Okay, okay, it's more like 2.75. But he's not three yet!
M's speech has made lots of progress over the past year. As in, he does it now. As I wrote last year, he has been a late talker and enthusiastic signer.
He is in that awkward two-year-old stage where the family understands most of what he says and other people mostly don't. In his case it is partly complicated by the fact that he pulls from all three languages and that he leaves out or changes at least half of his consonants. For instance, we were watching a Slovak video and I pointed out a rabbit (in English), which he corrected: "No, ha-ha-hik." Králíček? (CZ) "NE, ha-ha-hik." Zajačik! (SK) But who could get that from hahahik on the first try??
That said, however, he is clearly a more balanced bilingual at this stage than his sister was (since we lived in UK at the time). His CZ/SK and English have developed more evenly, though English is still stronger. He has started preschool already (the same one where K went), which has certainly had an impact.
If you can get past the pronunciation barrier, he actually has quite a bit to say! I've noticed some relatively complex sentences and ideas coming from his direction, cogent arguments aimed at his sister, that sort of thing. Like when she was interfering with his Angry Birds game: "You no touch my Angry Birds. Me touch you Angry Birds? No. So you no touch mine either." An irrefutable argument.
And of course, while we're on Angry Birds, there's the oft-repeated question: "Why you so angry, Angry Birds? Don't be angry - be happy! See? (big smile)"
We've also been seeing the difference between an only child and a younger child in terms of learning - M has plenty of inspiration and opportunity to learn in a way K didn't have, because he is exposed to what she is learning, too. The main thing being the day he pointed to a letter and said A...and it was an A! He also knew M. K, of course, has been learning to read, so he was apparently paying attention.
After that he wanted to name all the letters in the title of every book we read, which is how he came to know his alphabet at two years old. He recognizes all four of our names when written down (plus Babka and Dedo I guess), but doesn't do anything like reading. He just knows the letter sounds. More sounds than he can pronounce, actually.
I theorize that he may actually learn to read before he is potty trained, because unfortunately there has not been much progress on that front this year.
Loves: dinosaurs, fish, animals in general, books. His big sister.
Maybe passion would be a better word. M is very, very, very enthusiastic about the things in the above list. We've taken him to the zoo, to a dinosaur bones exhibit, to the aquarium, even to the Pergamon (ancient history) museum, and he loved them all. He engages with things in his own way, on his own level, but clearly gets something out of the places we go.
He's very, very two at the moment, but he's still a lot of fun. And soon enough he will be very, very three...
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Fitting It All In: Reading and Time Management
Evenings are hectic around here, as I imagine they are in most homes.
We usually have only 1-2 hours, sometimes less, between the Slovak getting home from work and bedtime, and in that time we have to cook dinner, eat dinner, read a chapter book, do a reading lesson, and do the bedtime routine (story and songs).
Cooking dinner earlier doesn't really work for me most days, nor does doing the reading lesson. The 18-month-old really requires adult supervision, so getting anything done when the Slovak isn't home comes at a cost of, for instance, pulling everything out of the kitchen cabinets, rummaging in the trash for a snack, coloring on the refrigerator or climbing to unacceptable places on the furniture, to name a few favorites. K also finds it understandably hard to concentrate on a lesson when M is in the same room.
So we have to fit it all in to the after work - before bedtime window. Most nights this means leaving something out - sometimes we have leftovers so we don't lose time cooking, but it is still a stretch to fit everything in without being too rushed. Most of the time it ends up as a choice between doing a lesson or reading a chapter.
I would like to finish the lessons, but when I weigh the long-term benefits of learn-to-read lessons and reading together as a family, I think reading together wins out. So we've dialed back on the reading lessons a bit. We do a couple a week and we split them in half unless we have a lot of time to spare, and that is working well for now.
If we had continued doing a lesson every single night without fail we would be done with the book already; as it is we are around 2/3 to 3/4 done (or so). The important thing, though, is that we have already achieved our goal in doing the lessons in the first place: K's reading anxiety is essentially gone. Maybe entirely gone.
K finds the readings challenging but manageable and she enjoys counting the lines of each story to see how long it is. Last time I showed her the beginning of the book, where you read two letters together and the first story is three words long, and compared it to the 17-line story she read that day. She loved seeing how much progress she has made already.
She is also motivated to read books, signs and things we see around the house or around town. She likes to practice writing on paper or on a computer, usually self-directed and involving creative spelling. Occasionally I am allowed to suggest something she might try writing.
With this positive attitude I am comfortable pulling back on the formal lessons and we can finish slowly. I imagine that in the long run memories of reading together will be more valuable and contribute more to literacy for both children.
We finished Farmer Boy over the weekend and I asked what we should read next: the next Little House book or mix it up with something else? Both K and Apo put in immediate and enthusiastic votes for LITTLE HOUSE!! So we are working our way through Little House on the Prairie.
I hope we can make our evening readings such a habit that we continue them for years, even when the little ones are old enough to read for themselves. I think it's good for all of us.
We usually have only 1-2 hours, sometimes less, between the Slovak getting home from work and bedtime, and in that time we have to cook dinner, eat dinner, read a chapter book, do a reading lesson, and do the bedtime routine (story and songs).
Cooking dinner earlier doesn't really work for me most days, nor does doing the reading lesson. The 18-month-old really requires adult supervision, so getting anything done when the Slovak isn't home comes at a cost of, for instance, pulling everything out of the kitchen cabinets, rummaging in the trash for a snack, coloring on the refrigerator or climbing to unacceptable places on the furniture, to name a few favorites. K also finds it understandably hard to concentrate on a lesson when M is in the same room.
So we have to fit it all in to the after work - before bedtime window. Most nights this means leaving something out - sometimes we have leftovers so we don't lose time cooking, but it is still a stretch to fit everything in without being too rushed. Most of the time it ends up as a choice between doing a lesson or reading a chapter.
I would like to finish the lessons, but when I weigh the long-term benefits of learn-to-read lessons and reading together as a family, I think reading together wins out. So we've dialed back on the reading lessons a bit. We do a couple a week and we split them in half unless we have a lot of time to spare, and that is working well for now.
If we had continued doing a lesson every single night without fail we would be done with the book already; as it is we are around 2/3 to 3/4 done (or so). The important thing, though, is that we have already achieved our goal in doing the lessons in the first place: K's reading anxiety is essentially gone. Maybe entirely gone.
K finds the readings challenging but manageable and she enjoys counting the lines of each story to see how long it is. Last time I showed her the beginning of the book, where you read two letters together and the first story is three words long, and compared it to the 17-line story she read that day. She loved seeing how much progress she has made already.
She is also motivated to read books, signs and things we see around the house or around town. She likes to practice writing on paper or on a computer, usually self-directed and involving creative spelling. Occasionally I am allowed to suggest something she might try writing.
With this positive attitude I am comfortable pulling back on the formal lessons and we can finish slowly. I imagine that in the long run memories of reading together will be more valuable and contribute more to literacy for both children.
We finished Farmer Boy over the weekend and I asked what we should read next: the next Little House book or mix it up with something else? Both K and Apo put in immediate and enthusiastic votes for LITTLE HOUSE!! So we are working our way through Little House on the Prairie.
I hope we can make our evening readings such a habit that we continue them for years, even when the little ones are old enough to read for themselves. I think it's good for all of us.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Reading Out Loud: Lots of Questions!!
We are still in full swing with reading chapter books together. At the moment we are working on Farmer Boy as a family (the Slovak has gotten sucked into Laura Ingalls and wants to know what happens!) and K and I are reading the first Lemony Snicket book when it's just the two of us. She likes to go sit in a coffeeshop together once in a while and read a chapter there.
Last week we read a chapter of Lemony Snicket while drinking our coffee and eating a cookie. We had some paper and colors with us, so K drew a picture of Count Olaf's mansion while I read. It is described as being large and extremely dirty, and there are a number of eyes (pictures and carvings of a single eye, which will probably become a plot point later on). K drew the mansion as described, including a few details about the kitchen, children's bedroom, and so on. Then she scribbled on it to show it is dirty. She also wrote the letter i (lower case i with a dot) several times in different places, so I asked what it meant. She said, "That's the i. You know, there are lots of i's there."
I admit it. I didn't tell her about the eye/i mix-up. It was too funny to allow her to fix.
We are also quite enjoying Farmer Boy still. Last week we read the chapter called Sheep Shearing, which is one of the ones that stuck with me as a child. I had to pause after each time I said the word 'sheep' so that M could say BAAAA! In a chapter on sheep shearing, that was a lot of repetitions. Then a few days ago we read the chapter where the main character makes a big black stain on the wallpaper of the parlor while his parents are away. As I read it, K's eyes got as big as saucers and even the Slovak let out a shocked gasp. It was gripping. :)
I wasn't sure that a five year old would be able to understand a historical book with as much unfamiliar detail as this, but it really holds K's attention. She doesn't understand it all, especially the farming details - I mean, the child doesn't know what a cassette tape or phone with a cord is, much less a plow - but she loves listening and asking questions. And making a mess and being afraid of getting in trouble for it, well, that seems to be universal.
K is full of questions about our reading even when we aren't actually reading. She often brings up questions during the day or at bedtime, showing she has been thinking about the stories. They are sometimes plot-related, something she didn't understand, such as why Almanzo's father doesn't trust him with the colts, but more often to do with character motivations and more theoretical issues. She continues to return to Harry Potter even long after we finished reading the first book, for instance, because it is full of rich characters and themes.
Here is an abbreviated list of questions I've had to answer in the last few months:
Why are Harry's aunt and uncle so mean to Harry?
Why are they afraid of magic?
Why did Harry's parents have to die?
Why did Voldemort want to kill them?
What is a prophecy?
Why did the Sorting Hat say Harry has a little bit of Slytherin in him?
Why did the Sorting Hat put Hermione in Gryffindor even though she loves learning like Ravenclaws?
Why did Ron say Hermione is awful?
Why do people in Harry Potter think that all Slytherins are bad if every House has some good and some bad in it?
Why is Mr. Filch so mean?
Why doesn't Mr. Filch like children?
