That's a Good Post
Abbie likes to point out objects she recognizes. “That’s a sock,” she might say, or “That’s a ceiling fan.” She says it all so matter of factly, lacking surprise or emotion in her voice, simply observing the obviousness of an object’s existence. I imagine most 3-year-olds enjoy pointing out things like this, but Abbie is inherently cuter than most other kids because she’s my kid. You may apply whatever cuteness criteria you find appropriate.
She learns many of her labels from real life. I point out the wildlife in our backyard as we swing. “That’s a bird,” she’ll say as a sparrow flutters past. “That’s a butterfly,” she’ll declare as a monarch flits by, although it could be a moth or grasshopper. We’ll iron out her field identification skills next summer.
She learns a lot of her words from books, too. We have a book filled with pictures of everyday words, imaginatively titled “Everyday Words.” We’ll flip through the pages together, and she’ll point out the things she knows. When she doesn’t recognize an object, she’ll ask for its name by asking, “Zat?” I know she’s learned the word “compact disc” from this book. When she spots a disc, she holds it up and announces “com-pac-ac-ac isc.” She’ll even do this with DVD’s, so she needs to work on her identification skills as well as eliminating unnecessary syllables.
Her favorite section to scan in “Everyday Words” is titled “Things to Eat.” It has pictures of about 200 foods organized in neat rows across two pages. She’ll go down each row, announcing a name or asking “Zat?” at every food. She’s learning about foods like salami, bread, tomatoes, and declaring “mmm” after every name in recognition that they’re tasty. She won’t eat any of those in real life, but at least she recognizes them as theoretically fit for human consumption.
Sometimes she’ll surprise me by labeling something I didn’t know was nearby. While I’m working in the kitchen, she might say, “That’s a fork,” reminding me that I forgot to clean up someone’s lunch utensil. Or she could say, “That’s a knife,” thus pointing out serious deficiencies in my child proofing. Or she could say, as she did this afternoon, “That’s a wasp,” thus displaying her knowledge of backyard wildlife and letting me know something followed us in from the swing set.
She learns many of her labels from real life. I point out the wildlife in our backyard as we swing. “That’s a bird,” she’ll say as a sparrow flutters past. “That’s a butterfly,” she’ll declare as a monarch flits by, although it could be a moth or grasshopper. We’ll iron out her field identification skills next summer.
She learns a lot of her words from books, too. We have a book filled with pictures of everyday words, imaginatively titled “Everyday Words.” We’ll flip through the pages together, and she’ll point out the things she knows. When she doesn’t recognize an object, she’ll ask for its name by asking, “Zat?” I know she’s learned the word “compact disc” from this book. When she spots a disc, she holds it up and announces “com-pac-ac-ac isc.” She’ll even do this with DVD’s, so she needs to work on her identification skills as well as eliminating unnecessary syllables.
Her favorite section to scan in “Everyday Words” is titled “Things to Eat.” It has pictures of about 200 foods organized in neat rows across two pages. She’ll go down each row, announcing a name or asking “Zat?” at every food. She’s learning about foods like salami, bread, tomatoes, and declaring “mmm” after every name in recognition that they’re tasty. She won’t eat any of those in real life, but at least she recognizes them as theoretically fit for human consumption.
Sometimes she’ll surprise me by labeling something I didn’t know was nearby. While I’m working in the kitchen, she might say, “That’s a fork,” reminding me that I forgot to clean up someone’s lunch utensil. Or she could say, “That’s a knife,” thus pointing out serious deficiencies in my child proofing. Or she could say, as she did this afternoon, “That’s a wasp,” thus displaying her knowledge of backyard wildlife and letting me know something followed us in from the swing set.
posted by Matt at
11:15 PM
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