家长会归来

虽然要回中国了，妈妈还是签了家长会。今天早上9点半跟Laura老师聊了半个小时。Laura是Aiden升了中班以后的Lead Teacher。

Overview

Laura老师认为“Aiden is so amazing. He is probably the brightest, most smart kid I have seen in recent years. He learns English so fast. His English is even better than most English speaking kids. He has a huge vocabulary, larger than most English speaking kids. He describes things very clearly and in a logical way.”

“Aiden is interested in almost everything. He loves trains, birds, playing sands, drawing pictures, play-dohs, ..., almost everything. He just loves the whole world. He enjoys the world so much. He likes to laugh, to smile and to play silly. He has a very good sense of humor. We enjoyed having him so much."

这个评价蛮高了。妈妈问Laura，Aiden还有什么地方做得不够，可以improve的。Laura老师继续说：“He is absolutely an amazing kids. He is just so smart, so bright and so accurate.” 好吧，看起来Laura是个什么都好的老师，全是positive的评价。妈妈接着聊了一些具体问题。

Questions & Answers

Mom: I found that Aiden is very persistent on things. Some time, less patient. Do you think we should help him to be more flexible?

Laura: I think it is just the personality. Some kids are just like that. Aiden is definitely a sure kid and he knows clearly what he wants. It is a good thing. But if you want, you can talk to him more about things like patience, taking turns, etc.

Mom: When Aiden is getting excited, he some times forgot about watch out the environment. For example, he fell down the stairs the other day.

Laura: Aiden is actually better than average kids. He is cautious than average kids. He talked about falling down the stairs at school too. He definitely learned from his experience. I think he is fine. He is just lack of experience with stairs. It is very hard for kids at this age to watch out everything in the environment.

Mom: Yeah. Sometimes, I don't want to watch him too closely, so he loses the chance to explore the world. But on the other hand, I don't want him to get hurt. It is a hard balance.

Laura: I understand that. You can give him reminds when he is at a new place. After he is familiar with the environment, you can let him go. BTW, do you think Aiden is a risk taking person?

Mom: Actually, I don't. I don't think he is aggressive with taking risking things. As a boy, I don't want him to be too cautious some time. But again, I want him safe at the same time.

Laura: I agree. It is a balance. Actually, Aiden is a very accurate kid. He always noticed things while other kids didn't.

Mom: One more thing, I understand talkative is a good thing. But when will it stop?

Laura: It must be hard with your ears full of that. Maybe it is just personality. Maybe it is just his way of learning things. Aiden is very very curious. He always asks questions at school. He learns things so fast. （然后Laura讲了一下学校的unstructure learning of math and other things。）

Mom: So, when does the structure learning come?

Laura: Some school choose to do it now, from 3-4 years old. But officially, it is till Kindergarten. This school focus on their social skills. Because we feel that people must first feel good about themselves. The social skills are those they can carry with them life long. They will benefit it the whole life. Academic can always come when you want.

最后这点妈妈还是很赞同的。好吧，既然在这个pure play-based的地方Aiden也照样学了很多东西，妈妈也就不要要求啥了。

About Moving --

Laura老师最后提到，Aiden最近这一周（昨天开始），有点烦躁，可能是跟要搬家有关。Aiden昨天跟老师说：“After this Friday, it will be Saturday. I am flying to China on that day. Then, we will arrive on Sunday. Daddy will be there. We will live with Daddy in China.” Aiden还跟老师说：“Mommy packed everything, including my toys”。这种动荡的生活对娃还是真的很挑战。爸爸妈妈最近要对Aiden好一点，这么小点娃，一个月搬3次家，对他还是真难了。

还有一个插曲，今天妈妈跟Laura老师一起走的时候，Aiden突然冲出来抱着妈妈的腿大哭，不知道是不是以为Laura老师要告他状了。以前小班的时候跟Jan老师聊天之后，回家爸爸妈妈总是忍不住提醒Aiden一些事情。这个可能给Aiden留下一些担心。以后要注意这个问题了。