Why can't he do magic?
Why is Draco so mean?
Why doesn't he like Muggles?
Why does he think he's better than other people?
Why didn't his parents teach him to be nice when he was little?
(repeat for every character in Harry Potter)
Why does Voldemort want to kill Harry?
Why does he hate Muggles?
Why does he want power?
Why do people choose to serve Voldemort when he is scary, evil and crazy?
Why do they care more about money and power than about other people?
Why does Voldemort want to live forever?
Why is he afraid of death?
Why does he like hurting people?
Why doesn't he have any friends?
Why doesn't he understand love and friendship?
Why did he grow up in an orphanage?
Why did his mother die?
Why did his father go away?
Why did his mother do a love spell on his father?
Please note that the answers to most of these questions are REALLY COMPLICATED. I have become a Slytherin apologist (they aren't all bad, all Houses have good and bad, imagine if your parents taught you from a very young age that you really are better than everyone else...), but it is very difficult explaining Professor Snape, for example, to a five year old. The anti-hero and spy is very difficult to grasp - he does one thing but thinks another. He is ugly but not evil. This goes against a child's understanding of the world.
And then most recently,
"Who did Harry get married to when he grew up?"
"Ginny, Ron's sister."
"And who did Hermione get married to?"
"Ron."
"Ron?!?"
"Yes, in the books it was Ron. But I don't think she really would because Ron and Hermione would not be happy together."
"(disappointed groan) But I wanted Harry and Hermione to get married! Because I love them both!"
Okay, I could handle having given birth to a Gryffindor. I mean, she's five, right, so she'd fit right in. But a HARRY/HERMIONE SHIPPER? I have to work on this.
***
Coming up with truthful answers to K's questions that a five year old can understand can be a challenge, but I have to say we're having fun.
Last week we read a chapter of Lemony Snicket while drinking our coffee and eating a cookie. We had some paper and colors with us, so K drew a picture of Count Olaf's mansion while I read. It is described as being large and extremely dirty, and there are a number of eyes (pictures and carvings of a single eye, which will probably become a plot point later on). K drew the mansion as described, including a few details about the kitchen, children's bedroom, and so on. Then she scribbled on it to show it is dirty. She also wrote the letter i (lower case i with a dot) several times in different places, so I asked what it meant. She said, "That's the i. You know, there are lots of i's there."
I admit it. I didn't tell her about the eye/i mix-up. It was too funny to allow her to fix.
We are also quite enjoying Farmer Boy still. Last week we read the chapter called Sheep Shearing, which is one of the ones that stuck with me as a child. I had to pause after each time I said the word 'sheep' so that M could say BAAAA! In a chapter on sheep shearing, that was a lot of repetitions. Then a few days ago we read the chapter where the main character makes a big black stain on the wallpaper of the parlor while his parents are away. As I read it, K's eyes got as big as saucers and even the Slovak let out a shocked gasp. It was gripping. :)
I wasn't sure that a five year old would be able to understand a historical book with as much unfamiliar detail as this, but it really holds K's attention. She doesn't understand it all, especially the farming details - I mean, the child doesn't know what a cassette tape or phone with a cord is, much less a plow - but she loves listening and asking questions. And making a mess and being afraid of getting in trouble for it, well, that seems to be universal.
K is full of questions about our reading even when we aren't actually reading. She often brings up questions during the day or at bedtime, showing she has been thinking about the stories. They are sometimes plot-related, something she didn't understand, such as why Almanzo's father doesn't trust him with the colts, but more often to do with character motivations and more theoretical issues. She continues to return to Harry Potter even long after we finished reading the first book, for instance, because it is full of rich characters and themes.
Here is an abbreviated list of questions I've had to answer in the last few months:
Why are Harry's aunt and uncle so mean to Harry?
Why are they afraid of magic?
Why did Harry's parents have to die?
Why did Voldemort want to kill them?
What is a prophecy?
Why did the Sorting Hat say Harry has a little bit of Slytherin in him?
Why did the Sorting Hat put Hermione in Gryffindor even though she loves learning like Ravenclaws?
Why did Ron say Hermione is awful?
Why do people in Harry Potter think that all Slytherins are bad if every House has some good and some bad in it?
Why is Mr. Filch so mean?
Why doesn't Mr. Filch like children?
Why can't he do magic?
Why is Draco so mean?
Why doesn't he like Muggles?
Why does he think he's better than other people?
Why didn't his parents teach him to be nice when he was little?
(repeat for every character in Harry Potter)
Why does Voldemort want to kill Harry?
Why does he hate Muggles?
Why does he want power?
Why do people choose to serve Voldemort when he is scary, evil and crazy?
Why do they care more about money and power than about other people?
Why does Voldemort want to live forever?
Why is he afraid of death?
Why does he like hurting people?
Why doesn't he have any friends?
Why doesn't he understand love and friendship?
Why did he grow up in an orphanage?
Why did his mother die?
Why did his father go away?
Why did his mother do a love spell on his father?
Please note that the answers to most of these questions are REALLY COMPLICATED. I have become a Slytherin apologist (they aren't all bad, all Houses have good and bad, imagine if your parents taught you from a very young age that you really are better than everyone else...), but it is very difficult explaining Professor Snape, for example, to a five year old. The anti-hero and spy is very difficult to grasp - he does one thing but thinks another. He is ugly but not evil. This goes against a child's understanding of the world.
And then most recently,
"Who did Harry get married to when he grew up?"
"Ginny, Ron's sister."
"And who did Hermione get married to?"
"Ron."
"Ron?!?"
"Yes, in the books it was Ron. But I don't think she really would because Ron and Hermione would not be happy together."
"(disappointed groan) But I wanted Harry and Hermione to get married! Because I love them both!"
Okay, I could handle having given birth to a Gryffindor. I mean, she's five, right, so she'd fit right in. But a HARRY/HERMIONE SHIPPER? I have to work on this.
***
Coming up with truthful answers to K's questions that a five year old can understand can be a challenge, but I have to say we're having fun.
Friday, March 15, 2013
What Multilingualism Really Looks Like
We have a system. To successfully pass on your languages it is really best to have a system, and our system works.
But it's also important to be flexible, okay, and that is how I'm explaining how we found ourselves in the following situation this week:
Apo reading a book in English to K on one couch while I read a book in Slovak to M on the other.
That's what multilingualism looks like in our house!
***
Apo and I also spontaneously forgot how to speak our own languages while out on a walk last week: I spoke to K in Czech and claimed to know no English while Apo insisted he actually ONLY spoke English. Gave K a big fit of the giggles.
***
This week K picked up a book and started reading. She read several words / a sentence or two out of a couple of books, including from one Czech book. That was a little more challenging as I have been focusing on English only, so she didn't know how to sound out all the words - but she managed it. I told her that reading Czech is actually pretty easy compared to reading English, because each letter has only one sound.
Then I suggested that she find a Dr. Seuss book, as that might be easier to read. She got One Fish, Two Fish and read about 10 pages before I asked if she wanted to stop and finish later. "No!" she said, "I want to read it all! And then all of M's books and my books!"
Dr. Seuss is challenging but not impossible for her, since we have not had all the letter combinations and such from our 100 Lessons book. It is supposed to finish at about a 1st grade level, so I had planned to read Dr. Seuss after finishing the lesson book, but K had other ideas it seems.
Later that day she told me, "I can't believe I read that book on my own!!"
She has also started picking words to read out of chapter books (or my Kindle), such as HARRY POTTER or FARMER BOY (titles at the top of each page) from the books we were reading together, or finding some of the words she recognizes from her lessons. I think it is exciting for her to see that what she is learning in her lessons can be applied in the real world.
Then yesterday I read a Charlie and Lola book to K and M, the one where Lola is scared about starting school. After we finished, I said,
"Lola was nervous about going to school, wasn't she? Do you remember when you were nervous about starting big kid school?"
"Yeah, I was scared about it."
"Are you still scared about it or do you think it's going to be ok?"
"I think it's going to be ok now."
"Because you thought you couldn't learn to read. But you caaaaan!"
(self-satisfied nod and grin)
And THAT is why I'm teaching the child to read.
But it's also important to be flexible, okay, and that is how I'm explaining how we found ourselves in the following situation this week:
Apo reading a book in English to K on one couch while I read a book in Slovak to M on the other.
That's what multilingualism looks like in our house!
***
Apo and I also spontaneously forgot how to speak our own languages while out on a walk last week: I spoke to K in Czech and claimed to know no English while Apo insisted he actually ONLY spoke English. Gave K a big fit of the giggles.
***
This week K picked up a book and started reading. She read several words / a sentence or two out of a couple of books, including from one Czech book. That was a little more challenging as I have been focusing on English only, so she didn't know how to sound out all the words - but she managed it. I told her that reading Czech is actually pretty easy compared to reading English, because each letter has only one sound.
Then I suggested that she find a Dr. Seuss book, as that might be easier to read. She got One Fish, Two Fish and read about 10 pages before I asked if she wanted to stop and finish later. "No!" she said, "I want to read it all! And then all of M's books and my books!"
Dr. Seuss is challenging but not impossible for her, since we have not had all the letter combinations and such from our 100 Lessons book. It is supposed to finish at about a 1st grade level, so I had planned to read Dr. Seuss after finishing the lesson book, but K had other ideas it seems.
Later that day she told me, "I can't believe I read that book on my own!!"
She has also started picking words to read out of chapter books (or my Kindle), such as HARRY POTTER or FARMER BOY (titles at the top of each page) from the books we were reading together, or finding some of the words she recognizes from her lessons. I think it is exciting for her to see that what she is learning in her lessons can be applied in the real world.
Then yesterday I read a Charlie and Lola book to K and M, the one where Lola is scared about starting school. After we finished, I said,
"Lola was nervous about going to school, wasn't she? Do you remember when you were nervous about starting big kid school?"
"Yeah, I was scared about it."
"Are you still scared about it or do you think it's going to be ok?"
"I think it's going to be ok now."
"Because you thought you couldn't learn to read. But you caaaaan!"
