That's what S-Boogie says all the time now, even though it's not quite accurate yet (almost). She is getting obsessed with numbers and counting, and can actually do some pretty interesting math tricks in her head. Yesterday she asked me how many letters were in the word "alphabet". When I told her there were eight, she said, "If I had two more letters in my name, it would be the same." Today at the playground a boy was saying that he was three, so she replied that she was one year older and that on his next birthday he would be four. She also loves figuring out how to spell things and constantly comes up with strings of letters that she wants me to pronounce as words. She hasn't quite figured out that only certain combinations make words or that words are always spelled the same. The other day we had some confusion about Little Dude's name because she always pronounces it with an "f" sound instead of a "th", so she was wondering why it didn't have an F.
We just got a progress report from her teachers from preschool last quarter. Her two strengths listed were her friendliness and her writing. S-Boogie really is very friendly and generous with other people. She loves playing with other kids and generally includes everyone. She also isn't very competitive. We got her Candyland for Christmas and she loves to play. However, once she wins, she immediately wants to go back to the spot that I'm at so she can keep playing or so that I can win too. One of her least favorite games is when her friends play tag. She hates that they all run away from her and won't stay and talk. It makes her so mad--she'll stop and insist "just play with me and talk to me!" S-Boogie's writing and drawing have also really taken off since she started school. She loves to spend time writing, drawing, or coloring and comes up with some pretty cool creations. The other day she drew a flower thinking, some mermaids, and a picture of Swiper making a robot butterfly (an incident on a Dora cartoon). She can write notes with prompting from us and most of her letters are clear and well-formed.
We still have some challenges with our sweet S-Boogie. She's very strong-willed and always has to be right. The other day Daddy complemented her for sitting on the couch while watching a video. She immediately corrected him "No, I didn't sit the whole time. I got up to get Ducky, but you didn't see me." We sometimes have a hard time teaching her things because she refuses to believe us and will argue her interpretation of things for hours. Unfortunately she gets her stubbornness and perfectionism from her parents, so it can be a bad combination at times. Most of the time we're glad to have her. I hope she will keep her enthusiasm, her friendliness, and even her determination for the rest of her life.
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3 comments:
She's a smart four-and-nearly-a-half year old. That string of letters thing fascinates the linguist in me. Maybe in a few months you can explain to her Phonotactics. I imagine that she'll grab onto the idea, you know, in a cute, kindergartener sorta way. Oh, and maybe if you don't use the word phoneme, cause that idea confuses college juniors.
Um...the word phoneme often takes teachers several years to understand also. Linguistics is a fascinating thing and a basic knowledge of how languages work is essential if you want to figure out how your students' brains are hearing what you say. Everyone should study another language than the one they learned as a child because it reveals how your own native language functions.
That is one smart little girl!! I can relate to the whole "arguing her interpretation" part. My kids do that as well. I don't remember ever doing that as a child. Mom was the smartest person in the world. I think I believed everything she told me without questioning. (At least at a young age.)
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