M is signing up a storm. I know I said that before, but the storm is even bigger now. He is constantly on the look-out for things he recognizes so he can point them out to us and do the sign. And if it happens to be a word he can say, then he joyfully proclaims it: "Ball! Ball! Ball! Ball!"
I remember K using words and signs at his age and generally wanting to communicate, but I don't remember her being so insistent and enthusiastic about it. I mean, she would point out an airplane and sign 'airplane' and then keep on playing, but if M sees an airplane, it's BANG BANG BANG on your shoulder, AIRPLANE AIRPLANE AIRPLANE signing, with bouncing and smiling and waving arms. And it's the same for anything he knows the name of. Going on walks is now an I-spy-style hunt for things to sign (or make animal noises) about.
I also don't think K took to signing as much as M has. She used them, and made up some of her own, but M uses them constantly and learns them very quickly (like, immediately). He would learn more if I would just look some more up to teach him. (Note: look up some more signs later.) It really is like his language explosion has started in his brain and hands and his tongue just hasn't caught up.
M's favorite signs (and things) are 'gorilla' and 'butterfly'. He is also drawn to flowers, it seems, and kept using 'butterfly' to mean 'flower', so I looked up the sign for flower and taught it to him. He is now learning to distinguish butterflies from flowers.
His new favorite thing to do is make me do image searches on my laptop for whatever he signs. He usually starts with 'gorilla' (because gorillas are awesome) and then car or train, though he also enjoys butterflies, flowers, elephants, and babies doing various things such as yawning, sleeping, crying or eating. I like looking up 'babies yawning' just to see him open his mouth wide, too.
The Slovak is on a business trip at the moment and for the past day or so M has been pointing to random men and signing Apo. Today on the subway it was every man he saw, including a poster for Iron Man 3. I think M will be relieved when the real Apo comes home so he can stop searching for substitutes.
We are planning to go to the zoo on Saturday (where they have gorillas!) so I need to come up with more signs for the animals we will see there. M is going to LOVE it.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
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.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Baby M: Language Update 1.5 years
Baby M is turning one and a half in three days.
He can say a few proper words, mainly bye-bye/papa (hard to tell which he's saying), baba (grandma), mama, possible attempts at ball and his sister's name. He is not prolific in the word use at the moment.
If you count animal sounds and signs, though, then his word count goes way up. He loves pointing out to us all the animals he sees, making sure to tell us MOO or BAA or CLUCK CLUCK. I'd say he knows ten or more types of animals, with a mixture of sounds and signs - for a dog he says HAF HAF, for a butterfly he signs 'butterfly', etc. - and he is very eager to learn more. He is always bringing me a book of animals to look through together. I am becoming hard pressed to come up with unique sounds or gestures that he can make for each one. :)
He watched part of Disney's Cars recently with K, and he kept tapping me on the shoulder and making his sound and sign for car. He didn't let up until I agreed that yes, those are cars. Then again a few seconds later, and again, and again, for at least twenty minutes.
We are pleased that his comprehension in both languages is good. He is able to point at things or pictures that we name, follow instructions (when it pleases him, obviously), and so on. Now if we could just get him to stop throwing toys at us...
Seriously, he is an unstoppable force when he gets in a throwing mood. His favorite position is toy in hand, with his hand cocked behind his head so that you never - quite - know when he is going to pull the trigger and throw it at you. One morning the Slovak came into the living room to find K innocently absorbed in play and M standing right behind her, big toy truck held up over his head, huge devilish grin on his face. Apo got there in the nick of time.
K puts up with it really well, and I can't even say I blame her (as an older sister myself) for occasionally losing it and beating him over the head. As a mother, though, I have to discourage that sort of behavior.
M loves books and has a great attention span for his age. His latest craze, as mentioned above, is looking through animal books - big children's encyclopedias with lots of pictures. If someone says an animal he recognizes (even in passing), he will sometimes go retrieve the book and find the picture of that animal to show.
He also loves rhymes and finger plays and if you do one, then he wants you to do them all. He will hold out one foot for This Little Piggy, then the other foot, then point to his belly for Round and Round the Garden, then hold out his hand for Varila myšička kašičku, then the other hand, then grab your hands to make you sing Row Row Row Your Boat, on down the list of all his body parts with songs or rhymes attached to them. It's really not acceptable to do one and then quit.
M is at a trying age right now, with lots of thoughts and not enough words to express them. He is on the path now, though, and we know he won't be a toddler forever.
He can say a few proper words, mainly bye-bye/papa (hard to tell which he's saying), baba (grandma), mama, possible attempts at ball and his sister's name. He is not prolific in the word use at the moment.
