[VanessaS]

Everybody is invited to come write about whatever bizarre, amazing, freaky things your kids have or are doing. Or just gush at will.
Go ahead, get it off your chest...

I'll go first:

* He didn't really speak until 23 mo but now (3.75 yo) he speaks fluent English and German, has terrible grammar but a large and complex vocabulary. He also often says things in one language and then translates and repeats it in the other, to make sure you understand. And they're contextual, not literal translations.

* He draws pictures of our house and includes: the fence, the bricks, the smoke coming out of the chimney, the tv antennae, power lines, etc. He drew a picture of my father that was perfectly recognizable because he included the beard and glasses.

* My daughter can pull herself up onto ANYTHING by her fingertips. Kitchen counter, dining room table, wainscoting, window sill. She can also jump with both feet and do somersaults. We never showed her how to do that, her brother couldn't do it himself, and she did it at 20 mo.

* She can do 24-piece puzzles and play acts that she's cooking us dinner. And force-feeds me imaginary potatoes.

* My DS just blew through a maze book I bought him and when I was throwing it away, I noticed that at the bottom of the cover it said "Grades 5-8".

* My DS has memorized the text to 4 songs and sings them correctly while jumping on the couch. In true VS-fashion he is completely tone-deaf, so it's very painful to listen to.

Anyway, that's all I can think of off the bat.

Who's next?

 

[babygirl24]

DD 5 is now teaching her stuffed animals how to read. She pretends they are saying the words incorrectly and she gently corrects them.

She is also letting me teach her sudoku and she is catching on pretty good.

 

[VanessaS]

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DD 5 is now teaching her stuffed animals how to read.

I can just imagine that and it must be sooo cute. My little one feeds her stuffed animals (real food, such a mess) and puts them on the potty. It's so adorable.

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She is also letting me teach her sudoku and she is catching on pretty good.

Gulp. I can't even do the most simple sudoku. I'm such a math dunce. I actually saw a sudoku game at the toy store and thought, "My DS would have a blast with that." Then I realized that I wouldn't be able to play along and left it on the shelf. So pathetic.

Hee, hee. That reminds me of another humiliating moment. I had just bought my son a set of tangram figures. I took them out of the box (they have to be arranged just right to fit in it) and said, "These are really fun. You use them to create pictures of things. Let's make a candle." I struggled with that for about 15 minutes while my DS watched avidly over my shoulder. Then I gave up and tried to put the darn things back in the box. I couldn't get them in! I turned them this way and that, rearranged them, cursed, nothing helped. Then my DS and DH put them back in. I had to leave the room, I was so embarrassed. After that, DH was in charge of all tangram activities.

But, enough about me (I haven't written here in so long and I have a bad case of oral diarrhea, bear with me until I've purged), more about you guys!

 

[VanessaS]

Oh, yes. I almost forgot. Another new thing my DS is doing is that he's doing dot-to-dot pictures (you know, drawing lines from one number to another). I'd given him a book where the pictures go from 1 to 10. I'd mentioned it to my DH and when he saw one in the children's section of our local newspaper, he handed it to DS, DS proceeded to complete it correctly. The numbers went to 54. I had never bothered teaching him to count past 20.

It happens constantly that my DH, in his ignorance about child development does stuff like this. Like when he asked our son some addition and subtraction problems (with LEGOs) when he was about 2.5 yo. I caught them doing it and complained and he said, "But he's been right every time."
Or when he brought my DS a 42-piece jigsaw puzzle instead of the nice 12-piece one I had meant for him to buy. "It had more interesting pictures on it."
He has no clue about what's "normal" so he just does whatever and my DS thinks it's just marvelous. Drives me crazy.

 

[supervee]

DS just had his grade's on-stage winter performance. He had two speaking parts, was really psyched about using the microphone, and didn't wig out at all about being on stage. This is a huge step for him and it was neat to see how excited he was about it!

