Circle conductor

Oscar now weighs 35 lbs and stands 40 inches tall.

We had our parent-teacher conference the other week. His teachers said he’s starting to play with peers – as well as adults, though he still demands his “fair share” of time with the teachers. He particularly enjoys playing with the older kids at after school. He always wants to be in charge of whatever’s happening (hence, I suppose, his role as “circle conductor” in circle time at school). This can be problematic, of course. They suggested giving him tasks to build his sense of independence. In general, they praised his creativity and his wonderful imagination. A lot of times, one of his teachers said, “he’s living in this beautiful pretend world.” Head in the clouds.


They also said he loves stories and is looking for cause-effect relationships. He spins increasingly fanciful and complicated yarns, typically beginning with “Once upon a time,” involving numerous diversions and descriptors and often ending abruptly, in mid-plot. At school, he still prefers to play with a grownup around, and he’s “not a rough-houser.”

He says the funniest things and makes incredible associations. Last weekend, we were having lunch at a café on Tompkins Square Park. There was a vaguely Deco-ish drawing of a woman in profile, drinking soda from the bottle with a straw. Oscar quipped: “Look, it’s a picture of the Statue of Liberty when she was in high school.” Last night he dubbed tofu “Toe food.” He said to his teacher Yvette the other day: “Yvette, I miss making you frustrated.”

He certainly has gone through some spells of very frustrating behavior lately. Another parent told Jen: “They say three is the new two.” We’ve been at wits’ end with the power struggles.

But most of the time he’s the sweetest. He’s now brushing his teeth every night (however reluctantly, and we do most of the brushing), and he’s almost dressing himself completely. Still little progress on the potty, but we haven’t really been pushing it yet.