Nidhi is fast becoming a story teller and commentator. Her first story was a sentence. "Patti dammu" - meaning patti fell down. One of our neighborhood patti's slipped down a couple of stairs and had a small fall. Nidhi saw that and it stayed in her mind. So it became a story that she continued to tell people (and of course I had to provide the context and elaborate) for the next few days. Slowly the number of times she would recall that event and want that "story" to be re-told reduced. I think this happened for two reasons. One, she made sense of the story and two, other stories have filled up her life. The stories generally are related to events that have happened in the past or recently and are very varied.
When I mean story, I don't mean stories from a book, which Nidhi does refer to sometimes. But mostly Nidhi's stories are all about her world - which includes people, places, things, her toys, books, animals, birds, rain, food and everything else that she can experience. For example she will remember things that others have done for her and those will become a story that she tells. Thatha balloon oodhi - grandpa blew the balloon for me, kaathu poochu - air went out of the balloon, amma thanni oooo, nidhi thanni pluck pluck - amma poured water in the tub and nidhi played in water. And these become stories as I elaborate it in further detail. In other instances, the stories will be related to what has happened to her - Nidhi kosu kacchi - Mosquito bit Nidhi, Nidhi dammu - Nidhi fell down, Nidhi stool dammu - Nidhi fell down from the stool etc. Still other stories are related to routine events and everyday life such as Nidhi park, amma dress, Nidhi dress, amma pappap, Nidhi pappap - meaning Nidhi going to park, before that amma and nidhi change dress and put on chappals. Appa bandak potu office meaning appa puts helmet (bandak is her word for helmet, dont ask us why!) and goes to office. These days we are told by Nidhi what we must do when we make her kanji (the order of things), what we must do before we go out (bag potu - put the bag on), and she comments on our every move. amma mamam done - amma finished with food, appa bath done, etc. But the best story so far for me has been this. Nidhi dammu, amma thooki, amma huggie, amma ice - meaning Nidhi fell down, amma lifted her, hugged her and put ice for her. And this was totally her story a few minutes after she fell down in the exact same order. I was zapped!
While I had no doubt that story telling is a powerful "educational tool", it's importance and natural role in early language development is coming home to me. I don't meant story telling in the sense of a very rigid process, but as a very fluid everyday routine. For example, everyday when Satish would come back home, I would tell him something that happened that day, a story. Nidhi would listen and either repeat it, add to it or nod her head in approval :) At other times when people visit us, I would remind Nidhi of their visit by asking her who came, what did they do with her, etc. It becomes her story of what stayed in her mind from their visit. For example, anna chuttu (anna spinned) is a story for her which i elaborate to her as - yes, when siddharth anna came he spinned that toy for you and you enjoyed it. Nidhi also has a picture album of people who are frequent visitors or have spent some time with her that she can remember of. So when we look at those pictures, stories trickle in as well. This picture album is kept along with her books and she can pick it up and look at it any time she wants. Often she will want us to "read" it with her.
Nidhi's language learning (and perhaps other children's as well) has been greatly facilitated due to listening to stories of her life again and again and by re-telling them several times. So go ahead and tell those stories to children that matter to them - the stories of their lives, the story of what they are experiencing.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Entering the world of adults
Long before Nidhi came into our lives, I got interested in how children learn, grow, and develop physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I soaked up on the writings of several people. The writings and work of Maria Montessori at the early childhood ages continues to amaze and inspire me. Whether the present day Montessori schools follow her vision and idea of what she thought children need is another question. But anyone with a child must read some of her original writing, several of which are available on Amazon or Flipkart.
But back to what I wanted to say here. Montessori's basis was respect for the child who is entering the adult world and in the process of becoming one. In order to support this process, two of the many things that Montessori insisted on is
1) To create a physical space for children within the adult's world, so that they can become independent and learn to do things on their own, which they anyway want to do (as anyone with a toddler would know!) That is why many adults feel disoriented when they enter the classrooms in a Montessori based school since most furniture is at the child's eye or body level, materials are kept in a way that children can access them on their own without any help from adults, and so on.
