Thursday, August 28, 2008
Dentist blues again
Griffin was supposed to have fillings done on his molar last Tuesday. Unfortunately, he did not want to have his tooth drilled so we had to reschedule it for next monday. I'm really hoping that he would cooperate next Monday.
Griffin in a good mood
Griffin was not in a good mood again this morning. I told him to go to bed early yesterday because he always has a hard time getting up in the morning, but he went to sleep at around 11:00 pm. So as expected, he was still sleepy this morning and did not want to dress up and brush his teeth. Fortunately, when I brought him to school, he did not cling to me like yesterday. When I picked him up, he immediately came out the door when he saw me, the told me, "Mommy, I'm in a good mood". I said, "Very Good" and I was really happy today because he has been a good boy.
Letter from Griffin
This is the letter Griffin mailed last Friday. They went on a mini-field trip to the Post Office to mail letters to their mommies and daddies. The letter arrived yesterday. In his letter, Griffin says he wants to be a Scientist when he grows up.
Willie's Birthday
It was Willie's birthday yesterday. He was on leave for that day. We brought Griffin to school that morning and he wasn't in a good mood but his teacher told him that they would be racing cars that day and was able to coax him into going in the room.
When I picked him up a few hours later, he was still in a bad mood. He looked so sad. He said it was because he wanted the car that opens. We proceeded to Greenbelt where we had lunch at Fish and Co. Initially he was still sad, until we started taking some pictures then he began to smile and laugh already. Griffin ate garlic bread dipped in butter or clam chowder. He also had some fries which he covered in salt.
We were supposed to watch The Clone Wars but it was not showing at Greenbelt. We ended up at Time Zone then Powerbooks and Landmark. After, we proceeded to Seattle's Best where Griffin had milkshake and a giant oatmeal raisin cookie. That night, we had Amber's palabok and barbecue.
Here we are at Fish and Co.
Here's the AVP I made:
When I picked him up a few hours later, he was still in a bad mood. He looked so sad. He said it was because he wanted the car that opens. We proceeded to Greenbelt where we had lunch at Fish and Co. Initially he was still sad, until we started taking some pictures then he began to smile and laugh already. Griffin ate garlic bread dipped in butter or clam chowder. He also had some fries which he covered in salt.
We were supposed to watch The Clone Wars but it was not showing at Greenbelt. We ended up at Time Zone then Powerbooks and Landmark. After, we proceeded to Seattle's Best where Griffin had milkshake and a giant oatmeal raisin cookie. That night, we had Amber's palabok and barbecue.
Here we are at Fish and Co.
Here's the AVP I made:
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Informal Report - 1st Quarter SY 2008-2009
Informal report by Teacher Cristy
1st Quarter SY 2008-2009
Participation in various routines:
Griffin participates actively in all activities - he joins group activities without difficulty and expresses his thoughts and ideas very well. He is attentive and focused during work time. He is less playful during circle time.
Reception/retention of concepts:
Math: He has mastered most of the concepts we have taken this quarter. He just needs to be careful when counting more than 6 objects in a set and to be more consistent in establishing patterns (what comes next) with 3 objects or more as well as distinguishing alike vs different with 3 or more objects involved.
Language and Reading: He has a very good vocabulary. He is able to sight read number words, colors, months; he can read _at, _an .... words and has an excellent grasp of letter sounds. He knows his alphabet very well and can identify upper/lower case letters. He speaks in sentences with clarity.
Gross and Fine motor skills:
Griffin is well coordinated; aside from running around and playing in the slide when outdoors, he also shoots balls in the hoop quite well. His penmanship has improved and he now tries to write without tracing.
Self help skills:
He is very independent and likes to do many things on his own. He works with little supervision as he can follow directions well. He takes off/puts on his sandals, washes his hands, eats, brushes his teeth, changes his shirt by himself.
Attitude towards others:
He loves playing with his classmates, especially the boys. He is generally good at sharing and taking turns, and gets annoyed with others who are unable to do so. He responds very well to teacher's promptings.
