Speech pearls and genius ideas

Jonathan still has some speech pearls and cute mistakes, although he is almost 6 years old.
I used to enjoy it every time when he said that he thinks he has a "genius idea"...but then it seemed as if he is mixing the Hebrew word for genius with the Hebrew word for reasonable or logical.
Genuis is "GEONI" and logical is "HEGIONI".
weather his idea is genius (i.e bright and innovative) or logical (following a consecutive thinking path), I think the deceleration is still very sweet, no matter what type of idea he thinks he  has...(I tend to think that he thinks about genius bu says logical).

Jonathan heard a recording of mummy singing and asked how can it be done? In the era of smartphones, a demonstration was easily arranged and Jonathan enjoyed his first smartphone recording session. He sang a familiar children song, making deliberate mistakes and then laughing at himself. (Shakshuka means eggs with tomato source, Hashuka means to the market...the children song starts with the words I shall go to the market...Jonathan was singing I shall go eggs...)

Jonathan is starting to express more complex ideas.
for example: if mommy needs to work for money, then is mommy will work more hours then mommy will have more money...I learned this turn of logic one evening when I returned late from work and my son directly wanted to send me to work some more...because he wanted me to have enough money to buy him all the toys he wants...and I have only myself to blame because I have explained to him more than once that I must go to work in order to earn money for his food,clothes and toys...(and this is why I cannot stay with him in kindergarten).

Another interesting turn of thought was when Jonathan scolded me, declaring that he was not a waitress! I has asked him to remove his plate from the table to the sink (at the age of 5.5 years, removing his plate is his main task in the household, along with tidying up his toys - a task he only performed when I help...). Jonathan ususally removed his plate promptly when being reminded (and sometimes even before he is reminded to do so) but on that particular evening he was engrossed in a TV show (Sponge-Bob Sqaure-pants , if I am not mistaken) and he did not comply, but instead asked me if I thought he was a waitress, that he needed to remove plates from tables? It is needless to say that Jonathan was scolded heavily, made to remove his plate, and was at the receiving end of a lecture that mothers are not service maids in the house, right after I managed to swallow hard so as to prevent the burst of laughter and mirth that his so sudden a declaration had caused...

Just a week ago, Jonathan's teacher for social skills (yes, they have such classes...and Jonathan is attending one especially in the afternoons, as part of his preparation for school next year) told me how pleased she was that Jonathan was expressing his thoughts and difficulties clearly. Jonathan had to work on a drawing together with another child and they had to make decisions together and agree on things, and Jonathan found compromising with another very difficult, and he was ale to say so to his partner and his teacher.

If I needed more proof that Jonathan's expression capabilities are improving, I got it  yesterday, when Jonathan scolded his grandmother because he thought she insulted his father.
My mother only mentioned that Gummibaerchen, fruit jelly candy from Germany that my husband and Jonathan both love, is sweet and unhealthy. Jonathan reacted in defense of the sweets, the land they represent (Germany) and his father who takes care to have the sweets brought to us from Germany at every opportunity. My mother was not offended, but rather satisfied that her grandson could stand his own (and his fathers)  ground. I was happy that Jonathan expressed himself so clearly.

And in three weeks, Jonathan will be 6 years old! how time flies!

Jonathan and his Teddy

Sometime during March 2013, Jonathan lost his "Dubbon", the Hebrew word for teddy bear. I must admit that when I gave him the little furry bear when he was about 1.5 years old, I was not too creative in naming it. Still Dubbon was a loyal companion to Jonathan and an inseparable part of our family for 4 long years. that is, until he was lost. We do not know when and where. We looked everywhere! The last pictures of Jonathan with the bear are from March 2013.

Dubbon was purchased in Germany in a drugstore chain called Schlecker, when Jonathan was 1.5 years old. The chain no longer exists. It went bankrupted. why is this important to write about here and not in the economic news? because Jonathan was doubly saddened by the loss of Dubbon, when he understood that the shop no longer exists, and thus I couldn't just go an purchase another. In the first few days after Dubbon disappeared Jonathan hardly noticed. Then her remembered him again and there was no end to his tears. He still misses Dubbon sometimes, but luckily, he has "Teddy"

When I saw that Jonathan was getting too attached to Dubbon, I began to worry what would happen if he would get lost. We only had one such bear, and getting another was impossible even in the days when Schlecker was still open, as the doll was purchased on a whim and came from a "one of a kind mix" basket. About the same time, we received yet another teddy bear of more or less the same size (but lighter fur color) from German friends. The second bear was thus christened "Teddy" (mommy once more showing total lack of creativity) , I started placing the both alternatively in Jonathan's bed.

