Two recent events brought home a really cool benefit of working at the public library most probably don't think of - it's a great place to work if you have a child.
A couple weeks ago, Shea had to make an unplanned trip to the doctor (nothing serious but it couldn't wait either) so she called to see if I could watch Pace for half an hour. I said 'yes' so she dropped him off. Pace and I went to the Children's Library downstairs and borrowed some toys then went back up to my office, I closed the door and Pace managed to (mostly) keep himself entertained between the toys and the notepad I gave him to make me some art for my wall. (He does an excellent circle!) We also did a quick visit to the others in my Unit and it's nice to be in a workplace where people are happy to see a child - not always the case in my experience. When he wasn't able to entertain himself, he tried to help me with an e-mail I was sending and let's just say I'm happy there's an Undo function in most computer programs now. Oh, he also found daddy's "treat drawer" and there even happened to be some gummy worms in there! (My co-worker: "You're going to let him eat the whole bag?" If it keeps him happy right now, yep!!!)
Then last Wednesday, Pace's daycare was coming to Central for storytime (they'd come a few other times but I'd always been busy and never able to make it.) I was pretty busy this day too having been tapped to facilitate an internal forum we were holding to talk about some issues around materials handling. But our Facilitation Plan had been finalized first thing that morning so I figured there wasn't much else I could do and a storytime might even help distract me prior to the big event in the afternoon.
My plan was to sneak down and stand in the back of the room so he wouldn't see me at all but of course, I timed it poorly and arrived just as Pace's daycare was filing in. So he spied me immediately, grabbed my hand and there was no way I was getting away from him!
We went into the storyroom and the kids got seated in the front (he's the blondie in the photo below) but it's lucky I snapped this pic when I did because he soon after came and joined me where I was sitting against the wall.
He did really good for the first couple of stories (well, except for one fingerplay where the person doing the program told a story of an alligator eating monkeys in a tree. At the end, the instructor used her alligator puppet to ask the kids if they were monkeys and they all shrieked "no!" Except for Pace who blurts out, "I a monkey!" Not sure if he did this because his group at daycare are called the monkeys (honest). Or maybe we should stop calling him a monkey at home so much! ) The instructor later told me that she'd never had a kid say they *were* a monkey before in this program when the alligator turned its attention to the crowd. (That's my boy!)
By the final story, he was getting a bit restless and started asking "Where's mommy?" in a louder and louder voice. Oh shit, I thought. I ruined storytime and the daycare workers are going to be pissed at me too! I took him out and eventually got him settled then took him back in as they were watching a final short video. He was a bit tearful but quickly settled in with his worker (who I apologized profusely too if I got him all riled up for the rest of the day. I also apologized to the instructor for our disruption but she said it was okay - she'd been doing storytimes long enough that she'd seen everything and I shouldn't worry about it.)
One final peek at Pace then I was off to get the venue set-up for my facilitation session - any nervousness I had about doing something that I haven't had formal training in put into proper perspective by a very enjoyable visit with Pace during the daytime - a treat I rarely get.
I mentioned yesterday that after taking Pace to his first Pat's game,
it seemed like he may have gotten bitten by the hockey bug. Today has
already confirmed it. From demanding his "hockey shirt" (jersey) the
moment he woke up to playing ball hockey in the living room non-stop
throughout the day, I think we've got a fan/player in the making!
Some highlights: - after he takes a shot, he thinks he needs to run and tackle me (maybe confusing hockey and football a bit?) - he also likes to do a full 360 after shooting (maybe confusing hockey and figure skating a bit? ) - he says he
prefers to score goals to stopping them but it's still fun to get him
to try to fall down in front the nerf fall we're using (usually about
five seconds after the ball has slowly rolled past him) - Shea was
playing net at one point and goes "Why do I feel like this is the first
of many, many times I'll be doing this." (Because it is.) - he's got a pretty good shot for a little guy. Lucky we're using a nerf ball as he even managed to raise it a couple times! - when I try to
sneak onto the couch and get on the computer, he commands "On the ice,
daddy!" and points to the carpeted floor with his stick (maybe he'll be
a coach instead of a player?) - Shea's not happy about this but somewhere in there, I also taught him how to throw a punch.
I was offered tickets to tonight's Pats game so ended up taking Shea, Pace as well as my parents to what was Pace's first live hockey game. It was a pretty good one - early Pats lead with a couple goals by Jordan Eberle followed by a Broncos comeback then scoreless OT and a shootout loss.
I was explaining different things about the game to Pace, trying to use terminology and references he would understand. Bodychecks were "crashes", the Broncos were "the bad guys" (although since their logo is a horse, Pace initially wanted to cheer for them!) and the penalty box was "time out". (To use the same joke when I uploaded the following photo to Facebook from the game - "time out being a reference that I think Pace understood only too well!")
Fun times - I think we may look back on this as the day that Pace officially got bitten by the hockey bug. When we got home, he grabbed a couple mini-sticks I had and ran around the living room swatting a ball and diving all over the place. Lord (Stanley) help us!
Pace is two and a half now and so I thought it'd be fun to do a list of the books I like to read him at bedtime (note: these are *my* favourites to read. His favourites list would include: "That book about diggers", "That book about fire trucks", "That book about tractors" and "That book about semi-trucks.")
There are probably a couple commonalities to the books on this list - they don't get boring to read, even after repeated tellings. They all have either a chance for interactivity beyond the actual reading OR are quiet and peaceful. (And obviously, I try to start with stories in the first category and end with stories in the latter.)
Off the top of my head and in no particular order... "Time for Bed" - Mem Fox "Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes" - Mem Fox "A Second is a Hiccup" - Hazel Hutchins "Where The Wild Things Are" - Maurice Sendak "Goodnight Moon" - Margaret Wise Brown "Daddy Kisses" - Anne Gutman - probably one of our most "fun" books to read with a chance to share a kiss on every page "Kiss, Kiss!" - Margaret Wild - Shea's equivalent of my "Daddy Kisses" but I like to read it too! "Hungry Caterpillar" - Eric Carle "Piggies" - Audrey Wood "I'm Dirty" - Kate McMullen (and to a lesser extent, her other books as well such as "I'm Stinky", "I'm Mighty" and "I'm Bad") Pretty much any Robert Munsch, especially "Mortimer". On the other hand, I don't even try to get through "Love You Forever". (Edit: "Llama, Llama Mad at Mama", "Llama, Llama, Red Pyjama" and "Grumpy Gloria" all by Anna Dewdney are Shea's favourites, especially the first one.)
) The instructor later told me that she'd never had a kid say they *were* a monkey before in this program when the alligator turned its attention to the crowd. (That's my boy!)