Remarks:
Griffin has done extremely well this quarter. We just need to help him cope and deal with situations that he finds very frustrating.
1st Quarter SY 2008-2009
Participation in various routines:
Griffin participates actively in all activities - he joins group activities without difficulty and expresses his thoughts and ideas very well. He is attentive and focused during work time. He is less playful during circle time.
Reception/retention of concepts:
Math: He has mastered most of the concepts we have taken this quarter. He just needs to be careful when counting more than 6 objects in a set and to be more consistent in establishing patterns (what comes next) with 3 objects or more as well as distinguishing alike vs different with 3 or more objects involved.
Language and Reading: He has a very good vocabulary. He is able to sight read number words, colors, months; he can read _at, _an .... words and has an excellent grasp of letter sounds. He knows his alphabet very well and can identify upper/lower case letters. He speaks in sentences with clarity.
Gross and Fine motor skills:
Griffin is well coordinated; aside from running around and playing in the slide when outdoors, he also shoots balls in the hoop quite well. His penmanship has improved and he now tries to write without tracing.
Self help skills:
He is very independent and likes to do many things on his own. He works with little supervision as he can follow directions well. He takes off/puts on his sandals, washes his hands, eats, brushes his teeth, changes his shirt by himself.
Attitude towards others:
He loves playing with his classmates, especially the boys. He is generally good at sharing and taking turns, and gets annoyed with others who are unable to do so. He responds very well to teacher's promptings.
Remarks:
Griffin has done extremely well this quarter. We just need to help him cope and deal with situations that he finds very frustrating.
Friday, August 22, 2008
1 to 100
A few weeks ago, I was surprised that Griffin was able to count to 100. Sometimes, when he's so hyper, willie asks him to count and rest for a while. There are times when he is asked to count to 10 or 20 or 100. When told to count to 100, he used to just count to 20 then say 100. But this time, when told to count to 100, he really counted from 1 to 100 with very little help.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Mumps Update
Griffin seems to be just fine, in fact, he doesn't seem to feel any pain. The swelling has subsided and he can eat anything. He even ate chewy candy. He's also very active. He's jumping and running around the house like he wasn't sick. I guess, he has very mild mumps maybe because of his MMR shots. I'm glad that he's OK already. I just hope his cough and colds go away soon.
Here is the happy boy playing with his Transformers under the table.
Here is the happy boy playing with his Transformers under the table.
Griffin Has Mumps
Griffin fell asleep at around 9:30 pm. Before sleeping he was lying on the bed then suddenly said his right cheek ( near the ear) hurt. I checked it and it looked like there was a very slight lump. I was wondering if it was mumps. He fell asleep though after nursing. At around 12:00 am he woke up crying, then I saw that he had a big lump already on the right side of his face near the ear. I showed my mom and she said it might be mumps but she wasn't sure so we decided to bring him to Makati Med. Griffin was crying all the way there because he wanted to go home. He only stopped crying when we were about to leave the hospital. The doctors said, it was indeed mumps. Thanks to Griffin's Maxicare card, we did not pay for anything at the hospital.
He had his MMR shots before but the doctor said it might be a different strain so he could still get mumps despite the vaccination. He was only prescribed Ibuprofen for the pain. He did not want to take medicine though. When asked, he says he feels no pain. So this is why he had a fever last week. He actually had the virus already but it was just today that the swelling symptoms manifested. It is possible that he got the virus from school. The doctor advised that he stay at home for 1 week so he'll be absent from school this whole week.
Hopefully, he'll get better soon. I hope he doesn't feel pain so that he can still eat cheesedog with rice. The doctor advised him to be on a soft diet but Griffin being a very picky eater, I doubt if he would eat lugaw. Maybe he could eat sopas or soupy rice.
Get well soon baby!