Thus is Dubbon has or be washed because Jonathan insisted to have it sit during his dinner,or if Dubbon was forgotten at grandmas house, Teddy would be ready to fill the bears place. although the bears were never identical, they were similar in size and in design, and Jonathan grew to love both. It was however always obvious that Dubbon was preferred. It was however Teddy who came to the rescue when Dubbon was lost, thus fulfilling its true destiny. Although Jonathan missed Dubbon, he was happy to be comforted with Teddy at his side. And as time went by, he became more and more happy with Teddy.

It has been 8 months since Dubbon was lost. I am sure Jonathan still remembers that he had another bear, but he loved Teddy so much! In the time since Dubbon was lost, Jonathan has mentioned him a few times, but this has been happening less and less. (One particular incident resulting in my printing a picture of the whole family in which Dubbon is also to be seen, and hanging it on the wall as a memorial...Jonathan spent the next few days showing the memorial to all his friends...interesting ritual, but it worked, I guess it was his way to mourn the loss of the bear...The picture still hangs on our picture wall, but the larger image that served as a memorial has been removed). I know that he remembers that Teddy is not Dubbon, but now I also know he is happy with Teddy and still very much dependent on the (new) bear for his bedtime comfort. Rules are stricter with Teddy, who is not permitted to be taken out of the house (except to grandmas), but still he too gets misplaced...I am so glad I took care to present him with an alternative bear early in his dependence on Dubbon...but now, I have no alternative for Teddy...

Jonathan and Jasmin Playing, Dubbon in His Lap - Last Pictures

Family Portrait - All 5 of us - Daddy, Mommy, Jonathan, Jasmin and Dubbon

Jonathan insisted that his teddybear be in the picture...

Pottery App

In the effort to communicate with my son, I am all into the apps (short for applications) and games one can run on a smartphone.
its not only for calling now...

Recently we have taken up a pottery app (in iPhone and iPad) and we compete for best sellers. Jonathan has a knack for it, but now that mommy has caught on...mommy is in the lead with a pot sold at $149...its a shame the images are not stored and so I cannot add images of the artistic creations we have made.

and it looks like this cool app has been developed in Poland.
They have a cool website, so although you will not see any of my creations there, or those of Jonathan (I am not sure what happens to pots that are"sold" on the app)
so take a   look at www.potterygame.com

Jonathan is also into "angry birds" (the app that started it all) and its new spin off "bad piggies" as well as "minion rush", "subway surf", "cut the rope" (now new with time travel) and even "sonic rush" (with a character from my childhood) and an occasional "amazing alex" or the supposedly more educational "toca builders".

Mommy likes pottery and rummy mobile. Daddy likes backgammon.

Its been months since I posted on this blog

The problem of having a little sister who is in her second year...most of the funny stuff that happens is performed by her, and thus belongs in her blog...
http://www.secondchildmom.blogspot.co.il/

Still, Jonathan is not without his share of fun and cuteness...
Here are the memories I jotted down for blogging...these ideas will be the base for the next posts.
jotting is done in Hebrew, blogging in English...

יונתן מתגעגע לדובון , נזכר בו ומדפיס תמונה משפחתית שכוללת אותו ושם על הקיר כמעין פינת זכרון

טדי בכל זאת משמח אותו קצת

אפילו העציב אותו שהחנות שבו נרכש דובון איננה קיימת עוד כי אי אפשר יהיה לקנות עוד אחד

הוא רוצה לשמור כוס פלסטיק חד פעמית כדי להזכר בכיף שעשה כששיחק איתה בחוף הים

DONE -I think I already wrote about this one...

יונתן מקליט את עצמו שר

ליונתן יש רעיון גאוני או הגיוני

יונתן אומר שאמא צריכה לעבוד הרבה כי רז יהיה לי הרבה כסף- הגיון פשוט...

 יונתן אומר שהוא לא מלצרית כשאני אומרת לו לנקות אוכל מהרצפה ועל זה אמא שלי אומרת שהמשרתים בחופש

The machines Builder

Jonathan has taken to planning and even building machines. Preferably laser machines.

He likes to draw out plans for his machines and make ingredient lists. Then he wants to build them, but is not always able to explain how. Planning the steps of a game and drawing instructions, drawing a course or planning the making of a cake (lets go to the supermarket and purchase ingredients and then we will bake a cake), are all charming pastimes for Jonathan. Decorating a plastic box and then declaring that it is a “creation” (Yetzira) or a machine is a daily event. 

