A bit of pre-reading with Caleb
Posted by aaronjen | Filed under Books, Family
Noah was always keen to sit and read with me from the time he was a toddler. Caleb, however, now a preschooler, has only recently taken any real interest in reading, but has picked it up really quickly. As with Noah, his favourite book by far is The Cat in the Hat, by Dr Seuss (we’re already onto our second copy, having worn out the first one). How I recall reading The Cat in the Hat to Noah no less than 7 times a day before he was 2 years old, especially when I read it to Caleb now, being able to easily recite the whole book off by heart.
In this post, however, I want to mention two other books that are very popular with Caleb - I Went Walking, by Sue Williams and Where is the Green Sheep?, by Mem Fox – because they are great examples of books that develop a preschooler’s pre-reading skills. The thing that makes these two books particularly good is the repetitive and easy vocabulary and the 
corresponding pictures, helping a child who can’t read yet remember which words go with which pictures, allowing them to practice ‘reading’ the book to themselves. In fact, the book is rather an optional add-in when it comes to reciting the book, as Caleb demonstrated the other day when we were walking home from the shops by reciting pretty much verbatim I Went Walking (only steering from the script where I do as I read it to him).
I highly recommend these books for your toddler/preschooler and it’s my hope that reading these books over and over again to Caleb and having him ‘read’ them to me will help him gain the confidence he needs to take the leap when he starts school in 2011 to real reading. - JRR
Tags: Dr Seuss, I Went Walking, Mem Fox, parenting, pre-reading, reading, school, Sue Williams, The Cat in the Hat, Where is the Green Sheep?
Two-Line Vocabulary
Posted by aaronjen | Filed under Family
If you’ve ever watched the show “Whose Line is it Anyway?”, you may be familiar with one of the games they play called Two-Line Vocabulary. There are three actors and they are given a scene, but two of the characters have to act out the scene each being given only two lines they are allowed to say, while the third actor is allowed to say anything. It’s amazing how many ways the actors can inject different meanings in to the two lines they are given, but also how every time they play this game, the actor that can say whatever they want to ultimately acts it frustrated.
Well, it occurred to me the other day that Caleb has been playing an ongoing game of Two-Line Vocabulary for months now. The two lines he’s working with: “Look see” and “Is that right?”. The thing is, like the character that can say whatever they want, I often find myself frustrated with Caleb after the 50th time he’s said “Look see” or “Is that right?” as it gets to a stage when I feel like our conversation is going nowhere. I constantly need reminding that he’s still learning, and these are opportunities for me to expand his vocabulary as I offer different responses.
Caleb, at 3 1/2 is very strong-willed, (a child that refused to be weaned until 2 1/2, and who although quite capable of using the toilet, is still in nappies), and keeps us constantly on our toes (he’s got ‘tude). But we love him to bits! He’s been a bit sick the past couple days, and he’s just so snuggly and sweet. In fact, just before I was colouring in for him (being forced), yet every time I finished a task for him and asked him how it looked, his response, “That’s beautiful!”. How could you not adore that (especially since I wasn’t even staying in the lines)?! - JRR
Tags: Breastfeeding, humor, parenting, Toilet Training, Two Line Vocabulary, Weaning, Whose Line is it Anyway
Master Smarty-Pants
Posted by aaronjen | Filed under Family
Our almost six year old son, Noah (pictured left on his first day of school), has become quite the smarty-pants of late in two recent episodes of “Dad, pull your head in”. The first episode occurred a week or so ago when I stepped outside the front door briefly to put something outside. I heard Noah’s voice travelling through the door only seconds after stepping out…”Dad! Were you born in a tent?!”. The second episode happened yesterday, and was significantly more subtle than the first. We were washing our hands in a public restroom, in basins next to each other. I finished before Noah and was drying my hands when Noah politely asked: “Dad, what do you say to someone if you splash water in their eyes?” Assuming Noah was relaying a story from school, I told him “well, splashing water in someone’s eyes isn’t very nice, so I think you would say sorry to them, wouldn’t you?” Noah seemed to like this answer, then said, not quite as politely: “Dad…you splashed water in my eyes and didn’t say sorry.”