:

DD amazes me every day with her strength. She is doing chemo and tells all the docs and nurses exactly what she wants and exactly how she wants it (and things she doesn't want--no pink! no stickers!). It's a big transformation to see her speak up for herself like that. She is also now writing with her left hand--I know kids can switch back and forth, and we do have the left-handed gene in our family, but she was such a righty before treatment, weird.

(Sudoku is more about patterns and less about math, if that helps...)

 

[VanessaS]

Oh, that would explain why I'm such a dunce at it. It's the pattern-aspect of math that I find so daunting. I'm terrible at puzzles and mazes and crossword puzzles. Although, I'm comparing myself to my DH who is a pattern genius.

I didn't know your daughter was undergoing treatment. I've been away so long...

 

[supervee]

Yeah, it's comparable to crossword puzzling. Oh, well.

 

[VanessaS]

Some people can sudoku and others can interpret Tolstoy.

And then there's me.

In my house I'm the s...l...o...w one. And the square. My whole life I was called a genius and a Wunderkind and then I met my DH and I realized I was kidding myself...

He was trying to explain how he was going to build our bed (yes, he and my DS have been building our furniture) and telling me about the design and the dimensions and I just

. I couldn't even keep the length and width in my mind long enough to discuss it with him. My brain is melting.

 

[supervee]

Yeah, my DH is quicker than me, too. Though I'm the mechanical one. I laugh when people say, oh, just tell your hubby to do XYZ to fix the yadda yadda. Such assumptions! Not that he can't/wouldn't/hasn't, but it's not his thing. Those are my tools in the shed!

 

[Miss Information]

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Originally Posted by VanessaS Some people can sudoku and others can interpret Tolstoy. And then there's me. In my house I'm the s...l...o...w one. And the square. My whole life I was called a genius and a Wunderkind and then I met my DH and I realized I was kidding myself... He was trying to explain how he was going to build our bed (yes, he and my DS have been building our furniture) and telling me about the design and the dimensions and I just . I couldn't even keep the length and width in my mind long enough to discuss it with him. My brain is melting.

It sounds like you might have dyscalculia or at the very least a math anxiety. It's probably not that you can't do math at all, but mental math might be difficult. Don't feel badly. There's nothing to be ashamed about. I wrote a post about it once on my blog. There is a mathematician/cosmologist named Dr. Emma J. King who can't even add 3 + 4 to get 7 without using her fingers. Yet she is otherwise highly intelligent.

I managed to have a 12 year science career despite the fact I can't do mental math easily. My math processing speed is terrible, but give me pencil and paper and a little time or teach me a few cheats then, I do just fine.

It's weird. Dh can do all sorts of mental math, mental rotations, yet he can't tell which direction we are driving and gets lost more than me. I can sense which general direction we are going in. And occasionally I can even get something right that he doesn't. I'll have certain instincts about some things even though I can't figure out why something feels wrong. And it turns out, after I work through things on paper, that I was right and he wasn't.

 

[no5no5]

Ooh, ooh, I want to brag too.

DD is 2 1/2 and she just blows me away lately. She tells stories--really long, complex, fantastical stories. And she invents crazy games. The other day her feet were Mama Elephant and Baby Elephant and Baby Elephant was breastfeeding from Mama Elephant and Mama Elephant was eating leaves from my (green) shirt. And her feet were elephants all day. We sing the alphabet song taking turns & each singing a letter, and this morning two of her stuffed friends each took their turns as well.

A couple of months ago DH looked in the closet & found an old children's board game we bought at a thrift store when we were bored college students. He saw the side of the box, which said "2-4," and asked why we weren't playing it with DD yet. So we tried it out & she did great, had a great time, followed the rules, etc., and it wasn't until we were putting it away that we noticed it says "2-4 PLAYERS." It is actually rated for children 6 and up. The sad thing is that I would probably not have even tried it out for a couple of years if I had noticed that it is meant for 6 year olds.

