Our kids are another year older, so it is time to update the Whiting kids puzzle again!
Ezra (2) - One of our friends refers to the toddler age as the R2-D2 phase, because there is a little person wandering around making noises that don't quite sound like language, but their family acts like these random noises are totally intelligible and real communication. Ezra has taken this concept somewhat literally. He actually wanders around making squeaking and whistling sounds and acting like we are supposed to know what this means. His version of English has almost no consonants and is definitely a tonal language. He has a few easy to understand words, such as OK and "all done". He calls Jesse "wye-ee". He is very particular about everything being where it belongs, but is generally uninterested in anyone else's opinion on where things belong. He is generally happy and likes to do whatever his brothers are doing. He reads books just like Jesse does - he silently looks at every page in order. Ezra will be with one of his parents any time he is at mystery hunt unless someone really wants to watch him for some amount of time.
Jacob (5) - Jacob is learning to read and can read most words that are spelled phonetically. He likes to learn about new things and would probably be happy to have people explain their research to him. He likes to tell jokes and has a few favorites that he learned from kids' joke books (quality is as expected). He would also like to hear your favorite (child appropriate) jokes. He might be interested in looking at the puzzles, but is unlikely to be helpful for solving them. Depending on his mood, he may be willing to pile up abandoned papers or take care of other such tasks. There is some possibility that he will be left in a room without his parents for some amount of time, probably with his tablet or some books to look at. If this happens and he is bothering you, please let us know and we will take care of it. If he needs to use the bathroom, please let him know where it is.
Jesse (8) - Jesse can read, do basic arithmetic and some other math, and has worked on simple logic puzzles at times. He also likes to learn about new things and would love to hear about your research or job. He might be able to help solve some of the puzzles. He is reasonably good at standard word searches and will be interested in seeing other more complicated puzzles. Jesse also loves baseball. If there is a baseball puzzle, Jesse can probably be helpful (he knows a surprising amount of baseball trivia). If you want to talk about baseball, Jesse will be happy to have that conversation for as long as you are willing to.
General notes:
Food - Our children have no allergies. If you want to share your food with them, you may do so. If they want to share your food and are annoying you, let us know and we will take care of them. We will be feeding our children, so you should not feel that you have to share your food just because they want it.
Reading - All of our children like reading. They all like having books read to them. Sometimes you can persuade Jacob to read a book to you. Jesse will not read out loud, but will happily talk about the books he is reading and may be interested in suggestions of books to read.
Board Games - Jesse and Jacob love playing board games. If you get bored with puzzles and want to play a game, they will generally be happy to try any game. Just remember that Jacob can just barely read, so he will get frustrated and give up on a game if he has to read a lot to play it.
Taking Our Children on Trips - If you want to take one of our children with you while you wander around campus or whatever, please get explicit permission from Mira or me first. Our children like to go on walks and see new things and would generally be happy to explore some part of campus.
Ezra (2) - One of our friends refers to the toddler age as the R2-D2 phase, because there is a little person wandering around making noises that don't quite sound like language, but their family acts like these random noises are totally intelligible and real communication. Ezra has taken this concept somewhat literally. He actually wanders around making squeaking and whistling sounds and acting like we are supposed to know what this means. His version of English has almost no consonants and is definitely a tonal language. He has a few easy to understand words, such as OK and "all done". He calls Jesse "wye-ee". He is very particular about everything being where it belongs, but is generally uninterested in anyone else's opinion on where things belong. He is generally happy and likes to do whatever his brothers are doing. He reads books just like Jesse does - he silently looks at every page in order. Ezra will be with one of his parents any time he is at mystery hunt unless someone really wants to watch him for some amount of time.
Jacob (5) - Jacob is learning to read and can read most words that are spelled phonetically. He likes to learn about new things and would probably be happy to have people explain their research to him. He likes to tell jokes and has a few favorites that he learned from kids' joke books (quality is as expected). He would also like to hear your favorite (child appropriate) jokes. He might be interested in looking at the puzzles, but is unlikely to be helpful for solving them. Depending on his mood, he may be willing to pile up abandoned papers or take care of other such tasks. There is some possibility that he will be left in a room without his parents for some amount of time, probably with his tablet or some books to look at. If this happens and he is bothering you, please let us know and we will take care of it. If he needs to use the bathroom, please let him know where it is.
Jesse (8) - Jesse can read, do basic arithmetic and some other math, and has worked on simple logic puzzles at times. He also likes to learn about new things and would love to hear about your research or job. He might be able to help solve some of the puzzles. He is reasonably good at standard word searches and will be interested in seeing other more complicated puzzles. Jesse also loves baseball. If there is a baseball puzzle, Jesse can probably be helpful (he knows a surprising amount of baseball trivia). If you want to talk about baseball, Jesse will be happy to have that conversation for as long as you are willing to.
General notes:
Food - Our children have no allergies. If you want to share your food with them, you may do so. If they want to share your food and are annoying you, let us know and we will take care of them. We will be feeding our children, so you should not feel that you have to share your food just because they want it.
Reading - All of our children like reading. They all like having books read to them. Sometimes you can persuade Jacob to read a book to you. Jesse will not read out loud, but will happily talk about the books he is reading and may be interested in suggestions of books to read.
Board Games - Jesse and Jacob love playing board games. If you get bored with puzzles and want to play a game, they will generally be happy to try any game. Just remember that Jacob can just barely read, so he will get frustrated and give up on a game if he has to read a lot to play it.
Taking Our Children on Trips - If you want to take one of our children with you while you wander around campus or whatever, please get explicit permission from Mira or me first. Our children like to go on walks and see new things and would generally be happy to explore some part of campus.