He had his MMR shots before but the doctor said it might be a different strain so he could still get mumps despite the vaccination. He was only prescribed Ibuprofen for the pain. He did not want to take medicine though. When asked, he says he feels no pain. So this is why he had a fever last week. He actually had the virus already but it was just today that the swelling symptoms manifested. It is possible that he got the virus from school. The doctor advised that he stay at home for 1 week so he'll be absent from school this whole week.
Hopefully, he'll get better soon. I hope he doesn't feel pain so that he can still eat cheesedog with rice. The doctor advised him to be on a soft diet but Griffin being a very picky eater, I doubt if he would eat lugaw. Maybe he could eat sopas or soupy rice.
Get well soon baby!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Dust Allergy
When I picked Griffin up from school yesterday, his teacher said that Griffin was sneezing during class and he told her, " There are dust mites here. I'm allergic to dust mites."
Griffin associates his sneezing with dust allergy, but he actually has colds.
Griffin associates his sneezing with dust allergy, but he actually has colds.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Narrative Report - August 4 - August 8, 2008
Narrative Report
Period Covered: August 4 - August 8, 2008
By Teacher Cristy
As we started to talk about our latest theme "community helpers", we looked at pictures of different occupations and talked about some of the work that grown-ups do. Griffin identified several of the pictures (like the doctor, policeman, fireman, builder, painter.....) When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he said in a very sure tone "I want to be a scientist"!
He was quick to grasp the concept on sequencing (first, middle, last) as well as ordinal numbers first - fifth. He answered his worksheets in this regard without difficulty. He also easily understood the concept of determining patterns with 2 objects involved and just needed minimal cues with 3 objects.
The day after he got very anxious with work time, he was more relaxed when answering his work for the day and when he happened to write a wrong letter or draw a wrong line, he was very careful with his reaction and tried very hard not to cry.
During our visit to Medicus, Griffin was Zach's buddy as they were asked to walk in pairs during the tour. He listened and observed as the dentist talked and showed them different dental instruments. He also volunteered to sit on the dental chair as it was hoisted up and down by the dentist. He also listened to the x-ray technician as he showed some samples of x-rays taken. He also tried reading letters from the lighted eye chart.
Period Covered: August 4 - August 8, 2008
By Teacher Cristy
As we started to talk about our latest theme "community helpers", we looked at pictures of different occupations and talked about some of the work that grown-ups do. Griffin identified several of the pictures (like the doctor, policeman, fireman, builder, painter.....) When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he said in a very sure tone "I want to be a scientist"!
He was quick to grasp the concept on sequencing (first, middle, last) as well as ordinal numbers first - fifth. He answered his worksheets in this regard without difficulty. He also easily understood the concept of determining patterns with 2 objects involved and just needed minimal cues with 3 objects.
The day after he got very anxious with work time, he was more relaxed when answering his work for the day and when he happened to write a wrong letter or draw a wrong line, he was very careful with his reaction and tried very hard not to cry.
During our visit to Medicus, Griffin was Zach's buddy as they were asked to walk in pairs during the tour. He listened and observed as the dentist talked and showed them different dental instruments. He also volunteered to sit on the dental chair as it was hoisted up and down by the dentist. He also listened to the x-ray technician as he showed some samples of x-rays taken. He also tried reading letters from the lighted eye chart.
Good Mood
Griffin was in such a good mood yesterday. When I picked him up in school, he told me, "I'm a good boy today!". His teacher told me that he was even asking her, "Teacher is this OK?" while doing his work in school.
When we got home, he suddenly told me, "I want to do my homework." I asked him if his teacher gave him some worksheets and he said no. Then I remembered the writing books I bought. I initially asked him if he wanted to practice writing lower case letters since he's not at ease at writing them yet, but he wanted to write upper case letters. I gave him the workbook. I was expecting him to write just a few letters since I know he's not fond of writing. To my surprise, he filled up all the boxes and wrote the upper case A. I told him that I was so happy. He did not just do the A's but also the B's, E's and F's. He also wrote the missing letter on the picture words.
He has really mastered his upper case letters already, and would readily write his name.
