When I think about what I should tell you about Nathan, one of the first things that comes to mind is his creativity. Maybe that's because I see this every time I sit down at the computer:
These are some flowers that Nathan made me. There are three in the cup. They're getting a bit floppy because they've been there for months. What you can't see is that they have stems and that there is paper colored black inside the cup to be dirt. Also notice that he made me a watering can to use to water them. And a couple times a week Nathan comes and tells me that my flowers need water and then he waters them for me. :) It makes me smile.
But there are also many other examples of his creativity. Here is a computer that he made me one day at downtime. It actually has all the letters but one. Apparently it got lost along the way and he didn't realize it.
And here is one of my birthday presents. As you can read, it's a Plane Making Set. Inside are a few sheets of paper and some markers and a pencil to decorate the planes. The thing that stands out to me, though, is that he tore the bottoms off of two crayon boxes and then attached the two boxes so that it would be big enough for the markers and pencil to fit. If he wants to make something, he finds a way.
If you haven't been to our house, you may wonder where Nathan gets materials. Well, he has a "recycling box" where he keeps all sorts of things...plastic bottles, toilet paper rolls, cereal boxes, etc. And I think he could make most anything out of those things and a little tape or glue. Every once in a while, I'll clean out the box and only leave a few things. It doesn't take long for it to fill back up, though. He even has a helper in Caroline. She'll regularly ask me if she can keep something to put in Nathan's Recycling Box. She reaps some benefits as well. Nathan has recently made her a computer (completely different than mine) and a cash register complete with scanner and money. You just never know what he's gonna come up with.
Nathan has been enjoying school. Mostly he enjoys getting to play and have snack. Really. If I didn't push for more, that would be the school report daily...what happened when they played (either on the playground or at P.E.) and what they had for snack. I think he's going to miss his friends when we homeschool next year, but I think he's going to enjoy the learning part more.
He still loves to read. He reports all kinds of things to me regularly. "Mommy, did you know that Vitamin So-and-So is good for Such-and-Such?" "Mommy, Such-and-Such animal does This." Or he'll just come out with a piece of information and I'll wonder where it came from. It's usually something he read and it often comes from his "My First Encyclopedia" book that Nana gave him or his "501 Science Experiments" book that Zac gave him or the "Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia" that was mine as a kid.
He also asks lots of questions. Unfortunately, his thirst for knowledge is starting to outpace my ability to answer. I'm having to resort to "ask Daddy" or "we can look it up online" more and more often these days. And I think I'm going to teach HIM next year? :) I'll just be facilitating his learning. He could probably teach me quite a few things.
Nathan is a great big brother. He still loves to take care of his sisters...especially Caroline (since Sara's not old enough for some of these things yet). He regularly makes crafts for Caroline at church or brings her candy or part of his snack. They don't always get along, but they are big play buddies! At times, though, we're having to remind him that he's not her parent and that he can't tell her what to do all the time.
I guess that's the major stuff about Nathan. I'll try to pick up some of the smaller details along the way.
I thought of one more while writing the Caroline update. Nathan loves hymns. And he never picks the "normal" ones that a kid might pick up. His favorite song for a long time was "A Shelter in the Time of Storm" and most recently it's "The Lily of the Valley". He also really likes "Victory in Jesus".
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