A Tale of Two Girls. Ellie and Sagan

We are having SO MUCH FUN!

The girls are so vastly different that it's a pleasure to see them react to the world around them. Ellie is so easy going, so placid. While Sagan is more passionate and tenacious.

Tonight I video taped the two of them. Ellie doing what she loves most to do, practice learning. If it's not practicing her violin it working in her workbooks preparing for kindergarten. She reads quite well on a begining first grade level. I am not pushing too much now. I am waiting for 12 weeks prior to the first day of school to make the big push. So we worked on math tonight. Ellie is practicing simple addition. She enjoys it so much. You can see how quickly she moves though the 8 problems I made for her.



Sagan is a totally different egg. We are teaching her sign language so that she can communicate with us. She likes to whine and demand her requests. We do not respond to these tactics. So last week I held an ice cream sandwich just out of her reach. I gave her a little taste and then held it away from her once again. Then I signed, "More," and waited. A whole lot of screaming and crying later (the ice cream pretty much melted) she began to sign, "more." She does it all the time now.

What you see on this video is Sagan and I in a battle of the wills. Please ignore the tears it's all a ploy. She releases them at will. I have a few bits of chocolate M&M's and am trying to get her to use the sign, "Please." She is so pigheaded that she would rather say no than get the chocolate. If you listen, just as she stands up you can hear her say "please," but I am repeatedly modeling the sign (Hand on my chest). She did not receive any M&M's and she was fine with it.



Just to let you know that no "meals" are held back. Only treats. Ice cream sandwiches, M&M's, marshmallows, and cookies.