I would have started to hope that I am raising a little engineer but then Jonathan wants to solve some issue with magic (mommy make magic so that…) preferably magic which entails the shooting of imaginary laser beams out of his hands (dramatic gestures, flying arms and shooting noises all included for special effects). Considering the statues he puts together at my parents (mommy, grandma, look I have built a machine..a laser machine…) using plastic boxes, toy pieces and a watering pot, I am raising a freestyle artists…such a shame that one must be truly exceptional to make money of art...Watching Jonathan handle any electronic device with ease (including my mother’s newest gem – the ipad) and his mastery of computer games, I do believe there is hope of him yet making a sensible living…Ah! Balsam to a mother's sole…

Playing big brother

Jonathan built the cart for jasmine from a carton…

Character Summary

If I were to summarize the character of my children and their learning methods I could do so with two simple sayings. Jonathan is the quantum leaper; Jasmin is the one after the other consistent. He the daydreamer, she connected to earth.

Jonathan can be stuck for months: repeating questions, discussing a subject respectively over and over again for days.  If he does not immediately succeed he wails and gives up. He is not thorough. Often he imitates, but with no exactness. He is detached from reality and lets a fantasy computer and cartoon world rule his imagination. It takes time for him to register how the world around him works, and he is often disappointed in what he finds. He has little patience or duration, bordering on the spineless, expecting mommy to solve the problem and somewhat typical for the eldest son. But once in a while he gets it! Suddenly its all comes together and he makes the quantum leap! And whatever it was he could not do before, he does naturally and flowingly.

Jasmin is the one who takes everything in. one step at a time. She is consistent and methodic – going about her way is small steps and phases to reach her goal. On the other hand she is earthly, connected to the world with sheer instinct. She needs to see something only once to understand it, and if she were not just a baby of 1 year and two months of age, I am sure she could also master any skill in a very short time. At this stage she imitates everything she sees immediately. She just gets it immediately! She learns quickly and imitates immediately. Her efforts seam not perfect only because she is but a baby!

How alike they may sometimes look, both strongly resemble their father, somehow, both have my “look” to them too. They are siblings. And yet, they are separate entities, two different people, who react to their surroundings in so different a way.

Jasmin, Jonathan and daddy

Funny words from Jonathan

Jonathan continues to demonstrate imperfect speech, and a few rather delightful mistakes...

23.1.13 – chilipili=philipinit *a lady from the Philippians or the Philippine language

January 2013, “Rimonen” (trying to say Granat -apfel in German, taking the German form and planting the Hebrew word Rimon into it).

24.2.13- One, two, fwee… (instead of three in English).

Drama drama drama

Jonathan loves to act! It’s lucky he has a drama lesson in his kindergarten. Ever the performer, I find out about what is going on in kindergarten, and what has been discussed through the songs Jonathan is singing or his stories about the drama lesson. Recently he has and increased demand for my acting and creative skills. One must wonder if the apple did not indeed fall rather close to the tree.

The object of the lesson, its turns out is to discuss a certain subject by telling a story. The story is to be acted out by the children. Each child gets a role to play, some small, some more significant. Once Jonathan played a door. He showed me an impressive imitation of closing and opening, as he turned his body from side to side, hands close at his sides. It truly was clear to me that here was a revolving door to behold. Another time he was a flower, holding his hand on top of his head in the shape of a lotus bloom. Adorable. Another time he claimed to be the star of the show by paying a bat…

Jonathan also likes for me to act out certain messages. He has taken recently to discussing caries as he brushes his teeth (or rather I brush them for him, his coordination still demands that I do so and I am told not to expect to relinquish the role until he has reached the age of 8). Taking inspiration from the famous “Carious and Backtus” book about the two little germs that cause holes in a young boys teeth because he eats to many sweets and does not brush, he want to know what the germs in his own mouth are going through and what they have to say when he is eating sweets, or on the daily occasion when his teeth are being brushed.