2) To listen to children and provide them with what they need and not what we know! Often in a rush to respond to children we keep telling them what we know or want of them instead of listening to them and doing what they need at that moment. This needs a separate post perhaps, but I will try to address some bits of it below.
In our parenting journey so far we have tried to provide both these opportunities for Nidhi as much as possible (I may have not been able to do when I am tired, or exhausted, and there have been those days!)
When Nidhi started becoming more mobile and walking, exploring various cupboards, opening them and closing them, we decided to create a space that was for her toys and books. We cleared out the bottom shelves of our bookcase and filled it with her books (which on last count numbered about 50 or so and she loves reading each one of them). We showed her how to open and close the book case and she learned that very quickly. Very soon, we noticed that she would point out to us if the book case was left open by any one of us and telling us to close it. A small change that we made in the physical space for her allowed her to be independent of which book she wanted to pick to be read to by us, open and close the bookcase herself, and also tell us of how we needed to close it if we opened it :) Her sensitivity for order was clearly visible!
We began to notice many other instances when her sensitivity to order and sequence became clear. For example, on one occasion, I went to visit a friend with Nidhi, and on our way back, my friend offered to carry the bag in which I kept Nidhi's essentials. Nidhi was in tears when she saw my friend carrying "her" bag and I told her that he was only helping us, but she was not at an age where she would understand it. I soon realized that her sense of "order," of who can carry her bag, had been disturbed. I said so to my friend, and I took the bag from him. Nidhi was now happy that I was carrying both Nidhi and her bag :) A very good Montessori friend of mine said that children have a sense of order of many different things - where they sleep, where they eat, where their parents sleep, when they go out, etc etc. And this sense of order is essential for them to make sense of the world around them.
As Nidhi is growing up and developing her language (a separate post on that as well is needed!), she is able to better express her sense of "order" and "disorder." Part of supporting children develop a sense of order is for us as adults to be sensitive to order as well. So for example when I have worn my "home" slippers and gone out in a rush, Nidhi would usually be the first one to notice it and point it to me. I would usually acknowledge that I forgot or that as soon as I go home I will change it etc. Similarly Nidhi knows that when dad goes to work he wears his helmet. The last few days Satish has been taking the car to work so she will promptly remind him that he has to wear his helmet and we have to tell her thanks for the reminder and that he needs the helmet when traveling by bike and not by car. How complicated, crazy, and inconsistent our adult world is for the child who is trying to create some sense and order out of it all!
The other thing that we have done is to tell Nidhi where we are going or taking her whenever we step out of the house - be it to visit friends, family, shops or the doctor. Nidhi is told where she is going. This is another part of showing respect for the child who is entering our world. Would we ever not tell an adult where we are taking him/her, or imagine how we would feel if we are whisked from place to place without being told or prepared for where we are going. Nidhi loves being told where we are going and usually she would repeat to herself where we are going, while we are going there. This does not need much effort or time from our end. We also tell her if we know someone is about to visit us today, so she knows who is coming.
The second point of listening to children and responding to them with what they need and not what we want or know is quite a difficult task for most of us. I will probably have to write a separate post on that one, but I will share an example of a simple incident that happened a couple of days ago and is fresh in my mind. We were visiting a friend and her daughter in our apartment. After a while Nidhi said she wanted to go (poonum in tamil). I went out and was helping her put on her sandals when she started kicking the sandals in an attempt to remove them and exclaiming dee, dee, dee, and I was confused and unable to understand what she wanted. I stopped for a minute, got up and looked in the direction she was looking (she was not even pointing!) and found that she was looking at a stuffed deer sitting on the sofa of the neighbor (opposite to my friend's) house. She freed herself of her slipper and went towards the deer, held it for a while and then went to see the pet birds they have in their house and having finished her quota of seeing all the "animals and birds" walked down happily with me. All this took an extra few minutes, but it was totally worth it :)
The more I listen to Nidhi, the more we are both at peace. But there are times when it is difficult for me to listen. I hope she forgives me for those times!
