End of the Year Party

At the end of Alyce's school year the district put on a little carnival for the kids. It was a fairly simple affair in that there were just games and artsy things to do but no rides.  Alyce and Luke went to all the different stations and played all the games. They also took a few turns in a bounce house. Balloon animals being made were also a big hit; Alyce with a unicorn and Luke a horse.

After the games we took a trip down the hall to the art area and each kid made a picture. The crafts provided were plates full of paint and circle stamps. By dipping the stamps into the paint and then onto the page you could make pictures out of circles. Luke's picture was pretty random. Alyce's was a very happy caterpillar.

The Solar System

The picture above is Alyce's rendering of our solar system. She drew this today at the house. In the bottom right hand corner is Earth; see the green and blue? In the middle on the bottom is the sun. The bottom left is Mars. Upper left with the orange center is Saturn. The stars cross the picture. And finally the black circle with a white center in the upper right is the moon. It is partially shaded to show the dark and light side of the moon.

The amount of detail in one picture just floors me. We've been reading a book that talks about the planets and she's watched a few television shows focused on the planets but this is more than I expected.

Oh and Jupiter is supposed to be in there as well but it was too big to fit on the page.

Beach

Last night, Mom's birthday, the kids were behaving. If that wasn't gift enough the kids made finger paint artwork. Luke quickly lost interest but Alyce embraced the project and made a few pictures.


My favorite is one I'll title "beach". Alyce made a nice blue sky, orange sand, orange sun, and a purple shovel, bucket, and sea shells. I liked it so much I asked Alyce if I could bring it to work. Initially she was apprehensive but after Mom told her she could make another picture after breakfast she was ok with me making off with it.

A Gift From Alyce

While Mom and I were at the movies Grams brought Alyce with her to go see GiGi. While visiting Alyce made a gift for Mom and I. It was a cutout of a heart and folded into the card. On the front of the card it read "I love you!" and inside it was a family picture. From left to right it is Luke, Alyce, myself, and Mom. Alyce seemed very proud of herself and we were very happy to receive such a nice gift.

As always it pleases me to see that when she portrays us we are smiling.

Artwork

I just wanted to post a picture of some of Alyce's latest artwork. It is proudly displayed on the refrigerator. The fireworks picture is done with crayons and stickers. The other two are with paint. Enjoy!

Art

I was taking inventory of some of Alyce's artwork and thought it would be good to share some.

Alyce made Mom very happy when she painted this picture.  She made this one at school out of water colors.

The second piece of artwork is in fact an elevator.  Alyce took an old shoe box cut out half of the lid and ran a ribbon through the top.  After that she painted it and then decorated it with stickers.  Lastly she put her name in the back.  This is an elevator she uses with her Barbie Dolls.  Before you think that Alyce is some design prodigy we got the design for the elevator off an episode of Bob the Builder.  Alyce still gets some use out of it even though it is a few months old.

The last and most recent picture is one Alyce just brought home.  This is a picture of our old house.  Alyce pointed out it was the old house because of the top window.  The top window in this picture is an oval just like the window in Alyce's room at the old house.  The front door at our old house was blue as well.  The little building on the right is the garage. It pleases me that with every picture she makes of the outdoors the sun is shining.  I feel that if the sun is shining in her pictures then she currently has a positive outlook on life.

Cards

I've written in the past that Alyce has taken a liking to doing artwork at school.  A few weeks ago they started making cards in class.  The class has since moved on but Alyce has not.  She now likes to make cards for everyone.  She pours a lot of herself into each card.  Every time she finishes a card she asks Mom or I if so-and-so will like their card.  Of course we tell her that they will love it.  Because truthfully speaking they probably will. Everyone likes to get a card even if it is just a picture of a stick person with their name on it.

Mom and I have used these cards as an occasion to teach her some spelling.  We've gotten her to be able to write Mom and Dad on her own.  It started off with us writing the word next to her card and she copies it.  Now  she can do it on her own. I've even gotten a card with my name on it instead of Dad.  I'm not sure how I think about that but I appreciate that she's learning to write my real name.

Two cards as of late have stood out.  The first one is a birthday card that Alyce made for her classmate Mckenna's birthday present.  Alyce made that card a week before the party and she learned to draw a picture of a cake when she made that card.  Since then Alyce has been on a tear making pictures of birthday cakes.

The second card I liked was one she made for me just because.  It had my name on the front and on the inside it had a picture of her and a flower.  I thought the picture and the thought behind it was wonderful.  I've since put the card on my nightstand.  I'll probably get it framed someday.

In case you couldn't tell that is a self portrait of Alyce.  It's good to see that she sees herself smiling.  Other examples of Alyce's card making prowess.

Art and Learning

Even though Alyce has only been to school 3 times she is showing signs of learning new skills.  If not learning then advancement in her abilities.  Below are two examples of her advances.  The first one is a picture she drew using her magna doodle during nap time.  Mom came up to check on her and when she asked Alyce what that was a picture of Alyce replied "our dog Jake Man".  Even though it doesn't look like our dog it is pretty obvious she drew a face, ears, and legs.  The little squiggly bit to the left is supposed to be Jake's back legs.  Mom and I were very impressed with the picture.  Just months ago she was starting to draw shapes using crayons and paper.

The second example of Alyce learning things at school is that she has taken an interest in her own name.  Specifically how to spell it or reproduce it.  This weekend she and I sat down and I showed her each letter in her name and how to make it.  She tried for a bit but grew tired and moved on.  Today while playing with some paints at home Alyce managed to do a pretty good reproduction of her name.  If she would have jammed in an L she would have had the whole thing.

Finger-Painting

When mom dropped Alyce off at school her finger-painting from last class was waiting for her. Apparently it was too wet to bring home on Wednesday. Alyce also learned that yellow and blue make green.

Alyce's First Artwork

Today Alyce created her first artwork that is completely freeform and actually looks like something. As compared to the abstract scribbles she's done in the past. Mom and I are so proud of her and the picture that we are going to get it framed.