And this kid has a memory like you wouldn't believe. I thought _I_ memorized things easily, but she is way ahead of me. She could recite Peter Rabbit and much of Benjamin Bunny before she was 2. And it was funny because she didn't know what all of the words meant, but she would get the sounds right anyway. She remembers all the songs her grandmother sang when she visited for a week last summer--complex songs that I don't even know. She talks about things that happened a year or more ago.

Oh, and also, I am pretty sure she can read. She has had sight words since she was at least 18 months (I was as surprised as anyone when I discovered it) and she now I figure she has at least a hundred. But lately she has been saying words that I am pretty sure nobody has told her (e.g., "organic" on her milk).

Anyway, I guess that's it for now. Thanks for starting the thread.

 

[VanessaS]

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Though I'm the mechanical one.

I'm so jealous. Although I can manage to screw IKEA furniture together if you give me a lot of time and a decent set of instructions.

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It sounds like you might have dyscalculia

Yeah, I have that; never really thought much about it as a problem with a name, KWIM? Although I was lucky to be born in the first generation that was allowed to use graphing calculators on exams. I can't do mental math at all because the numbers float around in my head and get all mixed up. And forget math facts. I even need paper and pencil to use a normal calculator because I can never remember what I just typed in and constantly have to start over. I write everything down and cross it off one by one after I type it in. Thank goodness for Excel!
My previous (before becoming a SAHM) profession was as a quality engineer and statistical analyst for software companies, so my math problems never slowed me down (and most people who know me have no idea).

But my DH has to guesstimate the tip at the restaurant for me. And I'm sure people screw me over on the change all of time. And, yes, I have to turn the map around to face the direction I'm traveling.

I love to hear the stories. Keep them coming!

 

[eepster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by no5no5 He saw the side of the box, which said "2-4," and asked why we weren't playing it with DD yet. So we tried it out & she did great, had a great time, followed the rules, etc., and it wasn't until we were putting it away that we noticed it says "2-4 PLAYERS." It is actually rated for children 6 and up. The sad thing is that I would probably not have even tried it out for a couple of years if I had noticed that it is meant for 6 year olds.

You must learn to ignore the age rating. Use your own judgement for safety obviously, but in terms of developmental readiness they will not help you at all. If I gave DS puzzles rated for 2 1/2 yo he would finish so quickly it makes your head spin (actually we have a few left over from when he was 1 yo, and he find alternative ways to play with them.)

 

[AllisonR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by babygirl24 DD 5 is now teaching her stuffed animals how to read. She pretends they are saying the words incorrectly and she gently corrects them. She is also letting me teach her sudoku and she is catching on pretty good.

Very cute. This reminds me what my 2 yo dd does. When DS and DD leave the dinner table, they say "thank you for dinner". Danish custom. Anyway, since my DD was a baby, she always said "ta-ma-nee", instead of the correct "tak for mad". So now she says "ta-ma-nee. I did not say tak for mad, I said ta-ma-nee." Totally cracks herself up with that.

Vanessa, I suck at math too, and am good at sudoku. It's very v-s. See the background: http://www.abrosenlund.com/photos/View.php?pictno=106

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Originally Posted by supervee DS just had his grade's on-stage winter performance. He had two speaking parts, was really psyched about using the microphone, and didn't wig out at all about being on stage. This is a huge step for him and it was neat to see how excited he was about it! :

Congrats to your DS. I think it takes a HUGE amount of inner strength to get up on stage in front of a crowd. He must be courageous.

 

[lolar2]

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Originally Posted by AllisonR Congrats to your DS. I think it takes a HUGE amount of inner strength to get up on stage in front of a crowd. He must be courageous.

It's not necessarily courage-- more of a temperament thing, in many people, though in others it's courage-- but it's pretty cool. I agree, congrats!

DS (21 months) is talking a lot more in sentences but not quite fluently. He can have a conversation, though. And he can order the cats around (not that they listen). His sense of pitch also has improved, and he is remembering songs and stories better. He's learning numbers but I am not exactly sure where he is with that.

