Blizzard

Ella just reported to me that the snow is coming from the east, which is very unusual here in Rochester; usually weather comes from the northwest or west. The great weathervane that the girls created went down in the sleet last week, but it would be buried by now anyway. We'll make another soon, because Ella in particular found it so interesting to see which direction the wind was blowing from.

Ella is uncommonly good at orienting herself in space...from the house, she always knows which direction is north, south, east, and west, and is usually able to figure it out when we're out and about, as well. This leads me to think that something about this ability is inborn--I have a really good sense of direction, too, and it just feels like there's some sense I have that I tap into, rather than having developed it intellectually some way. Watching Ella's progress, it seems like she learned this effortlessly and does it naturally; I can tell the difference between things she has worked hard to acquire and things that she can "just do"--and directions are one of those things. I do math spacially, too, and it seems that Ella is the same way.

Since she has this predilection, we've been looking at weather maps online lately, so she can relate her immediate orientation to the map. That's a bit harder for her, but still enjoyable.