(self-satisfied nod and grin)
And THAT is why I'm teaching the child to read.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Picture Identification, Blueberries and Nursery Rhymes
Recently my daughter was practicing writing lowercase letters, each with a picture showing the sound the letter makes. She got to W, which had a stone wall. "Wock," she said confidently.
I couldn't say R at her age, either. She actually can say it now, but doesn't always remember which words it is in. It reminds me of the time my six-year-old sister gave me a hand-written note that said, "Have a nice twip."
***
Also while practicing writing, K identified the V picture as,
"Vesta. Why is this in Czech and not English?"
"It's a vest."
"Yes, but what is it in English?"
"In English it's a vest. In Czech it's a vesta."
K still looked at me as if to ask, "Are you sure??"
***
A new favorite nursery rhyme for both my children is "Káže Katke prísna mať" - Katka because she feels is it autobiographical (no comment) and Marek because of the "Ty ty ty, ty ty ty" part. He can find the book and page it is on and bring it to me, waving his finger back and forth and saying "ty ty ty!" until I read it.
He is a boy of few words, but he loves his books.
***
Also the lack of posts this week is brought to you by a particularly profitable work week for me. And gumbo. I made gumbo in the several hours on Monday between turning in finished translations and accepting new ones. It was delicious. Then I took yesterday off except for turning in and accepting a new one. But other than that, a busy March so far.
Oh, there were also blueberry muffins on Monday. We had a tense moment when K froze with her first bite half-way to her mouth, demanding to know if the muffins were made with FRESH OR FROZEN blueberries. I really thought she was going to refuse to eat my from-scratch muffins because the ingredients were not sufficiently organic and grown from a balcony garden, but it turned out she just wanted to know if frozen berries put into non-frozen dough would cook the same in the oven. Good save.
I couldn't say R at her age, either. She actually can say it now, but doesn't always remember which words it is in. It reminds me of the time my six-year-old sister gave me a hand-written note that said, "Have a nice twip."
***
Also while practicing writing, K identified the V picture as,
"Vesta. Why is this in Czech and not English?"
"It's a vest."
"Yes, but what is it in English?"
"In English it's a vest. In Czech it's a vesta."
K still looked at me as if to ask, "Are you sure??"
***
A new favorite nursery rhyme for both my children is "Káže Katke prísna mať" - Katka because she feels is it autobiographical (no comment) and Marek because of the "Ty ty ty, ty ty ty" part. He can find the book and page it is on and bring it to me, waving his finger back and forth and saying "ty ty ty!" until I read it.
He is a boy of few words, but he loves his books.
***
Also the lack of posts this week is brought to you by a particularly profitable work week for me. And gumbo. I made gumbo in the several hours on Monday between turning in finished translations and accepting new ones. It was delicious. Then I took yesterday off except for turning in and accepting a new one. But other than that, a busy March so far.
Oh, there were also blueberry muffins on Monday. We had a tense moment when K froze with her first bite half-way to her mouth, demanding to know if the muffins were made with FRESH OR FROZEN blueberries. I really thought she was going to refuse to eat my from-scratch muffins because the ingredients were not sufficiently organic and grown from a balcony garden, but it turned out she just wanted to know if frozen berries put into non-frozen dough would cook the same in the oven. Good save.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Playdates and Extroverts
K had a playdate with a friend from school this week. We've been planning it for several weeks, waiting for everyone to be in town and healthy, so when it finally came she was thrilled. She went home from school with the friend and her mom, and I came over after about two hours to have coffee and let the little boys play (we both have an older girl and younger boy).
It's been so miserable outside that we haven't even been able to go to the park or for longer walks since last fall, so I'm glad K had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with a friend. We have toys and things to do at home, but for such a people-oriented child as K, that just isn't enough. I know it can't be easy being the lone extrovert in a family of introverts (I even think M might lean more toward introversion when he gets older, but we'll see).
I'm sure it can't be as exhausting as it is being the introvert parent of an extrovert child who just - can't - understand why anyone would want to be alone with their own thoughts, though. :)
Anyway, I'm pleased the girls had fun, because I like this mom and talk to her a few times a week. She lives on our route home so we often walk home together and talk while the girls play together like maniacs as if they hadn't just spent all morning together at school.
I still need to make arrangements to meet with Russian Friend, K's best friend since she started at this school two years ago, when neither one of them spoke Czech. Her mother is also very nice.
***
In reading news, K is still getting more confident and less frustrated as we go along. She has started spontaneously trying to read signs or words in books. Over the weekend we went to Starbucks and she read "coffee", "bus", "tram", "push" and "tam" (the last two on a door). It is kind of hard to find English (or short Czech) words in public, but there are some. One afternoon this week she spontaneously read "Angry Duck" (on Happy Hippo book) and tried to read a children's encyclopedia (managed a few words, but the reading level was too high otherwise).
I think this is important because she is starting to see that reading is both useful and possible, and most of all it is her own initiative. She is very motivated to do her lessons, of course, but that is still guided by me. I love that she is starting to see the benefit on her own by finding "real" things to read. She is determined to learn among other reasons because she plans to teach M to read next. After he learns to talk.
It's been so miserable outside that we haven't even been able to go to the park or for longer walks since last fall, so I'm glad K had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with a friend. We have toys and things to do at home, but for such a people-oriented child as K, that just isn't enough. I know it can't be easy being the lone extrovert in a family of introverts (I even think M might lean more toward introversion when he gets older, but we'll see).
I'm sure it can't be as exhausting as it is being the introvert parent of an extrovert child who just - can't - understand why anyone would want to be alone with their own thoughts, though. :)
Anyway, I'm pleased the girls had fun, because I like this mom and talk to her a few times a week. She lives on our route home so we often walk home together and talk while the girls play together like maniacs as if they hadn't just spent all morning together at school.
I still need to make arrangements to meet with Russian Friend, K's best friend since she started at this school two years ago, when neither one of them spoke Czech. Her mother is also very nice.
***
In reading news, K is still getting more confident and less frustrated as we go along. She has started spontaneously trying to read signs or words in books. Over the weekend we went to Starbucks and she read "coffee", "bus", "tram", "push" and "tam" (the last two on a door). It is kind of hard to find English (or short Czech) words in public, but there are some. One afternoon this week she spontaneously read "Angry Duck" (on Happy Hippo book) and tried to read a children's encyclopedia (managed a few words, but the reading level was too high otherwise).
I think this is important because she is starting to see that reading is both useful and possible, and most of all it is her own initiative. She is very motivated to do her lessons, of course, but that is still guided by me. I love that she is starting to see the benefit on her own by finding "real" things to read. She is determined to learn among other reasons because she plans to teach M to read next. After he learns to talk.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Languages: Fun or Normal?
My daughter seems to enjoy this show we see on TV sometimes called "Say It With Noddy" (I think - it's dubbed into Czech). Each short episode introduces one English phrase that is repeated several times. I'm not sure why K likes it, frankly, unless she gets a kick out of already knowing all the phrases they teach.
It always ends with the phrase "Ta angličtina je legrace!" (English is fun!)
This week K took exception to that statement:
K (sounding kind of offended): Hey, English isn't fun, is it?
Me: (going along with her) Um, no. So English isn't fun?
K: No, it's just normal.
Me: I see. And is Czech fun?
K: No, it's just normal, too.
And you know, for her - for us - that's true. English and Czech aren't something fun or unusual. They're NORMAL.
That's kind of great, if you think about it.
***
Also, today I settled something for the children by doing "Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe", which I haven't said in at least twenty years. I realized as I said it that K has never heard it before. She did, however, know all the words to "En ten tyky", the Czech equivalent. Her English is still dominant, but I guess you can tell what language she hangs out with other kids in.
She hesitated before saying the last line, telling me they weren't supposed to say that. I asked why, and she said it had the word *whisper* kakat (poop) - and immediately clamped her hand over her mouth with her eyes open wide.
I was very careful not to laugh.
***
We've now been doing our reading lessons for just over a month (tonight was #32). We had a brief backslide in week two or three where K was battling nerves again, but we worked through it - I think she might believe me now that really, nothing bad will happen if she doesn't know the right answer, no seriously - and she is progressing right on schedule.
We love the fact that each lesson (after the first two weeks) has a story with it. They started out as just two or three words each, but there was a story and a picture and that is SO EXCITING for K. Currently she's reading stories of three to four sentences of several words each. It's such a dramatic improvement that I think she's finally starting to believe that she can learn to read after all. (That has been the problem: she was irrationally convinced that she would never learn to read and all the other kids would be smarter than her. Definitely not true.)
***
Have a good weekend! I started this post when it was still Friday but it appears to be Saturday already...
It always ends with the phrase "Ta angličtina je legrace!" (English is fun!)
This week K took exception to that statement:
K (sounding kind of offended): Hey, English isn't fun, is it?
Me: (going along with her) Um, no. So English isn't fun?
K: No, it's just normal.
Me: I see. And is Czech fun?
K: No, it's just normal, too.
And you know, for her - for us - that's true. English and Czech aren't something fun or unusual. They're NORMAL.
That's kind of great, if you think about it.
***
Also, today I settled something for the children by doing "Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe", which I haven't said in at least twenty years. I realized as I said it that K has never heard it before. She did, however, know all the words to "En ten tyky", the Czech equivalent. Her English is still dominant, but I guess you can tell what language she hangs out with other kids in.
She hesitated before saying the last line, telling me they weren't supposed to say that. I asked why, and she said it had the word *whisper* kakat (poop) - and immediately clamped her hand over her mouth with her eyes open wide.
I was very careful not to laugh.
***
We've now been doing our reading lessons for just over a month (tonight was #32). We had a brief backslide in week two or three where K was battling nerves again, but we worked through it - I think she might believe me now that really, nothing bad will happen if she doesn't know the right answer, no seriously - and she is progressing right on schedule.
We love the fact that each lesson (after the first two weeks) has a story with it. They started out as just two or three words each, but there was a story and a picture and that is SO EXCITING for K. Currently she's reading stories of three to four sentences of several words each. It's such a dramatic improvement that I think she's finally starting to believe that she can learn to read after all. (That has been the problem: she was irrationally convinced that she would never learn to read and all the other kids would be smarter than her. Definitely not true.)
