Personalities

Below, I've embedded a video that illustrates perfectly the mid-morning personalities that we have! Every morning sometime after breakfast but before snack, we always have our "circle time." This time is used for music & movement, songs, finger-plays, games, and the like. The point of circle time is to have large group time, where the children will practice taking turns, listening to each other, making decisions, and learning concepts (right now, our focus is on the CIRCLE and all the different colors). My absolute favorite part of circle time is the music - in case you couldn't tell that from the musical vlog posts I have submitted here already.

The following video is a wonderful window into what life can be like with four 2 year-olds to entertain during circle time!

Aaron is bursting with energy. He gets so excited and has so much enthusiasm he can hardly contain it! He has a hard time picking a song... in the video he bounces from "The Wheels on the Bus" to "Open, Shut Them" to "Slippery Fish" and "ABC's" all within this 55 second video. He loves to sing fast and be silly. Most of the time, I ask him to slow down and participate in large group with the rest of us - but on this particular day, I just had to capture his energy - because it's adorable and fun and exciting... his enthusiasm is completely contagious. And plus? All that energy is just a part of who he is. And I love him!

Noah is the follower in the group. Imitation is the greatest from of flattery - especially to a two-year-old, and Noah loves to flatter. When we're not singing or reading stories, Noah is bouncing from child to child trying to figure out which one he wants to focus on. In this video, you can see Noah thinking about mimicking Paityn. But since Paityn is not very busy this morning, Aaron quickly catches Noah's attention and Noah plays with Aaron. Later in the clip, Noah gets distracted by Aaron's feet - which is pretty funny to me. Noah will often be focused and playing intently with something or someone and if he has a new thought about what he's doing, you can tell. His focus changes and he pursues his new ideas steadfastly. Noah has always been very focused and easily amused. Which is a great quality - I love him!

Paityn was tired the morning we captured this part of circle time. She is calm in the clip, and might even seem a little bored by all the antics. This is because Paityn is our observer. Even on her most energetic and active days, I often find Paityn sitting back and observing the action before jumping in on it. Don't get me wrong - Paityn can muster her energy without much trouble - but she quietly observes and takes note before acting. Just watch the look on her face as I stop singing... she almost looks bothered by the change in the room. If she wasn't tired (and possibly not feeling well - the poor thing!) she probably would have mimicked the boys. And after that song, if we would have sang it again - I can almost guarantee you that Paityn would have been center-stage, showing them some of her new moves. But, what's the rush - why jump into the action when there is important observation and note-taking to be done, first. Paityn picks up on things very quickly with these moments of observation. I wish I was more like that! I love her!

Rebecca is the rule-follower. At the beginning of this clip, Rebecca is making sure that I can see that she is sitting "criss-cross-applesauce." She sings, "See mom!?" ....constantly seeking praise for being the good girl. The rule follower. She looks to Aaron for leadership (only because he's taken the lead on this particular morning... Rebeca will look to anybody for leadership, as long as she knows what she's supposed to be doing and how to do it). She keeps checking Aaron to see what is next, and though tempted to join in on the playful silliness that the boys have going on, she is careful to sit properly and wait for further directions. I love that about her, though I sometimes find myself wishing she would take a couple more risks. I see a lot of myself in her, which I suppose is perfectly appropriate! ;) I certainly love my little girl!

Okay okay, so without further ado: The video. Enjoy!!