But back to what I wanted to say here. Montessori's basis was respect for the child who is entering the adult world and in the process of becoming one. In order to support this process, two of the many things that Montessori insisted on is
1) To create a physical space for children within the adult's world, so that they can become independent and learn to do things on their own, which they anyway want to do (as anyone with a toddler would know!) That is why many adults feel disoriented when they enter the classrooms in a Montessori based school since most furniture is at the child's eye or body level, materials are kept in a way that children can access them on their own without any help from adults, and so on.
2) To listen to children and provide them with what they need and not what we know! Often in a rush to respond to children we keep telling them what we know or want of them instead of listening to them and doing what they need at that moment. This needs a separate post perhaps, but I will try to address some bits of it below.
In our parenting journey so far we have tried to provide both these opportunities for Nidhi as much as possible (I may have not been able to do when I am tired, or exhausted, and there have been those days!)
When Nidhi started becoming more mobile and walking, exploring various cupboards, opening them and closing them, we decided to create a space that was for her toys and books. We cleared out the bottom shelves of our bookcase and filled it with her books (which on last count numbered about 50 or so and she loves reading each one of them). We showed her how to open and close the book case and she learned that very quickly. Very soon, we noticed that she would point out to us if the book case was left open by any one of us and telling us to close it. A small change that we made in the physical space for her allowed her to be independent of which book she wanted to pick to be read to by us, open and close the bookcase herself, and also tell us of how we needed to close it if we opened it :) Her sensitivity for order was clearly visible!
We began to notice many other instances when her sensitivity to order and sequence became clear. For example, on one occasion, I went to visit a friend with Nidhi, and on our way back, my friend offered to carry the bag in which I kept Nidhi's essentials. Nidhi was in tears when she saw my friend carrying "her" bag and I told her that he was only helping us, but she was not at an age where she would understand it. I soon realized that her sense of "order," of who can carry her bag, had been disturbed. I said so to my friend, and I took the bag from him. Nidhi was now happy that I was carrying both Nidhi and her bag :) A very good Montessori friend of mine said that children have a sense of order of many different things - where they sleep, where they eat, where their parents sleep, when they go out, etc etc. And this sense of order is essential for them to make sense of the world around them.
As Nidhi is growing up and developing her language (a separate post on that as well is needed!), she is able to better express her sense of "order" and "disorder." Part of supporting children develop a sense of order is for us as adults to be sensitive to order as well. So for example when I have worn my "home" slippers and gone out in a rush, Nidhi would usually be the first one to notice it and point it to me. I would usually acknowledge that I forgot or that as soon as I go home I will change it etc. Similarly Nidhi knows that when dad goes to work he wears his helmet. The last few days Satish has been taking the car to work so she will promptly remind him that he has to wear his helmet and we have to tell her thanks for the reminder and that he needs the helmet when traveling by bike and not by car. How complicated, crazy, and inconsistent our adult world is for the child who is trying to create some sense and order out of it all!
The other thing that we have done is to tell Nidhi where we are going or taking her whenever we step out of the house - be it to visit friends, family, shops or the doctor. Nidhi is told where she is going. This is another part of showing respect for the child who is entering our world. Would we ever not tell an adult where we are taking him/her, or imagine how we would feel if we are whisked from place to place without being told or prepared for where we are going. Nidhi loves being told where we are going and usually she would repeat to herself where we are going, while we are going there. This does not need much effort or time from our end. We also tell her if we know someone is about to visit us today, so she knows who is coming.
