I realize I post more about Silas than about Petra these days. It’s not that he’s more interesting, it’s mostly that she is less likely to say that I can share something widely. But she has been, as usual, up to all manner of things, and here are a few that I can share.
First of all, she and Hairy Pawter are inseparable. He follows her all over, he sometimes sleeps in her bed, and when he hears her footstep on the porch after she’s been out, he jets to the door.
He’s even getting into some of her passions, like fostering kittens. When we brought home Magic and Sybil, the first fosters since we made him a permanent resident, Hairy was a bit hissy at first.
He quickly fell into the role of doting foster brother, administering baths whether the kittens liked it or not, and being a pillow for their naps.
Petra is working on training Hairy to come when she calls him, so that she’ll feel more comfortable letting him play on his own outside. Her command word? Accio, Hairy! of course.
Petra’s main social outlets are D&D club, which JC runs for a bunch of the kids’ friends, and Forest School, which is an outdoor “school” where the kids spend about 4 hours a day, two days a week, in the forest with a facilitator. At first, Petra wasn’t that into it, but now it has grown on her. She often comes home excited to share the things she’s learned: That moss grows on the north side of a tree, that you need kindling, tinder, oxygen, and a spark to make fire, that you can eat this part of a certain plant, but this other part is good for stopping a bleeding wound, etc.
She’s always asking great questions, and more and more, I’m having to google the answers (or how to explain things that I kind of know but…). Recent ones include, “Why does a pulley work?” “Why do onions make you cry?” “Why are knives sharp?” “How do trees know to change color?” “Why is it windier in the pasture than in the forest?” “Do squirrels have a language?” “How did language get invented?”
While math has always been Petra’s strong suit, I’m seeing big strides in literacy. She wants to learn cursive, so we’ve been working through that. She has been reading a lot on her own, polishing off entire short novels if she’s in the mood. Recently, she and Silas have been handing a single Jedi Academy book back and forth, each with their own bookmark. She’s also very into humorous poetry, devouring the works of Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. She still enjoys the occasional picture book, especially if it’s funny.
I’ve been enjoying watching her get really into crafts, and finally having the manual dexterity to do them by herself. She’s been especially into making bracelets. I’ve had to brush up my friendship bracelet skills…it’s been a long time since fifth grade!
Beautiful ❤️🎵