Phonics and Face-Plantings

I am never quite sure what goes inside Madeleine's little head.  (Or should I say ginormous head??) 

This is how our morning started:

ME: Madeleine, would you like a bagel?
MADELEINE: Uh...I want BOTH.
ME: Both what? 
MADELEINE: I want BOTH.
ME: Both what?  You mean a bagel AND a bowl of cereal?
MADELEINE: No, Mama.  I want BOTH.
ME: Both WHAT?
MADELEINE: I want a bagel AND popcorn.
ME: Well, honey, we don't have any popcorn.  Besides, popcorn isn't a breakfast food.
MADELEINE: (lip drooping) Well, Mama.  Daddy SAID we were having popcorn for breakfast!
ME: Ethan?  Did you tell Madeleine she can have popcorn for breakfast?
ETHAN: I most definitely did not.
MADELEINE: Daddy, you DID!
ME: Madeleine, did you DREAM that?
MADELEINE: Uh...I didn't.

We never managed to solve that mystery.  Luckily, Madeleine accepted merely the one bagel as her breakfast.

I had Madeleine's preschool conference later in the day, and to my great relief, the teachers say she's a great listener and follows directions very well.  The teachers were also surprised by how well Madeleine knows her numbers and letters, which she has basically learned through osmosis from Julia.  With that in mind, I thought maybe I'd give some phonics a try with Madeleine this evening, thinking it might be worth testing her ability to sound out some simple words. 

In a nutshell: it was absolutely not worth it.  There is no such ability yet.

ME: So, Madeleine.  The word "C-A-T" spells "cat."  So what do you think "B-A-T" spells?
MADELEINE: Uh...Mama, how about you just WHISPER it to me?
ME: Well, see if you can figure it out.  if "C-A-T" spells "c-c-c-c-CAT," then what does "B-A-T" spell?  "B-b-b-b-"
MADELEINE: Balloon!
ME: Uh, no.  B-b-b-BAT.  "C-A-T" is "c-c-c-CAT."  "B-A-T" is "b-b-b-BAT."  So what about "H-A-T?"  "H-h-h-h-"
MADELEINE: Uh..."HE?"
ME: Nope.  "C-A-T" spells "c-c-c-CAT."  "B-A-T" spells "b-b-b-BAT."  So "H-A-T" spells "h-h-h-h-HAT."  So what about "M-A-T?  M-m-m-m-"
MADELEINE: Mmmm...MOUSE!

Yeah.  So no.  Not ready for sounding-out words yet.  (Not that I really expected she would be; it's way early.)

So, while Madeleine has proven, at school, that she has learned from Julia, so Julia proved this morning that she has learned from Madeleine.  As we were walking to school, Julia MAJORLY wiped out and face-planted on the sidewalk on our way downhill.  It was LOTS of tears, folks.  My heart was breaking for her, but I didn't really know what else to do besides urge her to continue on so we could get her to the school nurse for some band-aids.  As we walked the rest of the way in, Julia hysterically wailed "Mommyyyyyy!  Mommyyyyyyy!" as she clung to my leg (which I was trying to move in order to keep walking, and to keep pushing Madeleine's stroller), so the event of just getting us to the school was an effort for all involved.  Of course, the nurse's office wasn't opened yet, but just physically being in the school seemed to have calmed Julia's hysteria, and I was able to drop her at her classroom with her back in solid spirits.

Big sigh.  Oh, how I love the morning madness of rushing everyone off to school on time.  Never a dull moment!  Always a new adventure in store for us!  What can we look forward to for tomorrow?  Stay tuned!