Last week, as we were coming off the high that was celebrating Halloween for several days in a row (Church trunk or treat! Daycare Halloween party! Neighborhood trick or treating! Trick or treating with Daddy!) Sam and Anna were still making references to Halloween in our normal daily routine. Sometimes I pretend to make a move to try to eat some food off of Sam or Anna's dinner plate to give their typical toddler pokey-ness a jump start to eating productively again. This stealthy maneuver usually includes inching my fingers closer to their plate while humming the Jaws song. (Side note: We tend to hum the Jaws song a lot in the most random situations. One day when they are older, Sam and Anna are going to watch that movie for the first time and say, "So that's where it's from!" I can just picture it.) This night while making a move for Anna's food, Anna proclaimed, " I take your costume off, Mama! You not a shark!" while wagging her finger at me and covering her plate with her other hand.
Our best one-liners must usually occur during dinner conversation, because this one took place while we were eating, as well. Daddy was digging in the fridge for fruit, but couldn't immediately find what he was looking for. Sam asked, "What Daddy looking for?" then looked at me and said, "Good question!" (As if he was affirming that with me.) "What daddy looking for, Mama?" His tone and inflection was eerily familiar. I guess I may overuse the phrase "Good question" a bit. Sometimes it's hard to hang up the teacher hat when you've got small children at home too.
Anna's newest phrase is saying, "I was missing you" often. Sometimes it is just when I'm in the other room and she is looking for me, finding me within seconds. But when she lays that one on me after getting picked up from daycare, it is certain enough to break a mama's heart. And yet, feel so loved at the same time.
My precocious children are really into finding letters everywhere we go these days. They love to tell me the sounds that each letter makes after naming them, and list everything we can think of that begins with the same letter. This is the newest version of the What Else? Game. With election signs on every corner, my little ones were constantly pointing out all the Os, B's, M's and A's. Sam has taken this one step further and (at 2 1/2 years old) loves to spell some easy words. He spelled O-B-A-M-A often. (Either Romney has too many letters, or he just knew that his Mama was a Obama Mama.) From memory he can spell Sam (and likes to point out that his name has a little a and m while Anna has a big A too), Anna, Mom, Dad, stop, and Bella on his own. He seemed very interested in the large red Target sign and was practicing saying the letters in order to spell Target, so maybe that word will be the next one!
Showing posts with label communication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label communication. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Superstar Sharers
Sometimes I'm blown away at the level of fair share toy usage that comes unprompted between Sam and Anna. (Other times, it's typical 2 year old grab-yell and maybe physically lash out, I won't deny that.) What's more, they communicate want they want so well with each other, it often bowls me over. It definitely makes our days easier when they get along well considering they are rarely apart.
For discipline we use a 1-2-3 count for most minor misbehavior, and we also say 1-2-3 when their time is up to have something and it's time to hand it over to their sibling for awhile. If we get to 3 and they continue disobeying after that, they get a time-out. It has worked extremely well for us so far. (Overall, I would say our discipline style is a combination of Love and Logic and 1-2-3 Magic. I've researched both for a grad course and combine both in my classroom as well.)
Three I-Don't-Want-To-Forget Moments:
The other day while we were going for a walk, Sam had his daddy's hat and Anna wanted it. She said on her own without adult intervention "Sam, 1, 2, 3!" and Sam handed that thing right over without hesitation. Then, believe it or not, Anna said, "Thank you Sam" and we continued on our merry way.
Today, I took out a new-to-them toy that had been sitting in our basement and I had forgotten about. Anna was playing with it first while Sam watched nearby. He said,"Anna, you share, okay?" and she kept on playing. Sam counted 1, 2, 3 and then said "Anna you move over?" and lo and behold, she did. Sam got his turn and she started playing with something else.
Also today, Sam and Anna were eating a snack and Anna had a box of bunny crackers while Sam was eating pretzels. Sam took a bunny cracker from Anna and she cried. Daddy told her that they were everybody's crackers, not just hers and asked her to give him one. She did, and then unprompted Sam said "Thank you" while signing it. She responded "You're welcome" and then made it into a little game- after he put a cracker into his mouth, she fished out another to give to him. He kept saying thank you after each one, and she kept replying you're welcome until the rest of the box was gone. It was too cute.