And so, aside from the actual brushing, I have taken to playing out the horror of the little bacteria as they are flooded with foam and water and a zooming gigantic brush. Jonathan laughs his head off, especially when I gurgle inarticulate sounds as he rinses his mouth (the germs cannot speak articulately when his mount is full of water for obvious reasons…). In fact, he has taken such a liking to the game, that when I recently has to wash his head with special shampoo against lice, I was once again asked to communicate what the lice were saying – as I was busy poisoning the parasites on his head, I has no choice but to make choking sounds of various types to represent their plight, much to the delight of my 5 year old son. Once again, Jonathan was being inspired by a book. There is a popular book in Israel about a small lice who eventually finds peace and affection on a bald man’s head – he likes having her around because having lice makes him feel normal.

Acting is a mode of communication for Jonathan. He likes to demonstrate rather than describe. If he wants to tell me of a cartoon he watched on the television, I am soon surrounded by all the special effects of the super heroes and sound of swooshing swords, as Jonathan fails to express himself in words but rather chooses to try and act out the story to me. In the age of digital photography, Jonathan, ever the performer, also likes to pose for the camera. Documenting memories for him is thus not difficult, as the images in this blog will s how I believe (although I refrain strictly from posing images of my children in Facebook, until they are old enough to with it). Posing as a muscular male or making silly faces to the camera is an often recurring scenario. Jonathan always finds interesting places for silly photos, like a pole in a train station of a niche in a wall he just has to stand in. Who knows, perhaps his natural behavior despite a camera, and even posing for it and courting its attention will serve Jonathan in his adult life…

Jonathan the model

Muscled boy

Communication modes of the 21st century

Jonathan is a child of the 21^st century and as such, he is hooked onto anything electronic. He is an expert of using a PC, the World Wide Web, television and DVD players as well as smart phones to seek entertainment. It’s lucky I control the passwords to these devices…slowly electronic devices become useful for more constructive requirements…

“Tom and Jerry” is a favorite “You Tube” show for Jonathan. He has long learned to find the videos by himself, including hitting the right keys on the keyboard to initiate a search (so it’s no longer “mommy, please write tom and jerry got me…), the process was a simple one, he opened a web page (with the mouse on Firefox, he knows how and recognizes the symbol easily) then he took a cover of a DVD of Tom and Jerry to the computer and simply compared the letters on it to the letters on the keyboard, and pressed the correct ones.  Since he has learned this skill, it has become harder to stop him from watching videos on the computer and limiting it to interactive games only. To complete the learning cycle, Jonathan has proudly sown me a drawing in which he attempted (a successful yet wiggly attempt) to write the words “Tom and Jerry” in English, right alongside his name in English/German and in Hebrew as well as the word Mommy (Imma) in Hebrew…

Recently he chose to use the show to express his request for a particular dinner. When he wanted to say that he was hungry, he instructed me to look at the computer, which was featuring Jerry mouse swallowing a piece of cheese (and being turned into a triangle in the process). Another time, when indicating that he wanted to help me cook, he once again turned me to the screen and showed me that Tom’s head was on fire (we use gas stoves with visible fire in Israel to cook on). Another time he showed me that he wanted a birthday party, by allowing me to see an episode that included a cake with candles (and I also believe an explosion of some kind, unfortunately for Tom cat).

Jonathan communicates best with friends around a computer (or if need be a smart phone). He can sit on hours with a friend and watch some funny You Tube of SpongeBob, play a game on a free games site (which he knows how to turn on himself) or play some “app” game like “angry birds”. The boys sit together huddled around some electronic device and their entire social exchange is dependent on it.  As Jonathan is an active boy and we make efforts to get him out of the house to the nearby playground often enough, his love of the electronic world is not causing him weight problems, but I do think it can impair his social world. So when a friend comes to visit, I try to get them to interact around “normal” games, like a card game, or a competition of jumping plastic frogs, or a tent Jonathan has standing in the middle of my living room … but sooner or later, the effort becomes exhausting and I relent and allow them to watch a DVD or play on the computer, while I go to fix them dinner.

 It is always frustrating to see that the social interactions of my son are best next to a screen of some sort - in front of a screen he can be animated, friendly and even generous (allowing the other child to play), these social skills disappear when the electronic device is turned off and Jonathan, I regret to say, is not much fun to lay with – he hates to lose and will not observe any rules of a simple box game.

Still, not all hope is lost! Jonathan is fascinated by the written word and adores his bed time stories. Looking at books is still exiting and he loves to draw and paint and work with his hands – helping me cook in the kitchen is always fun! Writing letters and words has become a major pass time, including making all sort of signs (like direction signs to his room, with his name on it, or the kitchen or restroom…all which hang on our walls and remain there because when I try to take them off Jonathan scolds me that people may get lost in our home…it is not relevant that we live in an apartment). He even created a drawing for the house door, featuring all 4 family members (interestingly mommy was very fat, Jonathan huge, Jasmin looking like a dog because she is drawn crawling baby and daddy is thin…despite the fact that he is huge is real life…) and our Family name written in squabbled  letters by Jonathan himself!