Here are some photos:
Writing his name several times (A very big improvement. I used to beg him to write his name.)
His writing book. (It really surprised me and made me so happy that he's writing on his own. He used to always say, "It's hard ." or "I can't do it.")
When we got home, he suddenly told me, "I want to do my homework." I asked him if his teacher gave him some worksheets and he said no. Then I remembered the writing books I bought. I initially asked him if he wanted to practice writing lower case letters since he's not at ease at writing them yet, but he wanted to write upper case letters. I gave him the workbook. I was expecting him to write just a few letters since I know he's not fond of writing. To my surprise, he filled up all the boxes and wrote the upper case A. I told him that I was so happy. He did not just do the A's but also the B's, E's and F's. He also wrote the missing letter on the picture words.
He has really mastered his upper case letters already, and would readily write his name.
Here are some photos:
Writing his name several times (A very big improvement. I used to beg him to write his name.)
His writing book. (It really surprised me and made me so happy that he's writing on his own. He used to always say, "It's hard ." or "I can't do it.")
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sick Boy
Last Saturday, Griffin was so hyper the whole day. From morning till bedtime, he kept on talking and moving around. We went to the mall as usual and he even watched Mamma Mia with my mom and I. Although Mamma Mia was not the type of movie he would watch, he did not ask to go out of the movie house. He ate his popcorn and walked around the movie house barefoot. He only mentioned that he wanted to go home once, and I told him the movie was almost finished.
That night, he was still hyper, but at around 9:00 pm he looked sleepy already. We were downstairs at my mom's room so we went upstairs to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Once in our room, he was playing again and even wanted to play CBeebies on the computer. I let him play, but after a while his eyes looked really sleepy so I asked him to lie down already. I was lying on our bed beside him and I could feel that he was really hot. He also started sniffling.
The next morning, he was still hot although he was quite active. I gave him Tempra to lower his temperature. That night, he still had a fever so I decided not to let him go to school. I also cancelled his appointment at the dentist. He was supposed to have fillings done on his upper molar.
Yesterday morning, he seemed OK already but last night he felt hot again. He fell asleep at 9:00 pm. Unfortunately, he woke up at 2:30 am and asked for milk in a bottle. He couldn't get back to sleep so he was watching TV while I tried to get some sleep. He finally fell asleep at 5:30 am. I was wondering whether he would be able to get up at 7:30 am to get ready for school. When I tried to wake him up, he looked so sleepy but he got up anyway. He was even in a good mood when I dropped him off at school.
I think he got the virus from the mall. As I mentioned earlier, he was barefoot in the movie house, then when we were at Food Choices, he licked his toes. Aside from our weekly Time Zone, where he could get germs from playing there. He doesn't wash his hands, then he loves putting his fingers in his mouth.
Hopefully, he's fully recovered already and I hope he has no tantrums today.
That night, he was still hyper, but at around 9:00 pm he looked sleepy already. We were downstairs at my mom's room so we went upstairs to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Once in our room, he was playing again and even wanted to play CBeebies on the computer. I let him play, but after a while his eyes looked really sleepy so I asked him to lie down already. I was lying on our bed beside him and I could feel that he was really hot. He also started sniffling.
The next morning, he was still hot although he was quite active. I gave him Tempra to lower his temperature. That night, he still had a fever so I decided not to let him go to school. I also cancelled his appointment at the dentist. He was supposed to have fillings done on his upper molar.
Yesterday morning, he seemed OK already but last night he felt hot again. He fell asleep at 9:00 pm. Unfortunately, he woke up at 2:30 am and asked for milk in a bottle. He couldn't get back to sleep so he was watching TV while I tried to get some sleep. He finally fell asleep at 5:30 am. I was wondering whether he would be able to get up at 7:30 am to get ready for school. When I tried to wake him up, he looked so sleepy but he got up anyway. He was even in a good mood when I dropped him off at school.
