A New Hobby

Nathan has a new hobby. He has always loved all things words, and now that love is showing in a new way: alphabetizing. He has systematically gone through each child's bookshelf and alphabetized all the books! He takes each book off and makes a long road through the room, placing the books in correct order. Then he goes letter by letter and alphabetizes each letter and places neatly back on the shelf. I am so impressed! Perhaps I could hire him to organize my entire home, not just the bookshelves?!?! He and Seth have collaborated on a system. Mom suggested that Seth may not understand or appreciate Nathan's desire to KEEP the books in alphabetical order on their bookshelf, and he should be aware of that and not get upset about it. So, my innovative son found a shallow cardboard box, wrote "Return Books Here," and placed it next to the bookshelf. He explained to Seth that they had a library box for books once they had been read. Bonus for both: The books stay orderly and alphabetized, pleasing NKV, and Seth doesn't have to put the books back on the shelf - he can simply put them in the return book box! :) How fun! Nathan has a keen mind and it is fun to see him catch on to so much and figure things out. He also particularly enjoys doing math problems in his head and asks us to give him problems. Second grade has really been great for him; Mrs. Rich has helped him thrive. She has told us that he reminds her of her firstborn in many ways. He is now in college, so it brings her back a few years as she watches Nathan. He loves order and she is orderly yet nurturing and has nudged him out of his shell. When I volunteer in the class there's a nice environment of working happily and knowing what's expected of them. She loves teaching; he loves learning - it's a great combination! We are so proud of him and especially enjoy seeing how he helps his siblings with things, but doesn't just give them the answers...perhaps a future teacher?

I don't know where his EARLY morning tendencies come from...certainly not his mother! Definitely more of his father. I've given him the guideline that he can't get up until it's 6:30 or after. Each morning he pads into our bedroom to peer at our digital clock. Often he pads back to bed, since it's prior to 6:30. Well, yesterday I got up at 6:45 and thought, "Boy - It seems like he's been up for quite a while." I asked him what time he got up and he said, "6:44." Uh - I don't think so...Could he, without his glasses, have read the clock wrong? Apparently it was actually 5:44 AM and he thought it said 6:44. Grandma V - could you get Nathan a digital clock for his birthday in March?! :) Let's just say his mother does NOT just get up at 5:44 for the fun of it! He quietly gets up, grabs a blanket and some books, and sits on the heat register reading until the rest of the family stirs. Ken says he relates well to Nathan. Maybe Robyn will throw one of Nathan's books on the roof someday when she wants to play and he wants to read, like Valerie did to Ken? We think our Nate is Great. :)