***
Have a good weekend! I started this post when it was still Friday but it appears to be Saturday already...
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Baby #2 Language Update - 15 months
Baby M is really on a roll lately. I'm going to have to stop calling him "Baby M" soon. Maybe.
About a month ago he said his first words ("tam" - there, and "bye-bye") after using a couple of different signs for a few months before that. He understands the signs that we use, but tends to use "more" as a catch-all. Makes for a guessing game when he signs MORE and hasn't had anything - more what?? His preferred communication method, however, is usually a little more direct.
For instance, if he wants to nurse he picks up the pillow and hands it to me. When I'm out of the room and he is really desperate, he hands the pillow to the Slovak, looking at him like "If you really loved me, you would figure out a way, FATHER."
Also, if he wants to read a book he does one of the following: hands it to you, starts chewing pieces off of it, hits you with it, or occasionally uses the "book" sign. All these methods are equally valid. And frequent, actually, because in the past couple of months he has fallen in love with books and being read to. Surprising attention span for 15 months, too.
He tries to say "up" to be picked up, as well as repeating many words we say. He also seems to have picked up on shaking his head for no and nodding for yes, which he uses to its full extent.
M only says a handful of words, maybe five total? But what is striking is his comprehension, especially compared with our first child at his age.
He has been pointing to his nose on request for a while - in fact once he learned how, he did it all the time because we were always so pleased (That's right, that's your nose, good job!). I would look down at random and notice him pointing to his nose and grinning a big over-achieving grin like "Look what I can do! Are you still impressed?"
Then this week he pointed to his nose, eyes, ears, head, belly, hands and feet - in English and Slovak both. I was sure he would only know one or two in Slovak, but I watched as Apo went through the whole list with him. When they finished that, I asked M to get me his car, so he crossed the room and found a car for me.
We nearly declared him a boy genius right then and there, but then we remembered this is the same child who thinks the garbage can is a snack container.
This may not seem like a very impressive list of words, but our babies are late talkers. With K, it took a very long time for her even to understand what we were saying to her, much less communicate something back to us. For M it seems to come a little easier, a little faster.
He does all the motions for "patty-cake" and lifts his shirt when you say "Round and round the garden". Then he makes you do them 8 more times with him. Generally he's getting the point of games and basic pretend play. Last week he carried a box of animals (dinosaurs and sharks mostly) from K's room into the living room and proceeded to play with them for most of the day. He is also very partial to K's My Little Ponies. Part of having a big sister, I guess.
He is entering an exciting stage, decoding and starting to reproduce what he hears. Soon he'll have a real language explosion and the real fun will begin. The Chillest Baby Ever has just become the Chillest Toddler Ever.
About a month ago he said his first words ("tam" - there, and "bye-bye") after using a couple of different signs for a few months before that. He understands the signs that we use, but tends to use "more" as a catch-all. Makes for a guessing game when he signs MORE and hasn't had anything - more what?? His preferred communication method, however, is usually a little more direct.
For instance, if he wants to nurse he picks up the pillow and hands it to me. When I'm out of the room and he is really desperate, he hands the pillow to the Slovak, looking at him like "If you really loved me, you would figure out a way, FATHER."
Also, if he wants to read a book he does one of the following: hands it to you, starts chewing pieces off of it, hits you with it, or occasionally uses the "book" sign. All these methods are equally valid. And frequent, actually, because in the past couple of months he has fallen in love with books and being read to. Surprising attention span for 15 months, too.
He tries to say "up" to be picked up, as well as repeating many words we say. He also seems to have picked up on shaking his head for no and nodding for yes, which he uses to its full extent.
M only says a handful of words, maybe five total? But what is striking is his comprehension, especially compared with our first child at his age.
He has been pointing to his nose on request for a while - in fact once he learned how, he did it all the time because we were always so pleased (That's right, that's your nose, good job!). I would look down at random and notice him pointing to his nose and grinning a big over-achieving grin like "Look what I can do! Are you still impressed?"
Then this week he pointed to his nose, eyes, ears, head, belly, hands and feet - in English and Slovak both. I was sure he would only know one or two in Slovak, but I watched as Apo went through the whole list with him. When they finished that, I asked M to get me his car, so he crossed the room and found a car for me.
We nearly declared him a boy genius right then and there, but then we remembered this is the same child who thinks the garbage can is a snack container.
This may not seem like a very impressive list of words, but our babies are late talkers. With K, it took a very long time for her even to understand what we were saying to her, much less communicate something back to us. For M it seems to come a little easier, a little faster.
He does all the motions for "patty-cake" and lifts his shirt when you say "Round and round the garden". Then he makes you do them 8 more times with him. Generally he's getting the point of games and basic pretend play. Last week he carried a box of animals (dinosaurs and sharks mostly) from K's room into the living room and proceeded to play with them for most of the day. He is also very partial to K's My Little Ponies. Part of having a big sister, I guess.
He is entering an exciting stage, decoding and starting to reproduce what he hears. Soon he'll have a real language explosion and the real fun will begin. The Chillest Baby Ever has just become the Chillest Toddler Ever.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Conversations, Circuses and Michaels
(K coughs)
Me: Stop that coughing, please.
K: I'm trying to stop but sometimes it just comes out.
Me: Well, please stop, because I don't like coughing.
K: (coughs)
Me: I believe I asked you to knock that off. (I pull out phone and make imaginary call to circus to arrange the sale of two disobedient young children)
K: You're just teasing me. You aren't really going to sell me to the circus.
Me: You think so? You know, when I was a little girl Grandmama told ME to stop coughing.
K: Did she sell you to the circus?
Me: No, she never had to, because when she told me to stop, I stopped.
As a bit of background to the above conversation, it is true that my mother used to tell me to stop coughing. Specifically it was "Knock it off!" and "You're just doing that for attention", and the whole family does it now.
And when K was a screamy baby, the Slovak and I amused ourselves by coming up with outlandish ideas for what to do with her if she didn't stop. One of our staples was selling her to the circus. We even wrote down the phone number from a circus poster and put it on our wall...for just in case.
Don't worry, though. We're not complete monsters. We made sure to stop that line of joking well before K was old enough to understand what we were saying, and now that she is old enough to judge when we are serious and when we aren't, it has started popping up in conversation again occasionally.
I like to think of that as Good Parenting.
***
Okay, I know I put this one on Facebook, but I have to put it here, too.
K: (Hungarian girl) speaks Czech now.
Me: Does she speak a lot of Czech or a little bit of Czech?
K: Medium. Like you.
Me: EXCUSE ME? I speak better Czech than you!
K: (looks offended)
And this from a person who can't say R! :)
***
Also, did I mention before that in the states she ate a lot of Michaels? We always eat plenty of bagels and cream cheese while we're there and K kept misremembering the word "bagel". So now the whole family enjoys an occasional Michael.
Me: Stop that coughing, please.
K: I'm trying to stop but sometimes it just comes out.
Me: Well, please stop, because I don't like coughing.
K: (coughs)
Me: I believe I asked you to knock that off. (I pull out phone and make imaginary call to circus to arrange the sale of two disobedient young children)
K: You're just teasing me. You aren't really going to sell me to the circus.
Me: You think so? You know, when I was a little girl Grandmama told ME to stop coughing.
K: Did she sell you to the circus?
Me: No, she never had to, because when she told me to stop, I stopped.
As a bit of background to the above conversation, it is true that my mother used to tell me to stop coughing. Specifically it was "Knock it off!" and "You're just doing that for attention", and the whole family does it now.
And when K was a screamy baby, the Slovak and I amused ourselves by coming up with outlandish ideas for what to do with her if she didn't stop. One of our staples was selling her to the circus. We even wrote down the phone number from a circus poster and put it on our wall...for just in case.
Don't worry, though. We're not complete monsters. We made sure to stop that line of joking well before K was old enough to understand what we were saying, and now that she is old enough to judge when we are serious and when we aren't, it has started popping up in conversation again occasionally.
I like to think of that as Good Parenting.
***
Okay, I know I put this one on Facebook, but I have to put it here, too.
K: (Hungarian girl) speaks Czech now.
Me: Does she speak a lot of Czech or a little bit of Czech?
K: Medium. Like you.
Me: EXCUSE ME? I speak better Czech than you!
K: (looks offended)
And this from a person who can't say R! :)
***
Also, did I mention before that in the states she ate a lot of Michaels? We always eat plenty of bagels and cream cheese while we're there and K kept misremembering the word "bagel". So now the whole family enjoys an occasional Michael.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Conversations that Make Me Laugh
When she really wants something, K has taken to kneeling or prostrating herself in front of me and saying, "Please, Your Majesty. Your kingdom needs this!"
***
"Mommy, I have a present for you. Close your eyes."
(I close my eyes, then she comes over and starts putting strings of beads around my neck)
"Is it a pony?"
"No. Don't guess."
"Is it a puppy?"
"No, I said don't guess. Don't even think about it, because it's not necklaces. Uh-oh, I didn't mean to say that... You don't know what it is!"
"Of course not, I don't know what it is."
"Okay, you can open your eyes now."
"Wow, it's necklaces!!! I didn't know that."
"I know."
***
One of M's new board books has the word "Bravo" in it, so when we read it I had to explain to K what it means.
Me: "Bravo means something like 'good job'."
K: "Why don't they just say 'good job' then?"
Me: "Well, there are some cases when it's more appropriate to say 'bravo'..."
K: "I don't like the word 'bravo'. It's too much like 'brother'."
Me: "How is it like brother??"
K: "It sounds like brother. You know - bra-vo, bruh-ver."
Ah, yes. She can't say TH yet.
***
Have a good weekend!
***
"Mommy, I have a present for you. Close your eyes."
(I close my eyes, then she comes over and starts putting strings of beads around my neck)
"Is it a pony?"
"No. Don't guess."
"Is it a puppy?"
"No, I said don't guess. Don't even think about it, because it's not necklaces. Uh-oh, I didn't mean to say that... You don't know what it is!"