For discipline we use a 1-2-3 count for most minor misbehavior, and we also say 1-2-3 when their time is up to have something and it's time to hand it over to their sibling for awhile. If we get to 3 and they continue disobeying after that, they get a time-out. It has worked extremely well for us so far. (Overall, I would say our discipline style is a combination of Love and Logic and 1-2-3 Magic. I've researched both for a grad course and combine both in my classroom as well.)
Three I-Don't-Want-To-Forget Moments:
The other day while we were going for a walk, Sam had his daddy's hat and Anna wanted it. She said on her own without adult intervention "Sam, 1, 2, 3!" and Sam handed that thing right over without hesitation. Then, believe it or not, Anna said, "Thank you Sam" and we continued on our merry way.
Today, I took out a new-to-them toy that had been sitting in our basement and I had forgotten about. Anna was playing with it first while Sam watched nearby. He said,"Anna, you share, okay?" and she kept on playing. Sam counted 1, 2, 3 and then said "Anna you move over?" and lo and behold, she did. Sam got his turn and she started playing with something else.
Also today, Sam and Anna were eating a snack and Anna had a box of bunny crackers while Sam was eating pretzels. Sam took a bunny cracker from Anna and she cried. Daddy told her that they were everybody's crackers, not just hers and asked her to give him one. She did, and then unprompted Sam said "Thank you" while signing it. She responded "You're welcome" and then made it into a little game- after he put a cracker into his mouth, she fished out another to give to him. He kept saying thank you after each one, and she kept replying you're welcome until the rest of the box was gone. It was too cute.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Words, Words, Words!
Just for fun, I tried to think of all the words Sam and Anna now have in their vocabulary. At 16 months, here is the best list I can come up with. This will probably be my last list of words because their word knowledge seems to be growing exponentially every day.
Between the two of them they say:
Mama, Mom, Dada, Bella, Sam, Anna, Grandma, Grandpa, Zach, bone, milk, water, all done, more, on, off, light, out, shoes, socks, belly button, gentle, boo, giggle (yes, Anna actually says giggle giggle- so cute!), hi ,bye, go, thank you, hat, baby, Baby Signing Time, sit, down, up, block, box, eye, nose, teeth, I love Mom, wow, uh oh, baa (sheep sound), moo, bawk (chicken sound), tweet (bird sound), woof, dog, meow, horse, neigh, duck, quack, that, wha's that?, diaper, ball, boat, bus, bath, fish, banana, strawberry, blueberry, yum, blue, green, back, book, door, fan, good girl, eat, no- and probably more that I can't think of. (There's a few words that one says but not the other, and visa versa, but mostly they have the same # of words).
It's amazing to me that just a little over a month ago, Anna could say 12 words and Sam had a vocabulary of 24 words, and now they are regularly using 70+ words throughout the week.
They also sign a lot of the words they say:
Mom, grandma, grandpa, milk, dog, shoes, water, more, thank you, all done, hi, bye, baby, baby signing time, ball, diaper, strawberry, banana, eat, fish, horse, bath, boat, bus, hat, book, etc.
But some things they sign without saying the words are:
Wash hands, soap, please, bird, train, airplane, car, brush teeth, drink, - and probably more that I can't think of. If they want to sign something, but don't quite get how to make it, both Sam and Anna move their hands around to sign "signing." It's kinds cute to see them attempt to tell us something that way.
Now they use 35+ signs, and a month ago Sam was making 15 signs while Anna made 13.
It is so great to be home with them this summer to witness their communication really take off. This is a really fun age- yes, they are always on the go and wear me out, but it's wonderful to understand what's going on in their brains so often. Since they are understanding directions and following them more and more, our daily routine is that much easier as a result. Sam and Anna understand when I say, go get your shoes, a book, etc. and do what I ask. They understand when I say it is time to eat, and go to their highchairs. If I say, time to clean up (okay, I do sing a song too), both Sam and Anna start putting things back where we keep them. Sometimes, they remember that it is time to clean up before we do something else like eat or go somewhere and start picking up before being told (If only I could get them to keep doing this for the rest of their lives!) If either my husband or I ask if they want to go somewhere, they go to the door and pick up their shoes. Of course they understand what no means, and sometimes follow that direction. They understand "sit down" "get your milk" "bath time" "be nice (or gentle)" as well.