The second point of listening to children and responding to them with what they need and not what we want or know is quite a difficult task for most of us. I will probably have to write a separate post on that one, but I will share an example of a simple incident that happened a couple of days ago and is fresh in my mind. We were visiting a friend and her daughter in our apartment. After a while Nidhi said she wanted to go (poonum in tamil). I went out and was helping her put on her sandals when she started kicking the sandals in an attempt to remove them and exclaiming dee, dee, dee, and I was confused and unable to understand what she wanted. I stopped for a minute, got up and looked in the direction she was looking (she was not even pointing!) and found that she was looking at a stuffed deer sitting on the sofa of the neighbor (opposite to my friend's) house. She freed herself of her slipper and went towards the deer, held it for a while and then went to see the pet birds they have in their house and having finished her quota of seeing all the "animals and birds" walked down happily with me. All this took an extra few minutes, but it was totally worth it :)
The more I listen to Nidhi, the more we are both at peace. But there are times when it is difficult for me to listen. I hope she forgives me for those times!
Friday, July 8, 2011
The joy of reading
Both Satish and I love reading and we enjoy spending time at a bookshop, library, or simply reading (or re-reading) a book at home whenever we can. With Nidhi around we hardly get to do much of this and our individual reading time has gone down tremendously. On the flip side we now spend a lot of time reading together with Nidhi and enjoying the experience of savoring a book with her.
When Nidhi was about 9-10 months old we got her a cloth book - it had different textures, made some mild noise when the pages rubbed with each other and so on. It was really a toy for her - she would put it in her mouth, shake it, etc. When she would be sitting, we would sit with her and turn the pages and show her the pictures of the animals and just say the name or read the text as a song. If she wanted to stop at a page and explore it we would let her do that and then move on or just stop if it felt like she was ready to play with it on her own. At no point then or now do we read with a motive to "finish" the story or to teach her something. Over time she figured how to turn the pages of the cloth book. Around the time she turned one we also got a few other books (simple picture books like that of Eric Carle, books by Tulika Publishers, some by Dr. Suess, etc). Many of these related to every day life or to the animals around us, or had a rhyme to the text. As we read them we would not only focus on the text but also the visuals and explore the small details on each page. Sometimes we would point out something and at other times she would point something out to us that none of us had noticed earlier.
Reading books has become a pleasurable and fun activity. We now have the books on a shelf that she can reach out to easily. Often she will pick a book, bring it to us asking us to read it. Sometimes we would tell her to pick a book that we want or ask her to choose a book she wants us to read. We continue reading like this for a while until she decides to do something else. We never read with the intention of "teaching her something from the book." It is for the sheer joy of reading that we read. Nidhi picks up books on her own, looks at them, talks as if reading them and enjoys them for what opportunities they offer to her to make sense of life.
Our neighbors tell us that their children do not want to read books with them but are quite happy reading books with us (either me or satish). I think a huge part of developing a early reading habit is to really read with children for the pleasure it gives. Learning happens on the way!
Often we are just reading a simple story for her - either while eating, at bed time, while traveling and so on. At other times we are looking at the details in the visuals. Sometimes we are discussing the story while we are traveling or experiencing something new - making connections with what we have already read. Each book has been read a gazillion times and sometimes we even create our own story based on the visuals in the book! Sometimes a book will go into the background for a while and emerge back into the scene to be read and re-read after a few days. At other times a new book that we think she is not interested in will become a favorite.
Oh yes - the most important issue of handling books. Board books and cloth books are best at an early age until they begin learn to hold books and turn the pages. There are going to be a few tearing episodes however careful we are. They are in the process of learning and feeling the material. So we have to be prepared to salvage pages with tape and adhesive. I also try to intervene early on if it looks like Nidhi is using the book as a toy by saying "alright, looks like we are done reading. Now lets do something else." And usually at that time she is ready to do something else. Or if she is interested in continuing to read then I will tell her to handle the book gently and carefully and show her how (again and again and again just like anything else).
