{six years} Gosh, a SIX year old?! Part of me feels like I’ve known Eloise forever, and part of me feels like she was just born.
Eloise has been SO excited for the summer, mostly because she knows that her birthday is in the summer. When you have a late summer birthday, it is tricky because you have watched ALL of your friends turn one year older. This girl wanted nothing more than to turn SIX! About a week and a half ago, I helped her make a paper ring chain to count down the days until her big day. Every single morning, the first thing she would do when we got into the kitchen, would be to take the ring off and look at the calendar to make sure she knew exactly how many days were left until August 10th. And then for the past three days, or so, she would, multiple times per day, stop and look at me and say “Mama, I can’t believe that in [X number of days] right after lunch I will be SIX!” {Eloise was born at 12:29 pm so she was so focused on that time!}
School this year was BIG because it meant Kindergarten. A big new school (a local public school with grades K to 5) plus a school bus ride to and from. I couldn’t tell you which she was the most excited about, the big kid school or the school bus, but Eloise really snapped into elementary school quickly. She adored her Kindergarten teacher, her new school friends, and more independence. We were worried that she might not be ready, given her age, but there was never a concern by her teacher that Eloise wasn’t absolutely ready for the Kindergarten curriculum. She hit so many early academic milestones early-on in the year (reading, writing, math skills) which was wonderful to see. This kid really thrives in a school environment! She took the bus to school each morning – Aaron and Daphne would walk her down the street a few blocks for pick-up – and bring it back home each afternoon – Daphne and I would walk down the hill to meet her. Eloise didn’t have any homework (the general rule at her school until about fourth grade) but was always happy to show us her completed worksheets or art projects that came home each week. She also started devouring books!
Then early March hit, and you guessed it, COVID-19. The first reported case of COVID was actually in the county just north of us. And we truly had NO idea what was to come. The schools stayed open until there was a reported case (a staff member at another school in the city) and then closed. Eloise’s last day of Kindergarten was March 11th. At the time, we were never worried about Eloise’s health or safety at school. And really, we thought it would be a matter of weeks or maybe two months before she was back at school. Obviously, we were really wrong! Our governor has been one of the most conservative state leaders in regards to health and safety, and while we didn’t get the shelter-in-place order right away, it’s been made clear that our state won’t be “opening up” with any speed.
So, we spent the first weeks just trying to figure out which way was up. Aaron was already working from home by the time the girls were home full-time. But it took some adjustment to find a groove. The girls and I thrive on routine, so that was the first thing to come. And this is basically what that looked like for week days:
- Family breakfast
- Family meeting (to discuss the day’s events, if any)
- Morning school activity
- Snack
- Choice time
- Family lunch
- Naptime (for Daph) and quiet time
- Snack
- Outside activity (weather permitting)
- Choice time or show (making dinner)
- Dinner
- Family walk/bike/scooter ride
- Bedtime
Eloise’s teaching team (her Kindergarten teacher plus the three other K teachers) were able to upload and share some academic curriculum for the classes each week, but in all honesty, Eloise wasn’t interested in them. Yes, she liked to watch videos of her teacher and occasionally see photos of her classmates (whom she desperately missed!) but online learning was just not her thing. {And frankly, it was fine because online learning for a five year old is not developmentally appropriate.} It wasn’t a big surprise that she LOVES (academic) workbooks and so I loaded up on a few (mostly from Highlights) to keep her on track with writing, math, and academic activities. And we read each day aloud; though she is an amazing silent reader too! Eloise flew through at least two or two and a half full workbooks from the middle of March until school officially ended in mid-June. We also did quite a bit of art as Daphne’s school teacher was dropping of art kits for us to complete each week. By the end of the school year Eloise also learned how to tell time on a watch/clock (which she is SO proud of since it isn’t taught at school until first grade) and how to tie her shoes! Aaron also had her learning to code with a couple of online coding schools.
Along with everything else, Eloise’s weekly swim lessons were cancelled after the middle of March. I think we went to one lesson after her school closed, and then the pool got shut down. But before quarantine and COVID, Eloise had become a pretty impressive swimmer! She’s been in a weekly lesson since the end of last summer and had gained so much confidence. She could swim, by herself, across the pool, though her instructor was always right along with her. And she was learning cool underwater flips and turns too. She was really making huge improvements in her abilities and confidence, and then we had to quarantine. We are hoping to get back into regular lessons at some point, but just have to see how things play out with COVID over the coming months (along with everything else!).
Eloise still does quiet time in the afternoon after lunch (while Daphne naps) for about two-ish hours. This was something that had gone away during the week when she was in Kindergarten, but still the routine on the weekends. But with everyone being home, it’s nice for everyone in the family to have some independent quiet time! Eloise spends her time either out in the living room or in the upstairs play room (also our guest room) as the girls’ toys are spread out over both spaces. She reads, does puzzles, plays with Legos, play doh or draws; basically anything she wants to do without having to share with Daphne. Puzzles are a big hit around here, even before quarantine, and Eloise learned to do them with Aaron whenever we were on a family vacation. Over the course of the quarantine, we’ve had numerous puzzles out, and Eloise has learned so much. She has so. much. patience for fitting pieces together, it’s hard to believe she’s only six. And she has completed at least two 500 piece puzzles completely on her own!
