"I can do it myself mommy."
It melts me like butter that at this age he wants to be thoroughly independent from me. It's a marvel watching him do things his own way - making his own bed, tying his own shoes and doing his homework. My hubby assures me, it's a nudge at the right direction.
Lately, my son has moved on from simply asking "Why the sky is blue?" to more hard hitting stumpers like "Why can't we see God?" and "Why do boys kiss girls?"
Being a parent, my son simply relies on my answers as truth and at his age, he will believe anything mom says. Answering such questions maybe tricky, but it only reflects how far my son has come along in his development from being a very quiet, yet active 4 year-old to a very talkative and expressive 6 year-old.
When he started preschool, he really had difficulty grasping pencils and writing his name. He would get frustrated that his name was too long to write haha.
So we would spend hours doing arts & crafts like paper cutting, molding clay and painting; because using scissors and tools would help my son strengthen his grip. When he got used to holding a pencil, he soon enjoyed writing the alphabet, his name and various everyday words. It marked a definite improvement in his language, writing and comprehension skills.
But beyond the classroom, our afternoons are spent pretty much together- this is what makes my day special.
I make sure we get our daily dose of sunshine. Right after school, my son goes swimming doing laps and diving in the deep-end with his dad. Later in the day, we have our afternoon walks at the nearby park where the rest of the neighborhood kids are hanging out at the playground. What's amazing is my son's overabundance of energy and truthfully, I can't keep up with all his running around, but it does help me shed some pounds.
Nighty-night time means we read stories before bed time.
I used to be the storyteller, now my son prefers I listen while he reads the storybook out loud. And if he isn't satisfied with the story, he makes up his own alternate ending with his own pictures which he thinks is more enjoyable!
When it comes to food, I think I am one of the lucky parents. Lucky in the sense that my son has a good appetite for veggies. He likes gabi and kangkong in Sinigang, carrots and potatoes in Afritada. Since a child's nourishment is largely dependent on the quality of food he eats, I make sure he has a little bit of everything on his plate - meat, dairy, veggies and protein sources - to balance his diet.
For vitamins and minerals, my son's main nutritional supplement is Nutroplex. I like the fact that it has lysine and iron to keep him healthy. Iron is very important for growing young minds- a lack of iron or illnesses like anemia may reduce blood and oxygen flow to the brain. And like any mom, vitamin deficiencies are a No-no! So call me anxious, but I'm very adamant in warding off such things.
On a positive note, I'm very excited for 2011, I'm quite eager to start another year full of hugs, kisses and developmental milestones with my boy. Enzo will be graduating from preschool this April hopefully- top of his class!