If you count animal sounds and signs, though, then his word count goes way up. He loves pointing out to us all the animals he sees, making sure to tell us MOO or BAA or CLUCK CLUCK. I'd say he knows ten or more types of animals, with a mixture of sounds and signs - for a dog he says HAF HAF, for a butterfly he signs 'butterfly', etc. - and he is very eager to learn more. He is always bringing me a book of animals to look through together. I am becoming hard pressed to come up with unique sounds or gestures that he can make for each one. :)
He watched part of Disney's Cars recently with K, and he kept tapping me on the shoulder and making his sound and sign for car. He didn't let up until I agreed that yes, those are cars. Then again a few seconds later, and again, and again, for at least twenty minutes.
We are pleased that his comprehension in both languages is good. He is able to point at things or pictures that we name, follow instructions (when it pleases him, obviously), and so on. Now if we could just get him to stop throwing toys at us...
Seriously, he is an unstoppable force when he gets in a throwing mood. His favorite position is toy in hand, with his hand cocked behind his head so that you never - quite - know when he is going to pull the trigger and throw it at you. One morning the Slovak came into the living room to find K innocently absorbed in play and M standing right behind her, big toy truck held up over his head, huge devilish grin on his face. Apo got there in the nick of time.
K puts up with it really well, and I can't even say I blame her (as an older sister myself) for occasionally losing it and beating him over the head. As a mother, though, I have to discourage that sort of behavior.
M loves books and has a great attention span for his age. His latest craze, as mentioned above, is looking through animal books - big children's encyclopedias with lots of pictures. If someone says an animal he recognizes (even in passing), he will sometimes go retrieve the book and find the picture of that animal to show.
He also loves rhymes and finger plays and if you do one, then he wants you to do them all. He will hold out one foot for This Little Piggy, then the other foot, then point to his belly for Round and Round the Garden, then hold out his hand for Varila myšička kašičku, then the other hand, then grab your hands to make you sing Row Row Row Your Boat, on down the list of all his body parts with songs or rhymes attached to them. It's really not acceptable to do one and then quit.
M is at a trying age right now, with lots of thoughts and not enough words to express them. He is on the path now, though, and we know he won't be a toddler forever.
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.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Reading Aloud and Reinforcing the Community Language
My five-year-old just finished 'reading' the one-year-old a book, in almost the exact words as it's written.
When I was her age it was Ernie and Bert's "I Can Do It Myself" (a.k.a. my personal motto at the time). For K, it's O Perníkové chaloupce, about Hansel and Gretel.
We bought the book for M's birthday, but it caught K's imagination somehow, and she loves me to read it to her and M both. She even insisted for a while that I pause in between sentences so she could repeat them after me.
I think it's good for her Czech, because most of the Czech children's books out there are either very simplistic (for babies, one or two words per picture) or else quite complex (for elementary age, lots of text, high vocabulary level and not many pictures). This is one of the few I've found that is in the middle, so it is accessible but still stretches K in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure.
For instance, she's asked me before about the sentences "Děti vzaly nohy na ramena" (an unfamiliar idiom) and "Tatínek hořce rozplakal" (crying 'bitterly'), and she 'read' them to M today. I also heard her use several other complex sentences or phrases from the book while reading - a level of language that, even when she interacts with the Slovak or me in CZ/SK, we just don't use in everyday conversation.
I know we need to read to her more in Czech, but as I've mentioned before, it's just hard to find suitable material. The other day the Slovak decided he wants to get in on the chapter book reading with a book in Czech (rather than Slovak, to help with Czech vocabulary). He decided on The Jungle Book (Kipling), because it was one of his favorites as a boy. I expect we'll give it a try someday soon.
For now, I'm just enjoying listening to my big girl reading to my little boy, neither one stopping to think that they're both learning something while doing it.
When I was her age it was Ernie and Bert's "I Can Do It Myself" (a.k.a. my personal motto at the time). For K, it's O Perníkové chaloupce, about Hansel and Gretel.
We bought the book for M's birthday, but it caught K's imagination somehow, and she loves me to read it to her and M both. She even insisted for a while that I pause in between sentences so she could repeat them after me.
I think it's good for her Czech, because most of the Czech children's books out there are either very simplistic (for babies, one or two words per picture) or else quite complex (for elementary age, lots of text, high vocabulary level and not many pictures). This is one of the few I've found that is in the middle, so it is accessible but still stretches K in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure.
For instance, she's asked me before about the sentences "Děti vzaly nohy na ramena" (an unfamiliar idiom) and "Tatínek hořce rozplakal" (crying 'bitterly'), and she 'read' them to M today. I also heard her use several other complex sentences or phrases from the book while reading - a level of language that, even when she interacts with the Slovak or me in CZ/SK, we just don't use in everyday conversation.
I know we need to read to her more in Czech, but as I've mentioned before, it's just hard to find suitable material. The other day the Slovak decided he wants to get in on the chapter book reading with a book in Czech (rather than Slovak, to help with Czech vocabulary). He decided on The Jungle Book (Kipling), because it was one of his favorites as a boy. I expect we'll give it a try someday soon.
For now, I'm just enjoying listening to my big girl reading to my little boy, neither one stopping to think that they're both learning something while doing it.
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.
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