"Of course not, I don't know what it is."
"Okay, you can open your eyes now."
"Wow, it's necklaces!!! I didn't know that."
"I know."
***
One of M's new board books has the word "Bravo" in it, so when we read it I had to explain to K what it means.
Me: "Bravo means something like 'good job'."
K: "Why don't they just say 'good job' then?"
Me: "Well, there are some cases when it's more appropriate to say 'bravo'..."
K: "I don't like the word 'bravo'. It's too much like 'brother'."
Me: "How is it like brother??"
K: "It sounds like brother. You know - bra-vo, bruh-ver."
Ah, yes. She can't say TH yet.
***
Have a good weekend!
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
When Reading Becomes a Mind Game
I always thought I would want my children to be early readers. I remember being 8 and coaching my 2-year-old sister on her letter sounds, or 10 and making up worksheets for her to practice writing at 4. I think it improved my handwriting but didn't have much effect on her.
Then I grew up and had children. I started reading and thinking about early childhood development and education, and changed my mind. I decided to neither deny nor force learning on my child, teaching her what she asked, when she asked. In Europe (at least our part) preschool and kindergarten are about play-based learning with no pressure to learn to read before first grade (fall 2014 for us), so we haven't had any outside pressure to step up the academics.
Then K asked me to teach her to write when she was less than 2. So we started a very slow introduction into formal learning, mainly using things like Kumon workbooks. They're great for the very young child who wants to 'do school'.
We eventually got to the point where K knows most/all of her letters and can write simple words by sounding them out, but she couldn't read by sounding out (or by word recognition). I wondered if she had some kind of block or if she just wasn't developmentally ready for it yet.
Then she started developing this kind of love-hate relationship with learning and reading in particular. She would passionately insist that I teach her something, wanting to keep going and going instead of just doing a short session, and then she would turn on a dime and say she hated learning and never wanted to go to big kid school, ever, not even a little bit. Often this happened when she made a mistake, even the tiniest mistake.
She went from yearning to go to big kid school (first grade) to regularly saying that she is afraid of big kid school and doesn't ever want to go. She wants to stay in preschool until she grows up and enter the workforce straight from there.
She finds it difficult to articulate why she is afraid of big kid school, but the main factors seem to be that she will not be able to learn to read, the other children will know more than her, she doesn't want to make new friends and she doesn't want to sit down at a desk and not play.
I believe other complicating factors are a strain of perfectionism, high expectations of herself and a tendency to be easily discouraged. Not to point fingers, but the Slovak has also been known to make dramatic NEVER statements when frustrated. And, of course, high expectations and emotional intensity also describes me as a child, though according to my mother I didn't really lose my temper, I just wouldn't give up until I mastered whatever I was trying.
I first decided to slow down the 'reading lessons' (occasionally we would sit down and practice writing or reading some simple words) and focus on me reading to her instead, since she seemed to be getting more and more anxious, but that didn't work. It still came up at odd times and she would break down during the day or at bedtime, saying she would never learn to read and didn't want to go to school.
Then it occurred to me that maybe by not teaching her to read properly I was just dragging things out and contributing to her anxiety, allowing her to build it up in her mind as this impossible, terrifying thing. Maybe instead of backing off I should just TEACH HER TO READ now so that she would see she can do it and stop being afraid.
That's my current theory.
I had already ordered Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and brought it back with us, because several people, including Perogyo, recommended it specifically.
When we got home from our trip I decided to make time every day (with a jealous 15-month-old and as little as a one-hour window between Apo coming home and bedtime, this is an issue), buckle down and go through the book one lesson per day.
The first day K breezed through Lesson 1 with no difficulty and wanted to do the next lesson right away (as usual). I said no, let's keep it short and just do one per day. She lost it. She went in a heartbeat from 'please can we do more, it's all I've ever wanted' to 'fine, I won't do any more lessons ever, I don't want to learn to read, I don't want to go to big kid school, I don't like words, I only like dressing up and playing and I do like writing because that's different, but not reading...'
It was not a very coherent rant but I did like the part about not liking words. I talked her down from the ledge and she cheerfully drew a few pictures before putting the book and paper away. The next day she skipped in from being outside and asked if we can do our lesson now please.
Yesterday we did Lesson 11 and I have to say - it works! I can see the logic in the way things are presented and within two or three lessons, when you start actually sounding out two to three letter words, K could do it. She had a couple of specific difficulties with the concept of sounding out and the book addresses these straight away (probably common problems then). She still gets frustrated sometimes but not as badly and she is very encouraged by her success when she reads words on her own.
I hope to report in three months' time that we have finished the book and K is reading with confidence!
Then I grew up and had children. I started reading and thinking about early childhood development and education, and changed my mind. I decided to neither deny nor force learning on my child, teaching her what she asked, when she asked. In Europe (at least our part) preschool and kindergarten are about play-based learning with no pressure to learn to read before first grade (fall 2014 for us), so we haven't had any outside pressure to step up the academics.
Then K asked me to teach her to write when she was less than 2. So we started a very slow introduction into formal learning, mainly using things like Kumon workbooks. They're great for the very young child who wants to 'do school'.
We eventually got to the point where K knows most/all of her letters and can write simple words by sounding them out, but she couldn't read by sounding out (or by word recognition). I wondered if she had some kind of block or if she just wasn't developmentally ready for it yet.
Then she started developing this kind of love-hate relationship with learning and reading in particular. She would passionately insist that I teach her something, wanting to keep going and going instead of just doing a short session, and then she would turn on a dime and say she hated learning and never wanted to go to big kid school, ever, not even a little bit. Often this happened when she made a mistake, even the tiniest mistake.
She went from yearning to go to big kid school (first grade) to regularly saying that she is afraid of big kid school and doesn't ever want to go. She wants to stay in preschool until she grows up and enter the workforce straight from there.
She finds it difficult to articulate why she is afraid of big kid school, but the main factors seem to be that she will not be able to learn to read, the other children will know more than her, she doesn't want to make new friends and she doesn't want to sit down at a desk and not play.
I believe other complicating factors are a strain of perfectionism, high expectations of herself and a tendency to be easily discouraged. Not to point fingers, but the Slovak has also been known to make dramatic NEVER statements when frustrated. And, of course, high expectations and emotional intensity also describes me as a child, though according to my mother I didn't really lose my temper, I just wouldn't give up until I mastered whatever I was trying.
I first decided to slow down the 'reading lessons' (occasionally we would sit down and practice writing or reading some simple words) and focus on me reading to her instead, since she seemed to be getting more and more anxious, but that didn't work. It still came up at odd times and she would break down during the day or at bedtime, saying she would never learn to read and didn't want to go to school.
Then it occurred to me that maybe by not teaching her to read properly I was just dragging things out and contributing to her anxiety, allowing her to build it up in her mind as this impossible, terrifying thing. Maybe instead of backing off I should just TEACH HER TO READ now so that she would see she can do it and stop being afraid.
That's my current theory.
I had already ordered Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and brought it back with us, because several people, including Perogyo, recommended it specifically.
When we got home from our trip I decided to make time every day (with a jealous 15-month-old and as little as a one-hour window between Apo coming home and bedtime, this is an issue), buckle down and go through the book one lesson per day.
The first day K breezed through Lesson 1 with no difficulty and wanted to do the next lesson right away (as usual). I said no, let's keep it short and just do one per day. She lost it. She went in a heartbeat from 'please can we do more, it's all I've ever wanted' to 'fine, I won't do any more lessons ever, I don't want to learn to read, I don't want to go to big kid school, I don't like words, I only like dressing up and playing and I do like writing because that's different, but not reading...'
It was not a very coherent rant but I did like the part about not liking words. I talked her down from the ledge and she cheerfully drew a few pictures before putting the book and paper away. The next day she skipped in from being outside and asked if we can do our lesson now please.
Yesterday we did Lesson 11 and I have to say - it works! I can see the logic in the way things are presented and within two or three lessons, when you start actually sounding out two to three letter words, K could do it. She had a couple of specific difficulties with the concept of sounding out and the book addresses these straight away (probably common problems then). She still gets frustrated sometimes but not as badly and she is very encouraged by her success when she reads words on her own.
I hope to report in three months' time that we have finished the book and K is reading with confidence!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Christmas in the Home Country
Okay, we've been back from our trip long enough that it's starting to seem long ago and I can't quite remember what I wanted to write about. It's ridiculous.
The main thing is that we spent two weeks with my family and there were plenty of opportunities for bonding with grandparents and cousins. We got there December 27 and the very next day I helped mastermind a full family Christmas from which my husband (an only child) is probably still recovering. All my brothers and sisters and their children were there - there are five of us and three of us have two children each. It was crowded. And kind of overwhelming for two introverts like the Slovak and me.
The next day we went to a Christmas celebration for the other side of the family, where my aunts were playing the mastermind role and I didn't feel even a little bit bad about not helping coordinate logistics. I had just done that the day before! I sat back and chatted with one of my sisters. And a cousin who it turns out is into Doctor Who. We may have more in common than I thought.
But in all of that my five year old had a blast playing with her cousins - she has several her age, two other girls within six months of her. Their lives are very different from hers, but they enjoyed playing together. I overheard the following conversation more than once during our trip:
"What's your brother's name?"
"I can't tell you, because it's in Czech and you won't understand."
"What's Czech?"
"His name is MAREK. Do you understand?"
"Katka" didn't seem to strike her as a Czech name. She expected everyone to understand that one.
I remember last year K asked that same cousin if she spoke Czech or Slovak as well as English. The girl had understandably never heard of "Czech" or "Slovak", but also didn't really know what "English" is. Like I mentioned...our lives are very different.
A young cousin on the other side heard my husband speaking to one of the children and started making gibberish noises at him. The Slovak was less than impressed.
This was our first time doing Christmas (even if a bit late) in America, and my first Christmas there in at least ten years, so it was a cultural experience for us all. We do American Christmas traditions at home, of course, but there's a difference between doing something yourself and seeing EVERYBODY else doing it, too. The Slovak alternated between fascinated and repelled at the whole spectacle, I think. He thinks mall Santas are really weird, for instance, and didn't want our kids to go to one. Lucky for him I'm such an accommodating wife... I think he liked the Christmas lights, on the whole, but some people really do go overboard.