Unfortunately, he loses interest quickly in almost any activity (except free drawing and any form of electronic screen entertainment). I wonder if this is because he is a five year old and kids are impatient (especially boys), or is it the first signs of an attention deficit, or is it because he is a  boy, or is it just the way 21^st century kids are?  I guess I shall have to wait and see how he turns out. Years from now, I may read this post with enjoyment, knowing the answer…

Jonathan is well aware that this blog exists! He asked me one day to tell him about when he was younger (for a five year old it’s a statement indeed!) because I has laughed about something his little sister did, and said that he had also been that way. At this opportunity I also mentioned the blog and told him that I was writing things to remember. A few days later he asked me to show him “his story”. And so, I didJ

Creating

Jonathan loves to draw and paint! The word used in kindergarten for this artistic occupation is “yetsira” – Creation. So Jonathan loves to “create”. He is always showing me his efforts from kindergarten, some truly astounding, which I keep in a neat folder for his (and my) future enjoyment, but the quantities are just too engrossing – he draws every day and I just cannot keep up.  Most of his drawings and scribbling will need up in the recycling bin downstairs, but I have learned not to remove recent acquirements, as he just might look for them… A Jonathan scribble needs to grow old before it end its career.

In December2012, we purchased a new washing machine.  IT was delivered and unpacked and the carton became free to use. I naturally allowed Jonathan to keep it for a while. With a friend of my husband’s helping and Jonathan giving strict “construction” instructions, a door and windows were cut into the carton house. Jonathan than took colored pens and decorated it from inside. He drew the view on the windows (you can see the cloudy sky through the windows) and flowers on the walls and pictures too (you hang pictures on the walls do you not?). The result was truly homey and cozy, its was a true pity I could not fit it (Jonathan of course invited me to visit…I had to decline due to my size…).

The carton ruled our living room (and the tent was forgotten for the duration) for about 3 weeks, with me moving it out of the way all the time and tolerating it. However, once Jonathan has finished the house (thus completed the creation process of it) he lost interest in it almost immediately. He played in it maybe once of twice, and eventually, after seeing that he no longer paid any attention to it whatsoever for more than a week, I removed it.

Jonathan’s creativity is not limited to pen and paper. An opportunity presented itself the other day to get creative in the bath tub. I foolishly left the bottle of shampoo low on the tip of the bath tub. Jonathan emptied half its contents into the water and created enough foam to last him an hour in the water! He used it to “paint” the bathtub glass walls and called me to admire his work. I was not pleased to see what he had done (and I scolded him for wasting good shampoo) nor was I happy to realize that getting the soap out of his hair was depending on my replacing the water entirely, but the bubbles were so enticing, that I joined him in the tub!  Jonathan realized this effect, and the nest day emptied the second half of the bottle into the tub in the hope that I repeat my gesture from the previous evening. I did not…but my husband did! The next day we did not leave any shampoo lying about.

His recent creative effort has been focused on making his own costume for the Purim festivities. Purim is the time for dressing up in Israel. A costume an cost 200 ILS (approx 40 Euros, or 70 USD) with ease, especially if one purchased a branded outfit (international or local children stars), so for economic as well as principled reasons, I encourage Jonathan to make his outfit. What started as a game with a smaller carton, soon evolved into a project – Jonathan would be dressed as a robot. Jonathan decorated it himself, I gave helpful suggestions and eventually we put together quite an impressive robot. The week prior to Purim the robot was in our home and Jonathan offered friends visiting a chance to play with it, the boys ran turns in wearing it, almost tearing it (my husband saved it at the last minute).

This trend continued also the day he was to come dressed up in kindergarten, and by then Jonathan had the big carton robot as well as smaller robot ears and a robot mask (both made of thin aluminum baking pans) to share and swap. At the end of the day the carton robot was torn from overuse. Jonathan was saddened and I promised to tape and fix it at home. I did so, but it has been lying in our living room ever since, it’s hay day well over. Makes me wonder what he will dress us as next year, this year’s costume was a resounding success in more ways than one (combining creativity with social bonding).

make up with mommy (Jonathan the artist)

The small robot

The small robot (mommy's enhancement)

putting on the big robot

the big robots (Jonathan's creation)