning. When things are getting harder, not just children, us too, sometimes we redirect our energies somewhere else. Let's see how Matthew redirects his. He will be three years old in about plus two months.

I started Mommy's school a couple of weeks ago. Mommy (me) is a teacher and Matthew is my only student.

Day 1: 'Welcome to the Mommy's School' - my invitation.
'Yes, Mommy Matthew is coming to Mommy's school' - he would yell with excitement, come and sit on his colored chair. He would also say things like 'Yes Mommy teacher, lets get stickers'. He loves stickers every time he finishes one page of tracing.

Day 2: 'Welcome to the Mommy's School' - my invitation.
'Oh yes, lets go to school' - Matthew would yell again with excitement and come running to his colored chair.
He is drawing lines, zig zag's and spirals. Two pages completed at no time. He gets a sticker, smiles and walks away from my school to play with other stuff.

Day 3, 4 'Welcome to the Mommy's School' - my invitation.
'Yes I am coming to Mommy's school' - Matthew would reply every time.
However, he starts to slow down. Pages are getting a bit harder to trace - circles, squares, triangles, diamonds. One page per one school day now. He gets a sticker, but this time he gets it himself - he picks, he sticks. Matthew is gaining more control over my school.

Day 5 'Welcome to the Mommy's School' - my invitation.
'But Mommy, you sit Matthew's chair, I sit Mommy's chair' - Matthew replied on the day five.
'Mommy you be student, Matthew be teacher' - he announced and would not let me talk.
'Mommy you WRITE' - he commended me before I opened my mouth.

'Our children are our greatest teachers' - goes with this story.

Spaghetti Pasta Defined

Matthew asked: 'Where is my friend Daddy?'
Yes, Matthew now calls his Daddy his friend.

Matthew said once in the car while eating chocolate: 'I am chocolate-holic.'
We told him once that he is chocoholic. He loves chocolate. Favorite: Kinder and Lindt.

Matthew once was walking home with me and saw lady shoveling a snow.
He looked at me and asked: 'Can I say Hi to lady?'
I replied: 'Of course you can.'
After he greeted her, she asked him: 'Where are you going?'
Matthew proudly replied: 'I am going home and going to eat Lindt chocolate.'
I followed his response to her: 'He is chocoholic.'

Today I asked Matthew: 'Who is the Prime Minister of Canada?'
Matthew responds: 'Prime Mister of Candada is Stephen Helper'
He eventually got it right, the Minister, the Canada and the Harper.

Matthew answers the phone: 'Hello, anybody there?'
We get lot of dead calls, so he starts with verifying if anybody is there.

'Matthew what do you see, one finger and one finger together?'
Today during dinner I showed him one finger from left hand and one finger from right hand side by side.
'I see eleven'- Matthew replied.
Visually he is correct, mathematically he now knows that there are two fingers.

Matthew is a proud owner of the 'Matthew's Cuisine' - play kitchen for kids.
After while my kitchen tools slowly migrated to Matthew's Cuisine. When I look for something, now I have to extend my horizons to his kitchen.
Matthew while cooking in his Cuisine: 'Look Mommy I am chef cooker.'

Ten thousand times a day I have to pretend to be Pepper Pots from the Iron Man.
My line: 'Here comes Pepper Pots. Welcome to Tony Stark Expo' - and I slide the Iron Man suitcase.
Eventually Matthew got bored of me being Pepper Pots.
Matthew: 'Mommy you be bad Iron Man, and Matthew be Pepper Pots.'
Why bad Iron Man? No idea.
Matthew's line now is: 'Here comes Pepper Pots. Welcome to Tony Stark Expo' - and he slides the Iron Man suitcase.

While typing keyword for his favorite cartoon on the YouTube - PINGU (yes he can spell this typing and reciting), Matthew turned around and said to me: 'Look Mommy I am good typer'.

Matthew likes spaghetti pasta. I make him spaghetti pasta very often and I have usually handy if he feels like having it for dinner. When Matthew wants spaghetti, he asks: 'Mommy can I have straight long pasta for dinner'. This is his definition of spaghetti.

'Matthew how old are you?' - lady at the department store asked him, while we were shopping for appliances few days ago.
'I am two years old and nine months, I live ### Street Trail in Aurora home, I spell two words PINGU and ELMO' - and that was his answer to her.

Every time I remember things Matthew said or did, I laugh inside and I put a big smile on my face. Now I am sharing it with you and hope you can laugh and smile with me.

For Love Of Pete

Children learn fast. When we are angry we have tendency to use bad words. I did it - once and twice. The parrot started to repeat, so I had to stop. For love of the Pete is the safest saying for me around Matthew - it really covers all the angles of frustration. Love and Pete, it cannot get any better.

Matthew is now speaking very clearly, and builds perfect sentences. He also understands everything, but has very selective hearing. He picks up everything we say. He uses later. He even sometimes repeats our conversation - a technical one. But then I also wonder - when children pick up those bad sayings, how do they know when to use it?

I knew that For Love of the Pete will become his one day, and it did. When first time he was saying it, we were not impressed. We did not even know what is was, but is sounded bad, very close to Italian swearing. I asked my husband - have you been swearing in Italian around him? Slowly we figured out, and now whenever Matthew sees someone acting funny, doing something that is funny he has his own saying.

For love of Pete this lady is crazy! Or for love of Pete this man is crazy! - and he laughs out loud. Never mind he told me once 'For love of Pete, mommy is crazy'. What's next? The 'oh my Goodness' is slowly creeping in.

By the way, to follow up with the Santa Mommy post. I ended up dressing up as the Santa. Matthew enjoyed it very much. Wasn't even scared and he took a picture with me - but I know why. I forgot and started to speak normal to him. He kept looking back, thinking I was in the room. May be next year I hire Santa to do the job - I can only see him laughing at me, and he may think for a long time that all Mommies are Santas.