I would ask him for his impressions, but 1) he isn't home yet and 2) I'm pretty sure it would boil down to "You people are weird."
I'm still glad we went. I'd like to go again...one day. In several years. I'm glad to give the children an opportunity to experience both sides of their heritage, but that was enough for now. :)
Oh! While we were there we managed to leave the children with my mother for a few hours and went to see Les Miserables. It was our first movie in a theater possibly since M was born? We went to see Brave, but not together. It was also our first non-dubbed, non-subtitled movie (other than DVDs) in many, many years. The Slovak and I both love musicals and we got to go with my sister who also loves musicals, so we weren't alone in being ridiculously excited.
We listened to the soundtrack in the car over the next week or so, and it caught K's attention. She insisted on being told, in detail, the stories of each person singing - mainly the little girl Cosette and the Valjean-Javert dynamic. She is still working on memorizing Castle on a Cloud and, amusingly, the confrontation scene between the two men.
I think I mentioned before that we got several chapter books for K - we already finished the first two Magic Treehouse books and are clearly going to need more, and yesterday we started Farmer Boy (Little House series #2). We're still reading Harry Potter, so we'll alternate for a while.
We also picked up a few seasons of TV on DVD while visiting, so we're enjoying some good shows at the moment. Better than endless episodes of Panelák...even if that does happen to be what we have on at the moment. ;)
...and that was our latest visit to America. With two family Christmases there and our own Christmas at home with Babka and Dedo, our children didn't know what hit them! 2012: the year that Christmas just kept on coming.
The main thing is that we spent two weeks with my family and there were plenty of opportunities for bonding with grandparents and cousins. We got there December 27 and the very next day I helped mastermind a full family Christmas from which my husband (an only child) is probably still recovering. All my brothers and sisters and their children were there - there are five of us and three of us have two children each. It was crowded. And kind of overwhelming for two introverts like the Slovak and me.
The next day we went to a Christmas celebration for the other side of the family, where my aunts were playing the mastermind role and I didn't feel even a little bit bad about not helping coordinate logistics. I had just done that the day before! I sat back and chatted with one of my sisters. And a cousin who it turns out is into Doctor Who. We may have more in common than I thought.
But in all of that my five year old had a blast playing with her cousins - she has several her age, two other girls within six months of her. Their lives are very different from hers, but they enjoyed playing together. I overheard the following conversation more than once during our trip:
"What's your brother's name?"
"I can't tell you, because it's in Czech and you won't understand."
"What's Czech?"
"His name is MAREK. Do you understand?"
"Katka" didn't seem to strike her as a Czech name. She expected everyone to understand that one.
I remember last year K asked that same cousin if she spoke Czech or Slovak as well as English. The girl had understandably never heard of "Czech" or "Slovak", but also didn't really know what "English" is. Like I mentioned...our lives are very different.
A young cousin on the other side heard my husband speaking to one of the children and started making gibberish noises at him. The Slovak was less than impressed.
This was our first time doing Christmas (even if a bit late) in America, and my first Christmas there in at least ten years, so it was a cultural experience for us all. We do American Christmas traditions at home, of course, but there's a difference between doing something yourself and seeing EVERYBODY else doing it, too. The Slovak alternated between fascinated and repelled at the whole spectacle, I think. He thinks mall Santas are really weird, for instance, and didn't want our kids to go to one. Lucky for him I'm such an accommodating wife... I think he liked the Christmas lights, on the whole, but some people really do go overboard.
I would ask him for his impressions, but 1) he isn't home yet and 2) I'm pretty sure it would boil down to "You people are weird."
I'm still glad we went. I'd like to go again...one day. In several years. I'm glad to give the children an opportunity to experience both sides of their heritage, but that was enough for now. :)
Oh! While we were there we managed to leave the children with my mother for a few hours and went to see Les Miserables. It was our first movie in a theater possibly since M was born? We went to see Brave, but not together. It was also our first non-dubbed, non-subtitled movie (other than DVDs) in many, many years. The Slovak and I both love musicals and we got to go with my sister who also loves musicals, so we weren't alone in being ridiculously excited.
We listened to the soundtrack in the car over the next week or so, and it caught K's attention. She insisted on being told, in detail, the stories of each person singing - mainly the little girl Cosette and the Valjean-Javert dynamic. She is still working on memorizing Castle on a Cloud and, amusingly, the confrontation scene between the two men.
I think I mentioned before that we got several chapter books for K - we already finished the first two Magic Treehouse books and are clearly going to need more, and yesterday we started Farmer Boy (Little House series #2). We're still reading Harry Potter, so we'll alternate for a while.
We also picked up a few seasons of TV on DVD while visiting, so we're enjoying some good shows at the moment. Better than endless episodes of Panelák...even if that does happen to be what we have on at the moment. ;)
...and that was our latest visit to America. With two family Christmases there and our own Christmas at home with Babka and Dedo, our children didn't know what hit them! 2012: the year that Christmas just kept on coming.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Notes from the Road
We are coming to the end of our stay with my side of the family. As always it has been good for our children's English and, more importantly, their relationships with the extended family.
K's new phrase for the trip is "pulling someone's leg". She keeps throwing it into conversation since she learned it from Grandmama last week.
I have heard the following conversation twice, once with a cousin and once with a child met in a store:
"What's your brother's name?"
"I can't tell you, because it's a Czech name and you won't understand it."
"What's Czech?"
"His name is MAREK. Do you understand?"
'Katka' is apparently not a Czech name in K's mind. I'm not clear on how the distinction works.
Marek has started saying his first two words on this trip: first "tam" (over there) and then "bye bye". He is a little warmer to other people this time but he is definitely a more reserved child than his sister. He likes to engage with other people from the safety of mommy's arms.
He did allow himself to be babysat last week for long enough for the Slovak and I to go see Les Miserables, which was fantastic. We hardly ever see movies in the theater and this one was the first in many years that didn't have subtitles (or dubbing).
In addition to buying clothes for the next year (the exchange rate is favorable for us shopping here) we also stocked up on some chapter books to read with K. We got the first five Little House books, the first two Magic Treehouse books, How to Train Your Dragon, Matilda, and maybe something else I've forgotten. We have plans to buy one or two more to read to her from our Kindle.
After hearing the soundtrack to Les Miserables in the car, K demanded to be told the story (the parts about Cosette and an abbreviated explanation of Valjean and why Javert is after him) and extracted from us a promise that she can watch the movie when we get the DVD. This morning she drew me a picture of a castle located on a cloud with Cosette, Valjean and Thenardier (a.k.a. the girl, her new Apo and the cheating man).
Five is such a great age. :)
K's new phrase for the trip is "pulling someone's leg". She keeps throwing it into conversation since she learned it from Grandmama last week.
I have heard the following conversation twice, once with a cousin and once with a child met in a store:
"What's your brother's name?"
"I can't tell you, because it's a Czech name and you won't understand it."
"What's Czech?"
"His name is MAREK. Do you understand?"
'Katka' is apparently not a Czech name in K's mind. I'm not clear on how the distinction works.
Marek has started saying his first two words on this trip: first "tam" (over there) and then "bye bye". He is a little warmer to other people this time but he is definitely a more reserved child than his sister. He likes to engage with other people from the safety of mommy's arms.
He did allow himself to be babysat last week for long enough for the Slovak and I to go see Les Miserables, which was fantastic. We hardly ever see movies in the theater and this one was the first in many years that didn't have subtitles (or dubbing).
In addition to buying clothes for the next year (the exchange rate is favorable for us shopping here) we also stocked up on some chapter books to read with K. We got the first five Little House books, the first two Magic Treehouse books, How to Train Your Dragon, Matilda, and maybe something else I've forgotten. We have plans to buy one or two more to read to her from our Kindle.
After hearing the soundtrack to Les Miserables in the car, K demanded to be told the story (the parts about Cosette and an abbreviated explanation of Valjean and why Javert is after him) and extracted from us a promise that she can watch the movie when we get the DVD. This morning she drew me a picture of a castle located on a cloud with Cosette, Valjean and Thenardier (a.k.a. the girl, her new Apo and the cheating man).
Five is such a great age. :)
Monday, December 17, 2012
Primitive and Sophisticated Languages
Okay, you know how people are always telling you that their language is more sophisticated than English, because English is so primitive? Primitive is, of course, defined as not having a complex case system. The truly bewildering set of verb tenses doesn't seem to count.
What, people never tell you that?
We clearly move in different circles.
This is what you say:
"You know, supposedly on a historical level languages are actually getting simpler over time...so if you think about it, that really means that English is more highly evolved."
Then watch the reaction.
I bring this up because the Slovak pulled this on me the other day, just trying to get a rise out of me. Sometimes that man will say anything!
The Slovak was just being silly, but the first time I had this conversation, with someone else several years ago, the person was totally not joking and totally did not like this idea. She also didn't like when I mentioned that to a native English speaker, it sounds "primitive" and caveman-like to speak without definite and indefinite articles (Slavic languages, at least the ones I'm familiar with, don't have them). It's all about perspective.
Whether the premise that languages are getting simpler over time is actually true is debatable, but it doesn't really matter. You have to fight pseudo-science with pseudo-science!
What, people never tell you that?
We clearly move in different circles.
This is what you say:
"You know, supposedly on a historical level languages are actually getting simpler over time...so if you think about it, that really means that English is more highly evolved."
Then watch the reaction.
I bring this up because the Slovak pulled this on me the other day, just trying to get a rise out of me. Sometimes that man will say anything!
The Slovak was just being silly, but the first time I had this conversation, with someone else several years ago, the person was totally not joking and totally did not like this idea. She also didn't like when I mentioned that to a native English speaker, it sounds "primitive" and caveman-like to speak without definite and indefinite articles (Slavic languages, at least the ones I'm familiar with, don't have them). It's all about perspective.
