Attention Span

Welcome and Happy New Year!

Just a little update on my sweet John Michael, who turned 4 in November, happens to have Down syndrome, and is an all-around awesome kid.



I had this Fisher Price Little People Nativity Set all packed up, ready to go into storage for another year, when John Michael came home from school and asked to play with the pieces.


 

John Michael's focused attention span continues to grow. He was at this spot, playing with these figures for about 45 minutes.

I love watching him concentrate.  He knows exactly what he wants, where to put things, and plays very nicely.  Here, he put all the pieces in a circle around the Baby Jesus.  (I'll bet you didn't know Elmo came to pay homage to the Christ Child, did you?)

Quietly. Sweetly. Reverently.

No throwing pieces.  No banging the angel's head on the table, or whatever else he could do.  No trying to bite the Magi's head off.

"John Michael, where's the Baby Jesus?"


"In a row!  Same!" proudly exclaims John Michael.

He was so proud to see all his pieces lined up in a row, as if to honor the Infant Child.  Everywhere he saw a nativity scene or a manger, he would identify Mary, "Jofes", and Baby Jesus.  He proudly tells me, "Jesus love me!" while patting his chest.  He's learning the faith and knows that these figures (minus Elmo) are different... not like Legos or other play figures.  Not because we explicitly said so, but because he's observing, paying attention and learning.  While he can't say all the words, he knows the words to a number of prayers -- the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep", Grace before meals and the Sign of the Cross.

Can you tell I just LOVE this boy!

May 2012 bring you abundant blessings and much joy!

Thanks for reading.  I hope to hear from you more this year  :-)

Monica