Jen and I are in for real trouble with our children if they end up like us - I remember being slow at getting ready for bed and being asked “Aaron, what are you doing?!” and replying, very cheekily “getting my act together.”
It would seem the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree… - ALR
Summer brain drain
Posted by aaronjen | Filed under Family
One blog I regularly frequent is Momformation. Several writers contribute to it, and it covers all things parenting. As it is summer break over in the States at the moment, one topic of interest is how to help your child avoid ‘summer brain drain’ (see article). Apparently, a child can drop back two reading levels over the summer break, due to not having the regular brain stimulus that comes with school. This is especially evident in poorer families, as the richer families can afford to send their children to summer programs.
While we thought it was an American phenomenon, as the summer break is much longer over there, I came to find out that wasn’t so, and worse, that Noah had probably experienced it himself. We had a Semester One parent-teacher conference with Noah’s teacher on Tuesday, and when we were talking about his progress so far this year, she mentioned that the reading level she recorded for him at the start of this year was probably not indicative of his actual reading level, which she commented was likely two levels higher than that. I was shocked, and slightly embarrassed!
Quite often, I find myself to blame for Noah’s progress at school rather than him. He is a keen learner (this is a child who cries because he wants to do his homework). And looking back over our summer break, I realized that he hadn’t been doing the reading, I had! Determined to avoid this happening again, I asked his teacher for some advice. While her advice amounted to ‘keep reading to him (at two levels higher than he’s at)’ and ‘get him to read to you’, she also said that Noah is over the hump where that would likely affect him, saying that aspect of summer brain drain is really about learning to read, and Noah is a fluent reader now, so we need not worry.
Just another way that Caleb will benefit from Noah being the first child. - JRR
Tags: parenting, reading, school, summer brain drain
Alice Through the Looking-glass, by Lewis Carroll
Posted by aaronjen | Filed under Books
I recently started reading Alice Through the Looking-glass by Lewis Carroll to our almost 6 year old son, Noah. It is a sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and was apparently inspired when Carroll was teaching an 11-year-old Alice Liddell (a friend’s child) how to play chess. We are enjoying it a lot, not only because of the great characters and story line which send us deep into our imaginations, but also because the illustrations by Helen Oxenbury really bring the story to life. This is a beautiful book. I must admit that I’ve never read any Lewis Carroll books before (oddly starting with the sequel of the Alice story – Noah says we’re reading them backwards like we’re living in Looking-glass House), and had only seen this old TV movie adaptation when I was a child, and so had no idea what I was in for, or even if it would keep Noah’s interest. And having found out that this book was originally published in 1871, I cannot believe how much this story has stood the test of time, which is saying a lot, given it is a children’s book.
Having said that, I became fairly disturbed when I was reading the Wikipedia article on Lewis Carroll, because I came to find out that he was never married, and made friends with/photographed young children, and some have suggested he was a paedophile. And on the back of Michael Jackson’s death/memorial service and all the media attention that has come with it, rehashing old accusations/mysteries about who he was, it has got me wondering about how we as parents balance between keeping our children safe from harm and enjoying true artistic expression, whether it be music or a novel. Maybe I’m just naive, but I’d really like to think that neither Lewis Carroll, nor Michael Jackson, were two-faced, and I grieve to think of Jackson’s three children and what has/will happen to them in the coming weeks/months/years. Yet while I will continue to read and enjoy this book with Noah, I won’t be encouraging my little researcher into finding out about who the author was, for I would hate to have to explain to him whatever he might find online, such as I found in that Wikipedia article. - JRR
Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking-glass, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, Michael Jackson, parenting, reading