Whether the premise that languages are getting simpler over time is actually true is debatable, but it doesn't really matter. You have to fight pseudo-science with pseudo-science!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Big Kid Skills: learning to whistle, learning to knit, learning to read
I've spent this morning brainstorming birthday/Christmas/knitting ideas for my soon to be five year old.
Birthday and Christmas because, well, they're coming up. Knitting because this weekend K asked me if she could please learn to do that thing with the needle thing where you make things, which I determined to be either knitting, crocheting or sewing based on her hand gestures.
I was already thinking of getting her a children's knitting kit, actually, but then I would also have to get her a person who knows how to knit in order to teach her. I like the idea of knitting but am not very, ah, coordinated. I also have my doubts as to how well she would handle the needles. She is currently learning to tie her shoes but hasn't mastered it. (Though she has only had shoes with laces for a week or so.)
Then I had the inspiration of finger knitting! No needles and a relatively fast payoff, right? I remember doing it as a child and making endless chains. If and when she masters that we can look into something more involved.
Is that a good idea?
Is there anything else in this area that would be suitable for a five year old with an unskilled parent?
I'm also considering getting a learn-to-read book (we have some workbooks but they are more about individual letters or doing mazes and other tasks) or some other kindergarten materials. This is still a problem, but I hope that in the next year it will be easier to find a few minutes here and there for some English learning activities.
Is THAT a good idea? Does anyone have a recommended book/curriculum or should I not even use a formal curriculum and just continue freestyling and/or letting K learn to read on her own?
Anything else I should buy while I have the chance?
Birthday and Christmas because, well, they're coming up. Knitting because this weekend K asked me if she could please learn to do that thing with the needle thing where you make things, which I determined to be either knitting, crocheting or sewing based on her hand gestures.
I was already thinking of getting her a children's knitting kit, actually, but then I would also have to get her a person who knows how to knit in order to teach her. I like the idea of knitting but am not very, ah, coordinated. I also have my doubts as to how well she would handle the needles. She is currently learning to tie her shoes but hasn't mastered it. (Though she has only had shoes with laces for a week or so.)
Then I had the inspiration of finger knitting! No needles and a relatively fast payoff, right? I remember doing it as a child and making endless chains. If and when she masters that we can look into something more involved.
Is that a good idea?
Is there anything else in this area that would be suitable for a five year old with an unskilled parent?
I'm also considering getting a learn-to-read book (we have some workbooks but they are more about individual letters or doing mazes and other tasks) or some other kindergarten materials. This is still a problem, but I hope that in the next year it will be easier to find a few minutes here and there for some English learning activities.
Is THAT a good idea? Does anyone have a recommended book/curriculum or should I not even use a formal curriculum and just continue freestyling and/or letting K learn to read on her own?
Anything else I should buy while I have the chance?
Friday, November 2, 2012
Naughty Doesn't Begin to Describe It
Yesterday my daughter misbehaved enough that she got sent to her room. This was her version of events when the Slovak got home:
"Apo, já jsem dneska trošičku zlobila a mamka byla cross tak jsem šla do mojej izby ale teď se už ukľudnila"
(Apo, I was a tiny bit naughty today and mommy was cross so I went to my room to play and then she calmed down again...)
First of all, how's that for a trilingual sentence?
Second, both the Slovak and I had to turn away so K wouldn't see us laughing.
Third, which part is best? "a tiny bit naughty", "Mommy calmed down" or the claim of voluntarily going to her room?
Fourth, I think the clear lesson here is that everything depends on your point of view. From K's perspective this was a perfectly valid representation of events.
***
K enjoys helping out around the house, but of course only on her own terms. She recently requested to help put the groceries away by saying, "Můžu je dát pryč?"
Literal translation from English "put - away". Not what she intended to say, though.
***
I have noticed several times that K has mixed up the words "lend" and "borrow". This is a typical Czech mistake (půjčit v. půjčit si, so the distinction is hard to remember when learning English), so it is mildly grating to hear coming from a native English speaker (even if a child).
Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so, because this week K was telling me how a friend "borrowed" her a toy when the Slovak stepped in to tell her no, it has to be "lend", and explained the difference.
At least she doesn't say "willage". I definitely couldn't live with that!
"Apo, já jsem dneska trošičku zlobila a mamka byla cross tak jsem šla do mojej izby ale teď se už ukľudnila"
(Apo, I was a tiny bit naughty today and mommy was cross so I went to my room to play and then she calmed down again...)
First of all, how's that for a trilingual sentence?
Second, both the Slovak and I had to turn away so K wouldn't see us laughing.
Third, which part is best? "a tiny bit naughty", "Mommy calmed down" or the claim of voluntarily going to her room?
Fourth, I think the clear lesson here is that everything depends on your point of view. From K's perspective this was a perfectly valid representation of events.
***
K enjoys helping out around the house, but of course only on her own terms. She recently requested to help put the groceries away by saying, "Můžu je dát pryč?"
Literal translation from English "put - away". Not what she intended to say, though.
***
I have noticed several times that K has mixed up the words "lend" and "borrow". This is a typical Czech mistake (půjčit v. půjčit si, so the distinction is hard to remember when learning English), so it is mildly grating to hear coming from a native English speaker (even if a child).
Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so, because this week K was telling me how a friend "borrowed" her a toy when the Slovak stepped in to tell her no, it has to be "lend", and explained the difference.
At least she doesn't say "willage". I definitely couldn't live with that!
Monday, October 29, 2012
A Reading Family
Our apartment is decorated in bookshelves. We have slowed down in book buying over the past few years because with young children around we - at least I - have had less time to read and the books were about to overrun us anyway (also because we bought Kindles...), but one look at our home makes it clear that the people here are some serious book lovers.
Sometimes I have wondered, over the past few years, if our children will inherit our love of books since we don't read much when they are around. I do a lot of reading on the computer, because it is easier for me to handle while holding a baby or napping toddler, but of course a child can't tell the difference between that and working, or facebooking.
I am not sure where, but I remember reading once that children need to see their parents reading - not just reading to the children, but reading for themselves - in order to develop their own love of reading. I'm not sure if that's true, but it is true that my mother read when I was little but not when my younger siblings were little (I was an only child for several years, so she had more time) and I am the only one who reads books now.
With that in mind, and because I was tired of having gone from 50+ books a year to none, I started making a conscious effort to read actual, paper books when K was about two. It still seems to be mostly after bedtime, of course, but once in a while I manage to pull out my book while K is awake. I only make it through a few books a year now, but I have a small part of myself back.
Reading to the little ones, though, is more difficult. Baby M has a shelf for his board books, which he mainly likes to flip through and then scatter around the room. But it is K's books that give me twinges of conscience.
I have gone through phases during her life of reading to her a lot and not reading to her much at all. Sometimes she simply lost interest for a while. But especially in the last year I have hardly been able to read to her at all!
It is one of the most difficult things about having a second baby, not being able to devote enough time to the first one. M is the Chillest Baby Ever and can entertain himself indefinitely with minimum input from me, but the instant I pull out a book to read to K or a workbook to do with her he is ALL OVER us. He will not sit and read with us (because he is one), he will not play on his own or be distracted by a toy I give him. He will jump up and down on us until we put the offending items away.
The obvious answer is to read to her during his naptime, but the boy has a sixth sense that tells him when I am paying attention to his sister even when he is sleeping. He wakes up within three minutes. With K it was tea - making myself a hot cup of tea was a surefire way to ensure K would wake up at any time, day or night, and demand my attention until my tea had gone cold. With M I can have tea but I can't read to his sister.
I have had a little success with reading board books to both children at once, but of course a one-year-old's attention span is not great and they are not exactly on K's level. I am looking forward to when M is older and I can read to them both properly. That's a long time for K to wait, though!
So K's bookshelf has not been touched as much as I would like over the last year. Apo and I take turns reading to her at bedtime, when it is one-on-one, and recently we started reading chapter books together as a family. I read and Apo holds M so he can't climb up and knock the book out of my hands.
First we read Little House in the Big Woods, which was an exciting moment for me since I loved Laura Ingalls when I was little and have been looking forward to introducing it to my daughter for years. The Slovak was skeptical at first, since he wasn't familiar with the books, but after a few chapters he was secretly looking forward to our nightly reading and by the end he was actively sucked in and wanting to know more.
Once we finished that we moved on to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It is a little over K's comprehension level, but she has seen the first few movies and really likes Harry Potter, so she was set on reading that next once she found out there are BOOKS about Harry Potter as well. The first chapter was a little rough - in hindsight I should have skipped it - since there is a lot of hinting and grown-ups talking about things that aren't fully explained until later. Booooring.
Once we got to the part with Harry in it, though, things pick up. Last night we read chapter 3, where all the mysterious letters start coming to the house. Usually I split chapters over two sessions, but this time K begged me to keep reading: "I want to know what happens next!!"
At that, the Slovak and I shared a look over the top of K's head. She got it.
She was feeling the thrill of a good story, the need to know what happens next. As passionate readers ourselves, we both felt the thrill of passing something on to our child, something we pray will accompany her through her childhood and her whole life.
Sometimes I have wondered, over the past few years, if our children will inherit our love of books since we don't read much when they are around. I do a lot of reading on the computer, because it is easier for me to handle while holding a baby or napping toddler, but of course a child can't tell the difference between that and working, or facebooking.
I am not sure where, but I remember reading once that children need to see their parents reading - not just reading to the children, but reading for themselves - in order to develop their own love of reading. I'm not sure if that's true, but it is true that my mother read when I was little but not when my younger siblings were little (I was an only child for several years, so she had more time) and I am the only one who reads books now.
With that in mind, and because I was tired of having gone from 50+ books a year to none, I started making a conscious effort to read actual, paper books when K was about two. It still seems to be mostly after bedtime, of course, but once in a while I manage to pull out my book while K is awake. I only make it through a few books a year now, but I have a small part of myself back.
Reading to the little ones, though, is more difficult. Baby M has a shelf for his board books, which he mainly likes to flip through and then scatter around the room. But it is K's books that give me twinges of conscience.
I have gone through phases during her life of reading to her a lot and not reading to her much at all. Sometimes she simply lost interest for a while. But especially in the last year I have hardly been able to read to her at all!
