Kid Updates: Logan

This is my update post of Logan and what's been going on with him lately.

Logan is my outgoing and silly boy. He can always put a smile on my face. He is also my most intense child, often testing my patience. I can't imagine life without him in it, though.

At Home....

Since starting full day school this year, Logan spends less time at home than he did last year. When he's home, though, you'll often find Logan playing with his bus collection, train tracks, wooden blocks, or cars. Logan gets along very well with his little brother Marshall, but seems to have more conflict with Brady. Logan is also a big fan of playing outside--riding his bike or scooter, driving in the cozy coupes with Marshall, or sledding in the winter.
Logan is also a big fan of friends. He will play with absolutely anyone who is willing to play, but mostly chooses his friends Gavin, Rico, and Everett, when playing near home. Other friends are Bailey and Brooklyn (who used to live next door). They are twins who get along very well with Logan and often come over to play.


At School....

Logan LOVES school! He loves to ride the bus, eat lunch at school, make new friends, and especially recess time. Logan is also a very smart learner, just like his big brother. He is an above average reader and above average at math as well. It amazes me to think that just a year ago he could only read a handful of words, and now, at just over 6 years old, he can read hundreds of words and sound out words that he's not familiar with. Logan and I work on his reading at home, and I am always so proud of him when listening to him figure it all out--and he's proud too!
Logan struggles with his fine motor skills--handwriting, scissor skills, coloring, etc. This year I have noticed a huge improvement in this area, though, and I have also watched him slow down as he writes and colors, in order to neaten up his work. I love how he has the ability to make it nice, even if it doesn't always come out that way.
We were a little sad at the start of the school year, when we realized that Logan didn't know anyone in his class. Well, I should have known better than to worry, because within 2 days, he had about 4 new friends and was already asking me to take him to their houses to play.
My favorite part of each day is waiting, with Marshall, for the school bus to come, and then watching Logan come bouncing out, throwing his backpack about and talking faster than I can comprehend about his day at school--it's priceless.


In Sports...

I'll have to say that Logan isn't the biggest sports fan of the family. With that said, however, he has played a variety of sports starting with t-ball, then basketball, swimming, and track and field. T-ball quickly became boring, so we dropped that this year. During the summer, Logan attended a basketball camp. I'm not sure if he loved it or not, so I guess we'll find out in a few weeks if he decides he wants to play again or not--I like to leave decisions about sports up to the kids, and not up to Peter and I. Swimming lessons are a must for us, so even though I know it's not his favorite, I will require him to pass at least a couple more levels before we stop--and luckily he doesn't mind it that bad, he's just not a fan of water in his face :).
Track and field was the sport that Logan has most enjoyed. If you've ever seen the classic picture of him with the baton, you'll know what I mean. That will definitely be on our sports agenda for the spring.
Logan also enjoys watching his big brother play football, and while he watches, he's been working on perfecting his punting skills with Marshall.


In Video Games....

I'll be honest...Logan LOVES video games and he'd play them most of the day if he could, but unfortunately for him, he can't, because I would never allow that.
Logan spends approximately 30 minutes on 3 days of the week playing games. His favorite games are Minecraft, Cube World (very similar to Minecraft's Lego style), Mario Kart, and Skylanders. All of these games are very kid-friendly, and they are games that he can play with his friends as well. Video game time at our house is not automatically given and cannot be earned as a reward for good behavior. Video game time is given when Peter and I feel it is right, and it is always closely monitored by us.
Logan also owns a Nexus 7 tablet (similar to a Kindle Fire), although it was in for repair all summer and we just now got it back. The tablet was a gift and is primarily used for educational games, movies, and during travel. Tablet time is included under video game time.
At school, Logan, along with the rest of the school has been issued an iPad for in-school use only. I really like the idea of allowing children to become familiar with technology (just like we used computers occasionally in school when I was his age), but I wouldn't want looking at the screen to take away from time spent with his teacher. Fortunately for me, when I asked Logan this weekend about the iPad, he informed me that they haven't used them at all yet this year. I am hoping that will change, but just as Brady uses it very sparingly, I'm sure it will be the same with Logan.


In God's Word...

For this one, I could probably just copy and paste this section from my update post on Brady.
Logan is a big fan of Sunday School and he loves the fact that he is in class with Brady during this time. There is a "big question of the week" that we help him to answer each week and then he gets to choose a reward for getting it done--he loves this part best!
On Monday nights, you'll find Logan at BSF with Daddy and Brady. This is his 3rd year of BSF, but his first year at the school-age group. He now has a take home page that I get to help him with. We read through the passages of scripture together and then I help him to choose the correct answers. Each week there is a memory verse as well. Last week was the first memory verse, and I was absolutely amazed at how quickly he was able to learn it. There are not many things that make me more proud of my son than to hear him recite scripture from memory.
Wednesday night at church has always been something that Peter and I wanted our boys to be a part of and this year we are making it happen for them. Logan is in a class at church called Team Kid. He will be learning more about God's word in this class and learning even more scripture verses.
Although Logan has not been ready to fully understand what it means to ask Jesus into his heart, I know he is heading in the right path. We listen to KTIS together often, and just the other night he told me about how the songs on the radio make his heart so happy :).

Logan looks a lot like his Grandpa Steve ("regular Grandpa"). As I pray for Logan each day, I ask God to help him grow into a man as great as my Dad, a man who walks with the Lord, and who loves his family more than anything.

"Be strong in the Lord and
Never give up hope
You're gonna do great things
I already know
God's got his hand on you so
Don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don't forget why you're here
Take you're time and pray
These are the words I would say "

 

-Sidewalk Prophets