8 year old life and daily routine. Learn about her daily schedule and how to handle things that come up with eight year olds. Learn about extracurricular activities, dealing with difficult friendships, and favorite books.
This is a summary for Kaitlyn from 7.75-8 years old. This is a really big birthday for us since it is the age children can be baptized in our church.
EATING
Eating has been great! She is eating well.
SLEEPING
Sleeping is also going well.
EXTRACURRICULAR
Kaitlyn still takes piano lessons and dance class. During this period, she also played basketball. At the end of this period, soccer was just starting up. She loves playing sports.
Kaitlyn also did the Willy Wonka Jr. musical I directed at the elementary school. She was an oompa-loompa. She enjoyed it a lot. Kaitlyn doesn’t love having a lot of attention on her, but she doesn’t seem to mind being on stage. I don’t know how she would feel if she were a soloist at all, but she enjoys ensemble situations.
I really want to find Kaitlyn an art class/teacher I think. I feel bad that there aren’t a lot of resources for artists. She did an art camp last summer, but it is two weeks and I would love to have something more regular for her since it is her real passion in life. If I can’t find anything, I think I will see if I can find instruction books and see what I can help her learn on her own. I am not an artist at all though!
FRIENDSHIPS
Girls definitely have more issues come up with friendships than boys do–at least I have found that true with my kids. It is also stereotypical, and stereotypes are usually started for a reason. Kaitlyn is a major people pleaser, and peacemaker, and she hates contention. She is very friendly and kind and has a lot of friends at school. She is a person who is genuinely very happy for others when they do well–she has always been the type to cheer on a fellow student when the teacher points out something they have done well. She is the first student I have seen do that in helping in classes over the years. Because of these characteristics, I pretty much assumed she wouldn’t really be involved in any drama.
Not so.
Kaitlyn has a good friend who gets jealous of her having other friends. She doesn’t like Kaitlyn to play with anyone else at recess, even if she isn’t out at recess. For a couple of weeks, Kaitlyn stopped going out to recess at all. Since I help in class, I was able to observe this and asked her about it. She had also started up pinching her hand–a nervous habit she does when she is feeling insecure, worried, or stressed. My husband had the thought to ask about a certain friend. She confessed it was because the friend got mad at her for playing with anyone else, so she found it easiest to just stay in from recess and read. This is her non-confrontational side coming out.
We talked to her and told her it was okay and even good for her to have lots of friends and that she can play with lots of people. We made sure she wasn’t excluding anyone from play and talked about how it can be fun to play with a variety of people. She got some courage up to face the situation. It has been a couple of months and it really isn’t resolved fully. There was a time she had some dramatic episode with the friend every single day. Things seem to be cooling off, but I am not sure how this particular friendship will hold up through it all.
I don’t want Kaitlyn being exclusive and playing with just one person. I am okay with having a best friend, but I am not okay with her not being allowed to also have other friendships. I really want to strive for everyone being friends with everyone. It sounds idealistic, but really my graduating class was very much like that. Of course it bugged some people other people and not everyone was super tight with everyone else, but everyone was accepting and friendly toward everyone else for the most part most of the time. It can be done. All it takes is a few people willing to make that happen and people follow suit. Everyone is happier when everyone is friends. Kaitlyn has the talent and disposition to be a person who unifies, but she can’t do it if she is only allowed to play with one other person.
SCHOOL
Kaitlyn is doing very well in school. She enjoys it.
FAVORITES
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Kaitlyn has really gotten into the Little House on the Prairie series lately. She has read them before, but is reading them again and appreciating them more than when she read them last. Brayden is reading Fablehaven with her. It is his favorite book. She isn’t loving it like he does, which does surprise me. I can’t quite figure out what her favorite genre is. She loves unicorn and dragon books, so you would think she would love fantasy, but then she doesn’t latch on to a book like Fablehaven like you would expect her to. It is hard to buy/rent books for her with confidence. She isn’t all that into girly books, but with McKenna getting the Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Whatever After, and The Never Girls books, she has read them all and enjoyed them.
>>>Read: 27 Fantasy Books for Middle Readers
SCHEDULE
Here is her schedule on school days.
7:00–wake up. Eat breakfast. Get Ready, practice piano, chores, then sibling play
8:45–school
4:00–back home. Snack if needed and homework. Then free play
5:30–dinner
6:00–Family time
7:30–get ready for bed
8:30–bedtime
GOOD BOOKS
- On Becoming Childwise
- Love and Logic Magic
- The Five Love Languages of Children
- Parenting With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition)
RELATED POSTS
- Kaitlyn Child Summary: 7.75 Years
- Kaitlyn Preteen Summary {8.25 Years Old}
- Brayden Child Summary: 8 Years Old!
- McKenna Child Summary: 8 Years Old!
- Brinley Child Summary: 8 Years Old
Thanks for posting this and all your other wonderful posts! With regards to the Art lessons, do you have an online neighborhood mommie/parents/general forum? Perhaps you can ask there? I wanted to enroll my 6 year old daughter in Art Classes too and read about this one neighborhood teacher who conducts classes in the neighborhood. She forms groups of kids and then the moms rotate hosting the Art class each week. Seems to be working out well so far and my daughter loves it! I know what you mean about Art resources/teachers being so hard to find. Hopefully you can find something soon! Let me know if you'd like me to ask my child's Art teacher if she knows of resources near you. Your blog has helped me out in SO MANY WAYS, I would be happy to attempt to return the favor in whatever miniscule way I can 🙂
Hi Manisha, that sounds line a great idea! She has a few friends who I know are talented in art also. That would be fun to form. Let me see if I can find a local artist, and if not, I will see what you can find out. Thank you!
Thanks for posting this and all your other wonderful posts! With regards to the Art lessons, do you have an online neighborhood mommie/parents/general forum? Perhaps you can ask there? I wanted to enroll my 6 year old daughter in Art Classes too and read about this one neighborhood teacher who conducts classes in the neighborhood. She forms groups of kids and then the moms rotate hosting the Art class each week. Seems to be working out well so far and my daughter loves it! I know what you mean about Art resources/teachers being so hard to find. Hopefully you can find something soon! Let me know if you'd like me to ask my child's Art teacher if she knows of resources near you. Your blog has helped me out in SO MANY WAYS, I would be happy to attempt to return the favor in whatever miniscule way I can 🙂