It is one of the most difficult things about having a second baby, not being able to devote enough time to the first one. M is the Chillest Baby Ever and can entertain himself indefinitely with minimum input from me, but the instant I pull out a book to read to K or a workbook to do with her he is ALL OVER us. He will not sit and read with us (because he is one), he will not play on his own or be distracted by a toy I give him. He will jump up and down on us until we put the offending items away.
The obvious answer is to read to her during his naptime, but the boy has a sixth sense that tells him when I am paying attention to his sister even when he is sleeping. He wakes up within three minutes. With K it was tea - making myself a hot cup of tea was a surefire way to ensure K would wake up at any time, day or night, and demand my attention until my tea had gone cold. With M I can have tea but I can't read to his sister.
I have had a little success with reading board books to both children at once, but of course a one-year-old's attention span is not great and they are not exactly on K's level. I am looking forward to when M is older and I can read to them both properly. That's a long time for K to wait, though!
So K's bookshelf has not been touched as much as I would like over the last year. Apo and I take turns reading to her at bedtime, when it is one-on-one, and recently we started reading chapter books together as a family. I read and Apo holds M so he can't climb up and knock the book out of my hands.
First we read Little House in the Big Woods, which was an exciting moment for me since I loved Laura Ingalls when I was little and have been looking forward to introducing it to my daughter for years. The Slovak was skeptical at first, since he wasn't familiar with the books, but after a few chapters he was secretly looking forward to our nightly reading and by the end he was actively sucked in and wanting to know more.
Once we finished that we moved on to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It is a little over K's comprehension level, but she has seen the first few movies and really likes Harry Potter, so she was set on reading that next once she found out there are BOOKS about Harry Potter as well. The first chapter was a little rough - in hindsight I should have skipped it - since there is a lot of hinting and grown-ups talking about things that aren't fully explained until later. Booooring.
Once we got to the part with Harry in it, though, things pick up. Last night we read chapter 3, where all the mysterious letters start coming to the house. Usually I split chapters over two sessions, but this time K begged me to keep reading: "I want to know what happens next!!"
At that, the Slovak and I shared a look over the top of K's head. She got it.
She was feeling the thrill of a good story, the need to know what happens next. As passionate readers ourselves, we both felt the thrill of passing something on to our child, something we pray will accompany her through her childhood and her whole life.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Conversations about Work
Like any child, K is very interested in work but doesn't know exactly what it is. She just knows that she wants to do it when she grows up. I've noticed that as a concrete thinker, like most children probably, she thinks of it more as a specific location than an activity.
"Girls CAN go to work, Mommy, because I saw girls in Apo's work."
"Of course girls can go to work, sweetie, in fact most women go to work."
"But why do you not go to work?"
"You mean why don't I go to work in an office? I used to work in an office, actually, before you were born."
"But why don't you go any more?"
"If I went to an office to work every day, who would take care of you and Baby M?"
"I would take care of him. I would grow up really fast and then I could change his diaper."
"But then who would take care of YOU?"
"Apo! He could stay home and you could go to work."
Rejected! It's ok. Apo is her hero right now.
I let that part slide and we moved on to a discussion of what "translation" means. Before this she knew that I work on my computer and sometimes write e-mails or take calls from clients, but she didn't know what my work actually entails.
I explained that translation is a special kind of job that not everyone can do, because you have to speak more than one language very well and use your "think", as she calls it, to take things in one language and write the same ideas in another. I also explained that "interpreting" is another job where you do the same thing for people who are talking out loud - what she does sometimes for people who don't speak both Czech and English, grown-ups get paid for that. She was impressed. "Yes! That's what I want to do!"
Recently I asked her:
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"A worker."
"What kind of worker?"
"You know, whatever Apo does, so I can work in his office with him."
She means it, too - when we visited his office she saw an empty desk and insisted that they save it for her when she grows up and starts working there. She was very upset at the idea that a number of people might go through the hiring process and sit in that chair before she is old enough to take her spot. She wants THAT desk.
She goes back and forth between that and wanting to stay home, carry her babies (all named Zoe) in a wrap, drink coffee and work on her computer. I think it's clear who her two role models are.
"Girls CAN go to work, Mommy, because I saw girls in Apo's work."
"Of course girls can go to work, sweetie, in fact most women go to work."
"But why do you not go to work?"
"You mean why don't I go to work in an office? I used to work in an office, actually, before you were born."
"But why don't you go any more?"
"If I went to an office to work every day, who would take care of you and Baby M?"
"I would take care of him. I would grow up really fast and then I could change his diaper."
"But then who would take care of YOU?"
"Apo! He could stay home and you could go to work."
Rejected! It's ok. Apo is her hero right now.
I let that part slide and we moved on to a discussion of what "translation" means. Before this she knew that I work on my computer and sometimes write e-mails or take calls from clients, but she didn't know what my work actually entails.
I explained that translation is a special kind of job that not everyone can do, because you have to speak more than one language very well and use your "think", as she calls it, to take things in one language and write the same ideas in another. I also explained that "interpreting" is another job where you do the same thing for people who are talking out loud - what she does sometimes for people who don't speak both Czech and English, grown-ups get paid for that. She was impressed. "Yes! That's what I want to do!"
Recently I asked her:
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"A worker."
"What kind of worker?"
"You know, whatever Apo does, so I can work in his office with him."
She means it, too - when we visited his office she saw an empty desk and insisted that they save it for her when she grows up and starts working there. She was very upset at the idea that a number of people might go through the hiring process and sit in that chair before she is old enough to take her spot. She wants THAT desk.
She goes back and forth between that and wanting to stay home, carry her babies (all named Zoe) in a wrap, drink coffee and work on her computer. I think it's clear who her two role models are.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Child Interpreters and Foreign Languages in Preschool
I recently learned that K serves as an interpreter when her preschool teachers can't understand the external English teacher who comes in twice a week. Apparently (one teacher told me today) they ask K and she explains what he said.
Part of me wonders if this is expecting too much of a four year old and the other part wonders if we could negotiate a break on tuition for K's language services.
I am impressed that she can do this, actually, since it is one thing to be bilingual and another thing to facilitate communication between two other people. It's a different cognitive process.
It does go slightly against my no child interpreters rule (I don't think it's right to put a child in that position if it can be helped at all), but this isn't serious or frequent. I know she can handle it, and I am proud of her for being helpful.
We had this conversation as K and another girl sat at the table working puzzles. The little girl pointed to the animals in the puzzles she was doing and named each one in Czech.
The teacher said, "Yes, that's right, and I bet K could tell us how you say that in English."
K, obligingly: "Horse. Cow. Chicken."
Teacher: "Isn't it 'cock'? (to me) Isn't slepice 'cock'?"
Me: "No, I believe it's 'hen', but we usually just say 'chicken' for everything."
An extra level of multilingualness was added by the fact that the little girl naming the animals in Czech - is Chinese. Like K, she's a Czech-born foreigner and is perfecting her Czech in preschool.
Life is fun sometimes.
Part of me wonders if this is expecting too much of a four year old and the other part wonders if we could negotiate a break on tuition for K's language services.
I am impressed that she can do this, actually, since it is one thing to be bilingual and another thing to facilitate communication between two other people. It's a different cognitive process.
It does go slightly against my no child interpreters rule (I don't think it's right to put a child in that position if it can be helped at all), but this isn't serious or frequent. I know she can handle it, and I am proud of her for being helpful.
We had this conversation as K and another girl sat at the table working puzzles. The little girl pointed to the animals in the puzzles she was doing and named each one in Czech.
The teacher said, "Yes, that's right, and I bet K could tell us how you say that in English."
K, obligingly: "Horse. Cow. Chicken."
Teacher: "Isn't it 'cock'? (to me) Isn't slepice 'cock'?"
Me: "No, I believe it's 'hen', but we usually just say 'chicken' for everything."
An extra level of multilingualness was added by the fact that the little girl naming the animals in Czech - is Chinese. Like K, she's a Czech-born foreigner and is perfecting her Czech in preschool.
Life is fun sometimes.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Really, I can't be helpful ALL the time
At two months shy of five years old, my daughter is pretty good at speaking correctly, but she does still sometimes have trouble with irregular forms. At times like that I have to choose between letting it go and offering her the correct form. Sometimes, though, I do this instead:
K: ...mouses.
Apo (in Slovak): Actually in English it's one 'mouse', but two or more 'mice'. It's irregular.
Me (in English): Yeah, and it's one 'house' and lots of 'hice'.
Apo (shaking head, to K): Houses.
Me: And one 'louse' and lots of 'lice'. Ooh, and one 'rouse' and lots of 'rice'.
Apo (to me): Wait, really?
Ha! I got him.
***
This week K had her first ballet lesson. She loves dancing, pink, princesses and anything girly, so she was PUMPED. A day or two before, the Slovak told me she prayed at bedtime "...aby na mě nic neskočilo, abych nebyla nemocná a mohla jít na balet." (so that nothing jumps on me so I won't be sick and can go to ballet) After a minute he realized she meant "aby na mě nic nelezlo" (climbing, not jumping), from něco na mě leze (I'm coming down with something).
You probably have to speak Czech to find that very funny...
K: ...mouses.
Apo (in Slovak): Actually in English it's one 'mouse', but two or more 'mice'. It's irregular.
Me (in English): Yeah, and it's one 'house' and lots of 'hice'.
Apo (shaking head, to K): Houses.
Me: And one 'louse' and lots of 'lice'. Ooh, and one 'rouse' and lots of 'rice'.
Apo (to me): Wait, really?
Ha! I got him.
***
This week K had her first ballet lesson. She loves dancing, pink, princesses and anything girly, so she was PUMPED. A day or two before, the Slovak told me she prayed at bedtime "...aby na mě nic neskočilo, abych nebyla nemocná a mohla jít na balet." (so that nothing jumps on me so I won't be sick and can go to ballet) After a minute he realized she meant "aby na mě nic nelezlo" (climbing, not jumping), from něco na mě leze (I'm coming down with something).
You probably have to speak Czech to find that very funny...
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