I think he got the virus from the mall. As I mentioned earlier, he was barefoot in the movie house, then when we were at Food Choices, he licked his toes. Aside from our weekly Time Zone, where he could get germs from playing there. He doesn't wash his hands, then he loves putting his fingers in his mouth.
Hopefully, he's fully recovered already and I hope he has no tantrums today.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
A Frustrating Day at School
Griffin had a bad day at school yesterday. I think his bad mood started while we were still at home. He wanted to put his ID on his back just like he did the other day but he couldn't figure out how to do it again so he got frustrated and threw the ID. On the way to the school, he wanted to nenen but I did not let him. I carried him inside the school and he did not want me to leave. He only let go of me when he saw Zach arrive.
I thought everything would be OK already, but I was wrong. When I picked him up, his teacher told me that he wasn't able to do his worksheets. The teacher said he was doing an ABC dot to dot but missed out on a letter, but since he was using markers he could not erase it, this got him frustrated again and started banging the marker. Teacher Cristy said everytime he makes a little mistake, he starts to mad, that's why she just sent his worksheets home.
I told him it was OK to make mistakes because everyone makes mistakes. I told him that if he misses out on a letter, he can just go back to the letter and continue. He said it's not OK because it won't be the right shape. He has always been like this. When he can't do something correctly, he gets frustrated and starts throwing things. He always wants to get it right the first time.
I was glad though, that he did his worksheets at home, even if he did not do everything in one sitting.
I thought everything would be OK already, but I was wrong. When I picked him up, his teacher told me that he wasn't able to do his worksheets. The teacher said he was doing an ABC dot to dot but missed out on a letter, but since he was using markers he could not erase it, this got him frustrated again and started banging the marker. Teacher Cristy said everytime he makes a little mistake, he starts to mad, that's why she just sent his worksheets home.
I told him it was OK to make mistakes because everyone makes mistakes. I told him that if he misses out on a letter, he can just go back to the letter and continue. He said it's not OK because it won't be the right shape. He has always been like this. When he can't do something correctly, he gets frustrated and starts throwing things. He always wants to get it right the first time.
I was glad though, that he did his worksheets at home, even if he did not do everything in one sitting.
Almost weaned?
Months before Griffin turned four, he promised to stop making "nenen" when he's four years old. The night of his 4th birthday, he fell asleep without asking for "nenen". He was just lying down on the bed while watching TV until he fell asleep. I was kind of sad that he did not ask for it. I even missed it. However, when he woke up at the middle of the night, I let him nurse again.
The following day, he would still ask to "nenen" but this time he would say, " I want to nenen-na 10 seconds only". That's what he would always say everytime he wanted to nenen. I would count from 1 to 10 then he would stop.
Last night, he wanted to nenen-na 10 seconds. I wanted him to brush his teeth first, but he did not want to. He kept on crying until he gave in to brushing. I allowed him to nenen 10 seconds. When he was done, he was asking for milk in the bottle. I did not answer right away until he started crying saying, "Because I'm still hungry". I felt guilty and told him,"Is that why you did not want to brush?" and he said,"Yes". He said he wanted cheesedog with rice so I made some for him. He just ate a few spoonfuls of rice. He looked sleepy already. I turned off the light and he was just lying down watching TV until he fell asleep.
It makes me so sad when I see him just lying down on the bed at night. I'm so used to him saying to me, "Mommy, I want to nenen", before going to sleep. When he wakes up at night, he used to say, "Mommy, nenen-na" but now he would whimper and touch my shirt but he would not say anything. It seems that I'm the one who's having a hard time weaning Griffin. I allowed him to nurse again when he woke up in the middle of the night. Oh well, at least he knows now that he's supposed to stop nursing already although he still can't stop completely. He needs a little more time to get used to slowly weaning off the breast. I need a little more time too, to get used to this. It has been our bonding time everyday. I did not think it would be hard on my part, but I was wrong.
My baby is really a big boy already.