Between the two of them they say:
Mama, Mom, Dada, Bella, Sam, Anna, Grandma, Grandpa, Zach, bone, milk, water, all done, more, on, off, light, out, shoes, socks, belly button, gentle, boo, giggle (yes, Anna actually says giggle giggle- so cute!), hi ,bye, go, thank you, hat, baby, Baby Signing Time, sit, down, up, block, box, eye, nose, teeth, I love Mom, wow, uh oh, baa (sheep sound), moo, bawk (chicken sound), tweet (bird sound), woof, dog, meow, horse, neigh, duck, quack, that, wha's that?, diaper, ball, boat, bus, bath, fish, banana, strawberry, blueberry, yum, blue, green, back, book, door, fan, good girl, eat, no- and probably more that I can't think of. (There's a few words that one says but not the other, and visa versa, but mostly they have the same # of words).
It's amazing to me that just a little over a month ago, Anna could say 12 words and Sam had a vocabulary of 24 words, and now they are regularly using 70+ words throughout the week.
They also sign a lot of the words they say:
Mom, grandma, grandpa, milk, dog, shoes, water, more, thank you, all done, hi, bye, baby, baby signing time, ball, diaper, strawberry, banana, eat, fish, horse, bath, boat, bus, hat, book, etc.
But some things they sign without saying the words are:
Wash hands, soap, please, bird, train, airplane, car, brush teeth, drink, - and probably more that I can't think of. If they want to sign something, but don't quite get how to make it, both Sam and Anna move their hands around to sign "signing." It's kinds cute to see them attempt to tell us something that way.
Now they use 35+ signs, and a month ago Sam was making 15 signs while Anna made 13.
It is so great to be home with them this summer to witness their communication really take off. This is a really fun age- yes, they are always on the go and wear me out, but it's wonderful to understand what's going on in their brains so often. Since they are understanding directions and following them more and more, our daily routine is that much easier as a result. Sam and Anna understand when I say, go get your shoes, a book, etc. and do what I ask. They understand when I say it is time to eat, and go to their highchairs. If I say, time to clean up (okay, I do sing a song too), both Sam and Anna start putting things back where we keep them. Sometimes, they remember that it is time to clean up before we do something else like eat or go somewhere and start picking up before being told (If only I could get them to keep doing this for the rest of their lives!) If either my husband or I ask if they want to go somewhere, they go to the door and pick up their shoes. Of course they understand what no means, and sometimes follow that direction. They understand "sit down" "get your milk" "bath time" "be nice (or gentle)" as well.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Baby Sign
My last post on Sam and Anna's communication left out baby sign on purpose. I wanted to devote an entire post to this because using sign with Sam and Anna has been and is pretty important to me.
Here's a little background: when I was little, my mom sometimes took care of a little girl who was deaf. So because of that, my mom used signs before it was the "in" thing to do with small children. Growing up, my mom always signed yes, no, stop, please, thank you, and much more to me and my brother. (Just a little tidbit: yes and no are pretty handy when you are talking on the phone.) In college, I took a course on sign language. I've also incorporated signs including the letters of the alphabet, bathroom, stop, sit down and no into my classroom environment as well. (The sign for bathroom is one of the first things I teach a new class in the fall. It is fabulous when you are reading a book or working with a small group. You don't have to stop what you are doing or saying, just simply nod at the child and they go. It's awesome.)
So with all that, I really wanted to use baby sign with Sam and Anna. Since they go to day care because I work full time, I've been a little disappointed that I don't have the time I'd like to reinforce signing to communicate. They've understood signs like milk for a lot longer than they have been able to do them, but lately Sam and Anna have been showing and communicating through signs more and more, and that has made me really excited! I realize that they would know a lot more if they spent all day long with me, but instead of being sad about that right now, I am looking forward to this summer (30ish days of school left!) because I have a feeling their signing ability will really start to explode once they spend all day long with me, every day of the week.
The first sign Anna made was "all done!" She started signing this at the same time she starting saying it (her first phrase). She now signs "more" and "milk" as well. It is so fun to see her use all three throughout a meal. She uses more to ask for more food, and combines more and milk to ask for her sippy cup.
