sick, new skills, interns

Addison is sick with pneumonia and the flu (type A). After one day on antibiotics, she's significantly improved. No fever to speak of in the last 24 hours, no more drippy nose, minimal coughing. Antibiotics are wonderful! Regardless, she has to stay out of school until next Monday.

I've noticed a few things about Addison lately that I find amusing:
1. She's obsessed with colors. For instance, when watching her "Your Baby Can Read" video or doing her flashcards, she'll read the word and follow up with "But, Mommy, cats aren't green!" (because the word is written on a green background. Similarly, with her game "Cariboo" - there are colored balls that are concealed beneath squares that are labeled with different colors, words, shapes, and numbers - Addison can't stand it when a ball does not match the card that it was hidden under. "No! That's not YELLOW! It's GREEN!" and she proceeds to move the ball to a matching color box.
2. She's obsessed with sequence of events. Everyday she wants to know, "Mommy, what are we going to do first? And then? What's next?" She will repeat the order back to us, and ask again, just to be sure nothing is changing. I think it's great because she's not surprised by events now...she knows what to expect and I think it's soothing to her. She feels a part of the decision-making process.
3. She wants to be everyone's big helper. All the time - "Can I help? I want to help! LET ME HELP!" It's great because she really can help with lots of things. It never hurts to spread around the workload!

In Nicole News, I'm getting an intern in the spring. At first, I was not excited about the prospect, but I am warming to it now. I met the girl today - she spent 1/2 day in class with me - and she seems highly motivated, interested to learn, and aware of students' diverse needs. She was complimentary of several things she saw me do in class. I was impressed she picked up on them so quickly - never saying "no" to a student, but rather stating it in a less judgemental way, "good thought, but let's try that again"; patience; ability to converse with each student personally during class; understanding that each student is not going to spend the entire 50 minutes on task, quiet, at their seats. Based purely on her comments today, I think she has a similar teaching philosophy. I am excited about the opportunity to help her build skills that she will use in her own career. I just hope I'm a good example - I saw lots of non-examples of good teaching as a student teacher and intern. I only hope I have learned from those mistakes and that I can be a better leader for my intern. Wish me luck in January!

Robert is officialy the best daddy ever. He stayed home with our sick little girl today and will stay home with her again on Wednesday. He is so generous and wonderful. Addison is one lucky daughter and I am one lucky wife! We love our Daddy!

I am looking forward to a day off with Addison tomorrow. It's the first sick day we've had together in a long, long time. Hope we can keep each other entertained!