The following day, he would still ask to "nenen" but this time he would say, " I want to nenen-na 10 seconds only". That's what he would always say everytime he wanted to nenen. I would count from 1 to 10 then he would stop.
Last night, he wanted to nenen-na 10 seconds. I wanted him to brush his teeth first, but he did not want to. He kept on crying until he gave in to brushing. I allowed him to nenen 10 seconds. When he was done, he was asking for milk in the bottle. I did not answer right away until he started crying saying, "Because I'm still hungry". I felt guilty and told him,"Is that why you did not want to brush?" and he said,"Yes". He said he wanted cheesedog with rice so I made some for him. He just ate a few spoonfuls of rice. He looked sleepy already. I turned off the light and he was just lying down watching TV until he fell asleep.
It makes me so sad when I see him just lying down on the bed at night. I'm so used to him saying to me, "Mommy, I want to nenen", before going to sleep. When he wakes up at night, he used to say, "Mommy, nenen-na" but now he would whimper and touch my shirt but he would not say anything. It seems that I'm the one who's having a hard time weaning Griffin. I allowed him to nurse again when he woke up in the middle of the night. Oh well, at least he knows now that he's supposed to stop nursing already although he still can't stop completely. He needs a little more time to get used to slowly weaning off the breast. I need a little more time too, to get used to this. It has been our bonding time everyday. I did not think it would be hard on my part, but I was wrong.
My baby is really a big boy already.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Narrative Report - July 28 - August 1, 2008
Narrative Report
Period Covered: July 28 - August 1, 2008
By Teacher Cristy
Period Covered: July 28 - August 1, 2008
By Teacher Cristy
Griffin has been like a little policeman lately, telling classmates during play "I don't want pushing, OK.", and suring (one) snack time when Maddie wanted some cereals from him, he said "You have to eat your own food so you will have energy"! On One hand, he is like a little grown-up, he even teases the girls "You're babies". On the other hand, he really is still a little boy - he sometimes thumb sucks, and when he's tired, he easily gets anxious when a classmate accidentally steps on his foot or he gets pushed at play.
When we talked about our country, he answered "Philippines" when asked what the name of our country is. And as we talked in Tagalog, he repeated words and phrases as I said them and explained what they meant. He was the only one in class though who could count 1-10 in Tagalog. : ) When we talked about doing good deeds, being respectful, being nice, he asked "what's mabait?" when questioned "Are you mabait?".
As we reviewed beginning sounds of words that started with vowels, he answered most of them without difficulty and even wrote the letter answers in the boxes by himself. When he saw a picture of an escalator, he initially answered "escalator starts with "S". : )
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Griffin's 4th Birthday
We did not have a party for Griffin's 4th Birthday. I just had the Mystic Force Power Rangers cake and cupcakes made as he requested. The night before, he slept a little early, so I had time to inflate his balloons and make his clown balloon arrangement. I put up his tarpaulin and taped some balloons around it. My mom and I moved our dining table and brought up a small round table for his cake.
The morning of his birthday, he woke up and wanted to "nenen". Willie told him, it was his birthday and he's already 4 years old so he's not supposed to "nenen" anymore. He said, " You mean now?". He got up already and asked for some water. I told him not to go out of the room yet. I went out to arrange the cake and cupcakes on the table. I had him put on dress up clothes so that he won't be in pajamas in the pictures.
When he opened the door of the room and saw the cake and balloons he said, "Wow!". He ran to the cake. We took some pictures. We sang Happy Birthday to him I asked him to make a wish before blowing his candle and he said, " I wish for a baby!". After the candle blowing, he wanted to see his gifts already. I gave him a map and some clues to where he could find his gifts. Of course, he loved all his gifts and began playing with his toys especially the Transformers.
At night, he had a joint party at Tai-ma's house with JD and Auntie Pebbles. He ate barbecue and pizza crust then he played with Jamie and JD till around 9:30 pm. My mom told him that we were going home and he did not complain. He looked sleepy already. He was one happy boy on his birthday.
Happy Birthday Baby!
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