If there's one word that could sum up the past several months, it's SUPERHEROES! It's funny, actually, because he doesn't even watch anything about superheroes. (Not even SuperWhy! We have a lot of Mr. Rogers, Daniel Tiger, Veggie Tales, and lots and lots of Kung Fu Panda, but no Superman. Always eating carrots, of course.) But everything he wears has some connection to superheroes. He rotates through his Superman shirt, Ironman shirt, Captain America shirt, Paw Patrol shirt, and adventure shoes. Only the Superman shirt actually looks like the superhero it's named for. He has planned that his 5th birthday will be a Batman birthday and his 6th will be "The Flash." (about which we know nothing.) When he plays with Legos, he usually builds police stations and homes for his super car (a dark green car that really has nothing super about it).
And where would superheroes be without bad guys to fight? He's a little less fixated on bad guys now than he used to be, and I think we've talked enough about repentance to allow for bad guys to sometimes repent. Although, they sometimes switch back and forth depending which part of the box they are on.
We've used superheroes and super powers in a lot of ways, such as:
- We talked a lot before we moved about how to make friends with kids. I was really happy when he said one day, "I will make new friends in Connecticut. I'll ask a kid what their name is, and ask if they like superheroes, and then they'll be my friend!" He's also said that he won't make any friends til he's 5 and he talks about the friends he's left behind, but I think we'll be okay! He's made a few superhero connections here and there which have probably helped him talk to other kids.
- On our drive out, we went to the Philadelphia Temple open house. He was not excited at all about it, and so I told him a bit about the temple. And maybe I used the word "superpowers." Superpowers to withstand evil and become more like Jesus, who is the greatest hero of all. It's tricky talking about things like that reverently when a kid is used to powers being about punching and flying, but it was a good discussion, and he enjoyed the temple better.
- Even though we didn't order Kid's Meals at Arby's the night we stopped there for dinner, the cashier gave us the headband prizes, and they were so helpful in the car. Joseph spent the rest of the drive asking, "What do I look like?" with the headband on various places on his forehead, and the answer was usually related to superheroes.
The bear also wore those sunglasses a lot.
He also had some straws to play with which he would bend and fold into "superhero shooters" (not things that would shoot at superheroes, things that would shoot superheroes into the sky). They did a good job entertaining him and Matthew for the first day or so before we unpacked the toys. You always wonder why you own any toys when they play so well with junk. - Especially because . . . sharing is so hard! Everything Joseph plays with, Matthew wants to wreck! He's become very protective of his buildings, especially the ones that fall down easily. It's been tricky figuring out common sense rules that are fair to Joseph but also reasonable with a cute speedy crawling demolition machine. Going back to the superhero theme, we've talked about building character muscles, and how not whining when you're frustrated or angry helps makes those muscles stronger. We'll see how those muscles develop.
- Even though Joseph said the other night, "I like Matthew best when he's sleeping," they are pretty cute together. Joseph likes to translate what Matthew says, and they can keep each other giggling. I don't know the ratio of squabbling to playing well, but it is very very sweet when they do get along.
- Joseph has lots of questions! He says so himself. "I want to know about lots of things, so I have to ask a lot of questions," he said one time. We have to account for most of our actions and decisions to him, and we've had to explain clouds, cars, video streaming, states, silent 'e's, gravity, and all sorts of things to him. Unless we're trying to have a conversation of our own, we usually don't mind.
- In addition to a lot of questions, he has a lot of imagination! He says so himself: "I like to use my imagination." Anything can become part of a superhero story, but things can also transform into airplanes, garbage trucks, temples, and many other fun things! One of my favorites was when he turned a suitcase into a drive through window. His stories are pretty cute, too.
- He is very conscientious, and along with that comes a desire to do things right the very first time. This makes drawing, building, reading, and laundry difficult sometimes. What finally helped with laundry was the idea of a "bad job" and "medium job" for various items. Once the pressure was off to not have clothes laid perfectly flat and folded right down the middle, he started to enjoy it again. If he wants to do a bad job for all of his clothes, I don't really mind. He giggles more that way, too, which is always a bonus.
- He loves rocks and sticks! It is pretty rare to go out with him and not come back without at least one of each. And since we left most of his rock collection behind in Michigan, I guess he has to replenish it!
- One of the best parts about superhero Joseph is the songs he sings. Almost every day I think I hear him sing, "Superhero, superhero, yeah, yeah, yeah, superhero!!!!" while playing. We also get songs like this:
and
Overall, Joseph is a really good helper and a really great kid. We've experienced our share of roller coaster emotions from him the last little while with our move, but for the most part he has been a rock star with all of the changes in his life.
Or, more accurately, a superhero!
 |
| this, by the way, is his Iron Man shirt. |
No comments:
Post a Comment