Storms Family Pics: Fall 2012

Family pictures for Christmas cards and of course memories. Photos by Grandma Shirley

Seahawks Snuggie

Go Huskies!

Writing Like a Pro!

So proud of Jax! He has been working so hard on his writing and this is what he brought home from school this week. He stayed on the lines for every letter and wrote his first AND last name by himself.

Halloween 2012: The Year of the Platypus

Pumpkin Patch 2012

Pumpkins!

Third Presidential Debate 2012

Jax has picked who he think won the debate. Obama is #1. :)

Apple Picking and Cider Making

GO Seahawks!

Playing "Math"

Jaxon loves to practice addition and subtraction with mommy. It is fun like a game.

Much Overdue Update Part 1

Looks like I have some updating to do. Life has been pretty crazy and I have been, in my rush, posting photos and updates on Facebook. I miss this running record of his life though so I will need to spend the next few months updating the last year that has been missed while continuing to keep up with current posts. Jaxon is a little over 3.5 now. He is thriving in school and loves to learn. He is very quick at math, as he has always been, and they continue to work with him on his number sense. About two months ago he became interested in letters and words finally. It seems his mind was always in math or building things or space or geography. His teachers now report his increased interest and knowledge in letters and writing. We work on letter sounds and phonics at home often. He knows all 26 letters and their sounds. He can sound out words but still struggles with comprehending what he said. I know as a reading teacher that it is only a matter of time before the light comes on and he takes off. We are now working on special rules like silent e or two vowels go walking and also on sight words (words that don't follow spelling rules). He knows about 5-6 sight words after one week and is interested in learning more. He is able to tell me what letter a word starts with or group words by initial letter sound (a game he loves to play). He can count well into the twenties and thirties, though at forty he loses his order rhythm or gets bored. He has a conservation of number up to about 9 or so (looking at a pile of things and without counting determining the value) though he is most consistent up to 6 or 7. He starting to understand the basics of additions as we work with piles of objects. I want to start showing him number sentences that go with them but I might wait a month or two since he is so interested in words right now and that seems to be where his brain energy is going. He loves geography and spends lots time learning about the continents. He also loves space and the planets. He knows most of there names and the order they go thanks to his Leap Pad and Tag learning games. He spends a lot of time on space games I've noticed and talks to me about them often. He even told Grandma Shirley "I love you to Saturn" one day in response to her "I love you to the moon and back". He loves problem solving games like "I Spy" and "Cut the Rope". He would spend lots of time on those games if he could. I am always so impressed with how well he does on those games. He plays them correctly and gets up to really high levels. He doesn't give up when it gets too hard which is a trait I am trying to encourage in him. He is so funny and sweet. A very sensitive soul and one that aims to please. He is a snuggler and hugger. He wants to be a helper and works hard to show he can help out. He doesn't really have a temper and rarely throws a tantrum. More likely to happen is he is hurt or upset by something you say to him and he pouts, pushing his big lip out as he has always done. I don't have much to complain about as he is an easy child to have. :) He is currently taking swimming lessons twice a week which he loves. More to come...too tired to do anymore. Here's a recent pic of my cutie pie.