Sam doesn't use signs as much as Anna (I think he finds it works perfectly well to point with his finger to what he wants) but he seems to be more interested in signs as a whole. I think he's starting to connect making the sign "dog" to the concept of a dog. Sam understands "all done," "milk" and "more" but doesn't use them as frequently as Anna. Sam signs and understands "eat" as well.
We do have a few Baby Signing Time DVDs and I've just recently broken down and started playing them. (As a practice, we don't have Sam and Anna watch any tv. Baby Sign is now the only exception to that.) I'm excited to see how their signing progresses as they learn to communicate more and more!
Here's a little background: when I was little, my mom sometimes took care of a little girl who was deaf. So because of that, my mom used signs before it was the "in" thing to do with small children. Growing up, my mom always signed yes, no, stop, please, thank you, and much more to me and my brother. (Just a little tidbit: yes and no are pretty handy when you are talking on the phone.) In college, I took a course on sign language. I've also incorporated signs including the letters of the alphabet, bathroom, stop, sit down and no into my classroom environment as well. (The sign for bathroom is one of the first things I teach a new class in the fall. It is fabulous when you are reading a book or working with a small group. You don't have to stop what you are doing or saying, just simply nod at the child and they go. It's awesome.)
So with all that, I really wanted to use baby sign with Sam and Anna. Since they go to day care because I work full time, I've been a little disappointed that I don't have the time I'd like to reinforce signing to communicate. They've understood signs like milk for a lot longer than they have been able to do them, but lately Sam and Anna have been showing and communicating through signs more and more, and that has made me really excited! I realize that they would know a lot more if they spent all day long with me, but instead of being sad about that right now, I am looking forward to this summer (30ish days of school left!) because I have a feeling their signing ability will really start to explode once they spend all day long with me, every day of the week.
The first sign Anna made was "all done!" She started signing this at the same time she starting saying it (her first phrase). She now signs "more" and "milk" as well. It is so fun to see her use all three throughout a meal. She uses more to ask for more food, and combines more and milk to ask for her sippy cup.
Sam doesn't use signs as much as Anna (I think he finds it works perfectly well to point with his finger to what he wants) but he seems to be more interested in signs as a whole. I think he's starting to connect making the sign "dog" to the concept of a dog. Sam understands "all done," "milk" and "more" but doesn't use them as frequently as Anna. Sam signs and understands "eat" as well.
We do have a few Baby Signing Time DVDs and I've just recently broken down and started playing them. (As a practice, we don't have Sam and Anna watch any tv. Baby Sign is now the only exception to that.) I'm excited to see how their signing progresses as they learn to communicate more and more!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Little Sponges
Sam and Anna are amazing me lately. Their ability to comunication and understand has just skyrocketed! It's so awesome to see and witness.
Sam's been in a repeat everything stage. He'll point all over the place, asking us to name whatever he's pointing at. Once we tell him, he tries his hardest to repeat the words. While reading a book, he'll point to all sorts of things in the pictures and repeat what he tell him too. My favorite in the last few days was telling him a monkey says "Ooo ooo ooo" and hearing him say "Ooo ooo ooo" right back.
The other day Anna took her socks off like she often does. I found them, held them up and asked her if she wanted her socks back on. She nodded yes, and climbed into my lap. Then she took the socks and tried to put them back on her feet on her own.
When we tell them it's time to go bye-bye they crawl towards the door. When we say it is time to eat, they head for their high chairs.
This is such a fun stage!
Sam's been in a repeat everything stage. He'll point all over the place, asking us to name whatever he's pointing at. Once we tell him, he tries his hardest to repeat the words. While reading a book, he'll point to all sorts of things in the pictures and repeat what he tell him too. My favorite in the last few days was telling him a monkey says "Ooo ooo ooo" and hearing him say "Ooo ooo ooo" right back.
The other day Anna took her socks off like she often does. I found them, held them up and asked her if she wanted her socks back on. She nodded yes, and climbed into my lap. Then she took the socks and tried to put them back on her feet on her own.
When we tell them it's time to go bye-bye they crawl towards the door. When we say it is time to eat, they head for their high chairs.
This is such a fun stage!
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