Eloise isn’t much of an eater and while I don’t want to call her “picky” she definitely has opinions about what food she likes and doesn’t like. The breadth of her diet has slimmed substantially, but we really don’t cater to her individually. We make a healthy family meal for everyone, and while I am always conscious about any spice level, strong flavor, or size of food, we give her a portion of the family meal. Eloise then gets to choose how much (or how little) she eats. We always encourage her to try everything, and sometimes that works (and sometimes she refuses). But generally she LOVES breakfast, and then her appetite slows down over the course of the day.
Eloise and Daphne, even before COVID quarantine, were the best of friends. Yes, they fight like crazy, but truly play so well together and are the best playmates. And all of this has just become more true as we’ve all been home over the past months. The girls spend SO much time playing together and it’s just the best! Eloise is also really, really excited for Baby Lower to join the family.
Come September, Eloise will go onto First Grade, though we aren’t exactly sure what that will look like. The Seattle School Board will vote this coming week on what day the school year will start and the plan for what the academic year will look like. Based on what we know from School Board meetings over the summer and the Governor’s office, it looks like school will be online/distance learning, at least to start. If our county is able to proceed to the next Phase of opening, then in-person learning is on the table, but with the current rates of infection and the sheer population size of our county, we think it’s pretty unlikely that in-person will be an option before 2021. That all being said, Aaron and I decided that we wouldn’t feel comfortable sending Eloise back to the classroom in-person until at least November; this is due to Baby Lower’s birth and his/her complete lack of immunity for the first months, and the potential for an infection spike as school “opens up.” Regardless of what the School Board votes for, we will always have the option to keep her home and do the online/distance learning. Not ideal, but it’s something, and I am also going to be ordering ALL of the first grade workbooks on Amazon! We have a close friend, whose daughter is the same age as Eloise and would attend the same school, who is a former Kindergarten and First Grade teacher; she’s offered to start a little learning pod with just two or three families to give Eloise some in-person instruction. That is likely the route we will go for at least a few days per week, but the timing will just depend on how we are all feeling once family member #5 (i.e., Baby Lower) joins the crew!
Birthday Interview. {I am hoping to do this interview every year to see how the answers change!}
What is your name? Eloise.
How old are you? Five. Six!
What is your favorite thing to do? Have my birthday. And bake with my mama.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A vet and a paleontologist.
What is your favorite food? Macaroni and cheese. And my favorite fruit is strawberries.
Who do you like to spend your time with? Everyone.
What do you do really well? Putting my socks on. Puzzles.
What makes you laugh? My sister, Daphne.
What is the best time of day? When Santa comes. I really like the morning at Christmas time because I get to open presents.
What are you afraid of? I don’t know.
Who is your best friend? My family.
What do you like to do with your family? Take walks. Do puzzles and play games.
What do you love to learn about? Nature. That every snowflake is different. It’s always six-sided.
Where do you like to go? Grammie’s house and Molly Moon’s.
What is your favorite book? The Eloise books because my name is Eloise.
If you had one wish, what would it be? If I close my eyes and count to three and I said where I wanted to go, I would go there! And everyone could have this wish.
And the newest rendition of Things Eloise Says:
Getting dressed on the second day of school and it’s still dark outside” “Mama, is it daytime or nighttime?”
Says “Oh my lord and sakes!” (which she learned from the book Eloise).
Came home in September from school and told us that she wanted to lose her first tooth by Halloween! (Spoiler: She lost her first tooth around Thanksgiving.)
At dinner one night: “Mama, thank you for my fruit and my life! You are a wonderful mother!”
Aaron used a swear word: “Papa, you can’t say that in front of a five year old child!”
During early COVID quarantine and looking out the window at neighbors walking: “Mama, those people aren’t staying 6 feet apart. Do we need to tell the Governor?”
“Spiders don’t pay rent, so that’s why we kill them [when they are in the house]!” (This I am certain she heard from Aaron as an excuse about why we kill spiders we find in the house rather than trying to get them outside alive, but don’t kill spiders we see outside.)
“Mama, I gave my last cherry to Daphne. She’s my favorite person in the whole world.”
{weight} 45 pounds; 3 feet, 9 inches
{hair} brown.
{teeth} 20 teeth plus four molars. 2 adult teeth and at least one or two loose teeth!
{eyes} dark brown.
{clothes} 6 or 6X. [She can fit into the random 3T and 4T things that we have still, mostly jammies, and likes her clothes tighter fitting.]
{See her grow up: birth story // one year // two years // three years // four years // five years}
Happy Birthday Bug!
M