Social Butterfly / Sewing Superhero

Lately I am in awe at how friendly and sociable Noah is.  Everywhere we go, he seeks out friends and wins them over so easily.  He loves, loves interacting with other kids and adults of all ages and gender.  It's amazing how when kids are ready to socialize, they let you know.  "Mommy, where are the kids?"  is a common question I hear when we go to a park and there aren't any other kids to play with.  If there is only one other child, whether 18 months old or eight years old, he *will* befriend them.  And if they ignore his request for friendship, his little heart is broken and torn in pieces.  In preschool, his teacher says he is friends with *everyone*.  It's so fun to watch his social skills develop!

Just last week, we were at a birthday party and one of Noah's favorite friends was there.  Noah and this friend are both very spirited and their moods, whether up or down, can be very synergistic.  We're talking either full on belly laughs or full-on playground brawling.  So this little boy kept hitting Noah and normally Noah would fight back furiously, but on that day, something beautiful happened.  Noah said, "_____ why are you hitting me?  I'm your friend."  This is something we've been working on for quite some time...learning to calm down and use our words instead of being reactive with our bodies.  I think (hope) we've entered a new frontier. 

On another note, I love natural consequences...we as adults can talk about sharing until we're blue in the face with a child, but the best lessons come from other children, right?  Noah was playing with another friend and didn't want to share his toy.  I don't make him share, but usually just gently coax him into it by pointing out how it makes the other child feel when he does or doesn't share,  and reminding him of how good we feel when other people share with us.  So back to the story...Noah was adamant about not sharing a brand new toy he just received (understandably) and the other little boy said, "I don't want to play with you."  Noah, now that friendship is more valuable than "things", was heartbroken and said tearfully, "Why not! Why don't you want to play with me?" and the other little boy said, "Because you won't share with me."  So what did Noah do?  He said Oh!  and immediately gave the other boy his toy.  I didn't even have to get involved...love those natural consequences :)

Oh and yes, Noah is still obsessed with superheros.  He wears his costumes (yes, costume(s).  He got some birthday money and decided to spend it on more superhero costumes.)  He was wearing his spiderman costume so much that I was having to sew it daily.  It was actually turning into an annoyance because he would examine the costume every morning upon rising and before I could even open my eyes, he would demand I sew any slight holes he found.  But anyway, on the positive side, somehow his costumes have led to an unexpected hobby - sewing!  Who would have thought?  Noah knows how to sew now because he gained an interest by watching me sew his costume day after day.  He wanted to sew it on his own, so I let him and he did alright!  I decided to take him to Joann's fabric store to get some kid sewing supplies and projects.  Of course he scoffed at the kid section and immediately found an adult sewing starter kit.  He clenched it closely to his chest (while donning his spiderman costume) and we picked out some scrap fabric and buttons. 

When we got home, I just gave him all the supplies (including a very sharp needle which he quickly mastered without any finger pricks...you can't say I don't let that kid take risks LOL!).  I threaded the needle and let him go to town.  I was curious to see what he would come up with all on his own, without my input.  He cut out lots of pieces of scrap fabric and sewed them to a larger piece of fabric.  Then he decided it was going to be a jacket.  He showed me where to cut the arm holes and then with my gentle guidance, he sewed four buttons on it after which I cut button holes.  He made his own little jacket at four years old.  Watch out, Project Runway!  My little sewing superhero.  Dang I need a camera so I can upload pictures of all this good stuff!