 

[no5no5]

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Originally Posted by eepster You must learn to ignore the age rating. Use your own judgement for safety obviously, but in terms of developmental readiness they will not help you at all. If I gave DS puzzles rated for 2 1/2 yo he would finish so quickly it makes your head spin (actually we have a few left over from when he was 1 yo, and he find alternative ways to play with them.)

I know. I have some sort of mental block. Same goes for clothes sizes.

I mean, I know that she is advanced and large for her age, but for some reason I think she shouldn't be more than a year or so ahead...and then she goes & proves me wrong.

I actually am totally embarrassed to admit that DD has no puzzles rated over 3+, other than Melissa & Doug's see & spell, which doesn't really even count. And yes, they are way too easy for her. I got her some more advanced puzzles for Christmas...hopefully she doesn't breeze right through them. I will be so ashamed that I didn't get them for her earlier.

I wonder what else I am forgetting.

:

 

[dessismama]

Fun thread!!

My 9 yo DS is playing all three movements of the Vivaldi cello concerto and the first two of the Sanmartini cello sonata. On the piano he has mastered the Maple Leaf Rag (and he has played the piano for only a year).

My 6 yo DD is reading chapter books and today discovered that the sum of two odd numbers is always even. She also wrote a book named "Happy and Sad." This was after she wrote a book about growing up and periods "When Girls are 12 or 13" (when my older DD's period came this month). DH says she is stuck in an existential Sartre-like funk.

My 3 yo is singing Jingle Bells on the karaoke machine... it is adorable. He is a great singer, and claims he will play only the trumpet and the drums.

 

[eilonwy]

Huh. I'm not remotely visual-spatial, but I get sudoku. I can see patterns, I just can't see myself in relation to them, if that makes any sense.

The kiddos: BeanBean is doing very well with his schoolwork, has mastered Majesty and is working on Civilization IV (his birthday present). He and BooBah have invented some kind of game, the rules of which are not readily apparent to me. My lack of understanding is the cause for much giggling behind hands.

He's been asking daily about playing a musical instrument, so I'm going to set to work on that next month.

BooBah is learning to read, and has gained a fair amount of weight in the past few months so she seems huge to us.

She informed me recently that next year she intends to homeschool because "I have entirely too much to do." Ooookay then.

Her brother's obsession with computer games has finally rubbed off on her, and she has been practicing games on her own as well as with her brother. (He kibbitzes.

) She's been yelling at me about ballet lately, so I need to get to work on that, too.

Bella's got most of her letters & sounds down. She's been astounding people in public and being absolutely adorable. She still maintains that she is "not cute; I'm a toddler."

Bear is not walking yet, but he's talking more than ever.

He's a doll.

:

 

[no5no5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dessismama She also wrote a book named "Happy and Sad." This was after she wrote a book about growing up and periods "When Girls are 12 or 13" (when my older DD's period came this month). DH says she is stuck in an existential Sartre-like funk.

So sorry, I can't help myself.

I love it.

 

[VanessaS]

Loved reading these entries.

The sudoku picture is great! And I'm fascinated to hear about children playing musical instruments. So awesome!

Totally ignore the age requirements. Just check for small parts if you have a mouther like mine.

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today discovered that the sum of two odd numbers is always even.

Doh! I just checked that mentally and it's true. Please tell me I wasn't the only one who didn't know that!

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My 3 yo is singing Jingle Bells on the karaoke machine... it is adorable. He is a great singer, and claims he will play only the trumpet and the drums.

My DS also really likes to sing to me and adds to his repertoire every week. Unfortunately, he's taking after his completely tone-deaf father so I'm hoping to spare my ears by moving him on to an instrument soon. Although it is TOOO CUTE to hear him sing "I'm a Little Teapot" in a monotone, complete with motions.

: I think I'll make a video next time.

Our newest thing is that this morning my DS wrote his own name (and very adorably wrote it ThomAs) without me telling him how to spell it. He's fascinated by language now and wants to be read to constantly and begs me every morning to let him do Starfall's Learn to Read.

It's funny but because he was a late-speaker I thought his intellect would be very math-heavy but it turns out that he's now very well-balanced.