总结一下，基本跟上次基调一样，就是Aiden很聪明，很聪明，还是很聪明。 —— 其实这个妈妈也知道，不过跟老师聊聊还是学到不少知识。

自己数到100了

自己用英文数的，大概2天前。妈妈没有任何提示。

妈妈没有特意教。一直是自己数，以前数到中间逢十过不去的时候，妈妈提一下。大概也就提过3、5次，这回自己琢磨清楚了。对逢十进位有一点概念了，就数全了。

话说这才像妈妈的娃，妈妈的娃数学都应该很好才对。不过最让妈妈欣慰的是，这个过程妈妈没怎么教。其实自从去了play-based school以后妈妈就不怎么教了，不过Aiden还是会了很多东西。所以啊，爸爸啊，要相信，小孩玩就是学，学就是玩，别指望正儿八经教啥，对不？

封笔两个月了

最近都在忙着搬家回中国，一眨眼，2个月都没给Aiden写点啥了。

最近最让妈妈欣慰的是Aiden慢慢长大懂事了。绝大多数开始可以控制自己的情绪。很多道理都能听懂，能商量了。不过按照爸爸的话讲，讨价还价的本领实在是一流的——说来惭愧，这点实在是深得老妈的真传。

数学方面，自己好像琢磨出来10以内的加减法的一些窍门了，反正经常随便问问，正确率还不错。当然，不能问“5+2等于多少”，而要问“你有5个西红柿了，我再给你两个，那你有几个呢？”一般情况是脱口而出告诉答案。数数方面中文英文都能勉勉强强数到100，中间需要妈妈在逢十的时候提醒一下。如果不提醒，可以自己到39。在数学方面，基本上没怎么刻意教，就是后院种了几颗西红柿，天天摘下来跟个老农一样自己来回数。不过生活在这么两个CS PhD的家庭，Aiden倒也自己学会了很多数的概念。最近对数字是个敏感期，妈妈在纠结要不要教点。

语言方面，英文非常流利。流利到妈妈经常要跟Aiden请教一个词的是啥意思。能用英语表达非常复杂的意思，能从头到尾“念”一本大约10分钟长的英文书（当然是不识字的，就是记住了）。喜欢看书，在学校喜欢听老师念书，回家喜欢听爸爸妈妈念书。经典的英文书籍没有不喜欢的，只要妈妈不叫停，可以坐在那里听2个小时。中文的书籍妈妈没有找到好的，一般经过妈妈改编以后，也乐意听；还有一些中文听了一半就扔掉。中文方面，语言组织还可以，也能表达复杂意思，就是经常会在中间夹杂上英文，口音也是老外说中文的口音。认字方面，最近Aiden开始对拼写有点兴趣了。妈妈的philosophy是不教认字，先读书、读多了，就教点phonics，然后自己学认字。“授人以鱼不如授人以渔”。中文字还不知道怎么学，这点爸爸比妈妈着急。

社交方面，见人自来熟，跟谁都能玩在一起。在幼儿园有很多好朋友。跟老师关系也很好。在家里开始跟妹妹有互动，有时间会有意去挑逗妹妹。对妈妈一向贴身紧逼，只要在家就寸步不离。最近生活比较动荡，先是把家里的东西都海运回中国了，在空房子里面游击了2周；然后又从house搬到现在临时的apartment。中间Aiden有问过他的小床去哪里了，也有思念过后院的tomato plants，还跟妈妈说过“I cannot play outside any more。但总的说来，Aiden适应得很好，没有太大的情绪，到哪里都很开心。Aiden也问妈妈：“我们现在的家在哪里呢”。妈妈说：“有妈妈的地方就是Aiden的家”。

运动方面，游泳很有进步、scooter也滑得很不错。穿着jumper自己能在水里游得很快了，也很喜欢游泳。最近吃饭睡觉都不错，跟游泳大有关系。身体也很好，游泳2个月以来，基本没有感冒。

娱乐方面，是个疯狂的火车迷。家里到处是火车轨道，在学校开、回家也开、周末还要去坐。现在还赶上要求去YouTube上看火车的Video。

意外事件。上周日去Ji Ying阿姨家吃晚饭，不小心摔下楼梯了。当时就吐了很多，急忙跑去ER。So far看起来还好，希望是有惊无险。

回顾过去上preschool一年，Aiden在英语、社交、读书、生活自理方面都有了很大的进步。在academic方面没有在家里的时候那么advance，但Aiden这一年读了几百本书，懂了很多东西，而且逻辑推理能力非常强，经常说出让妈妈诧异的话来。