Claire and Jacob have been really into doing "Daddy Homework" (a.k.a. their workbooks). It has been interesting to observe and see how differently they learn.
Claire quietly sits (normally at the table, not on the table) and does her work. She will ask instructions on pages she doesn't know, then will sit down and complete the page. If she has questions for me, I can respond with questions that help her learn and figure it out. When she colors, it is neat and in the lines. She takes time and makes sure everything is right.
I think Claire learns very thoroughly and independently - before she's done learning something, she wants to truly know it. She isn't a slow learner by any means. She reminds me very much of my sister, Amber.
Jacob often will start at the table, move to the island, move the the coffee table, back to the kitchen table, and then onto the floor. He goes very quickly through things - he does most things well the first time, but doesn't take the time to color in the lines or make sure lines are straight. Jacob will ask questions and look for help throughout, in part because he whizzes through pages and doesn't try to figure out how to do a page before starting. At the start of a page, his goal is to finish the page.
I consider Jacob to be a very quick learner. He reminds me of myself a little, where he can learn very quickly, but sometimes if it doesn't come right at first, he can lose interest.
It is interesting the way they learn together. Claire is very interested in what Jacob is doing - often, Jacob will complete multiple pages while Claire watches him and participates with him in his workbook page. This is in part because Jacob vocalizes everything, and because Claire is so interested in what he is doing.
Jacob is very competitive - over the last couple weeks, at times, it has become important to him to be ahead of Claire. This has reinforced the decision to put them into different classes next year. That said, I think it will be an advantage to them to be able to learn what the other is learning. I think they will be like my younger brothers, who would give each other math problems at night (though one was 3 years younger than the other) and help each other learn.
We will need to work with the very differently. But it is a lot of fun to watch them learn - both in the structured time we give them and in their own unstructured time playing, coloring, and writing with each other.
The invitation.
The Cake.
All the guests sitting on the 'game board' for present time.
Some of the decorations/party favors.
Behind Jacob was the table where they could make necklaces with licorice laces and fruit loops.
This is the table where they could decorate their Princess Frostine or King Candy crowns.
Decorations/favors.
Here is the game board, we used it for a cake walk type game with the songs "I want Candy" and "The Candyman"; they got a prize if they landed on Candy Land Castle.
All the kiddos. Basically we just decorated the crowns, made the necklaces, did the cakewalk game, opened presents, had cake and ice cream, and then filled up everyone's party boxes with goodies and toothbrushes. It was a little chaotic but I think everyone had fun. I have to give a shout out to my dear sweet husband who manned most of the birthday party since I got hit with another inner ear infection right before the party and spent the 20 minutes before it started losing my lunch.