I have not said anything so far about selecting books, but it is an equally important aspect of this process. A few things that I keep in mind when getting books are - rich visuals, simple text that connects to everyday life (some new stuff is okay, but not everything is the book should be completely unknown and abstract), and the story (is it too complex for her age). After all this, letting Nidhi guide us in this journey of reading has been important. If she wants to read a book we read it, if she does not want to read a book we just leave it around until she decides to pick it up. Nidhi sometimes picks up books that we are reading, magazine, newspapers and want to be read! And we do that. Well we show her the pictures, or just read a line and she will be satisfied and move on realizing that this is probably not very interesting :)
When Nidhi was about 9-10 months old we got her a cloth book - it had different textures, made some mild noise when the pages rubbed with each other and so on. It was really a toy for her - she would put it in her mouth, shake it, etc. When she would be sitting, we would sit with her and turn the pages and show her the pictures of the animals and just say the name or read the text as a song. If she wanted to stop at a page and explore it we would let her do that and then move on or just stop if it felt like she was ready to play with it on her own. At no point then or now do we read with a motive to "finish" the story or to teach her something. Over time she figured how to turn the pages of the cloth book. Around the time she turned one we also got a few other books (simple picture books like that of Eric Carle, books by Tulika Publishers, some by Dr. Suess, etc). Many of these related to every day life or to the animals around us, or had a rhyme to the text. As we read them we would not only focus on the text but also the visuals and explore the small details on each page. Sometimes we would point out something and at other times she would point something out to us that none of us had noticed earlier.
Reading books has become a pleasurable and fun activity. We now have the books on a shelf that she can reach out to easily. Often she will pick a book, bring it to us asking us to read it. Sometimes we would tell her to pick a book that we want or ask her to choose a book she wants us to read. We continue reading like this for a while until she decides to do something else. We never read with the intention of "teaching her something from the book." It is for the sheer joy of reading that we read. Nidhi picks up books on her own, looks at them, talks as if reading them and enjoys them for what opportunities they offer to her to make sense of life.
Our neighbors tell us that their children do not want to read books with them but are quite happy reading books with us (either me or satish). I think a huge part of developing a early reading habit is to really read with children for the pleasure it gives. Learning happens on the way!
Often we are just reading a simple story for her - either while eating, at bed time, while traveling and so on. At other times we are looking at the details in the visuals. Sometimes we are discussing the story while we are traveling or experiencing something new - making connections with what we have already read. Each book has been read a gazillion times and sometimes we even create our own story based on the visuals in the book! Sometimes a book will go into the background for a while and emerge back into the scene to be read and re-read after a few days. At other times a new book that we think she is not interested in will become a favorite.
Oh yes - the most important issue of handling books. Board books and cloth books are best at an early age until they begin learn to hold books and turn the pages. There are going to be a few tearing episodes however careful we are. They are in the process of learning and feeling the material. So we have to be prepared to salvage pages with tape and adhesive. I also try to intervene early on if it looks like Nidhi is using the book as a toy by saying "alright, looks like we are done reading. Now lets do something else." And usually at that time she is ready to do something else. Or if she is interested in continuing to read then I will tell her to handle the book gently and carefully and show her how (again and again and again just like anything else).
I have not said anything so far about selecting books, but it is an equally important aspect of this process. A few things that I keep in mind when getting books are - rich visuals, simple text that connects to everyday life (some new stuff is okay, but not everything is the book should be completely unknown and abstract), and the story (is it too complex for her age). After all this, letting Nidhi guide us in this journey of reading has been important. If she wants to read a book we read it, if she does not want to read a book we just leave it around until she decides to pick it up. Nidhi sometimes picks up books that we are reading, magazine, newspapers and want to be read! And we do that. Well we show her the pictures, or just read a line and she will be satisfied and move on realizing that this is probably not very interesting :)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Another three months
So it seems like 3 months is the duration between one post and another. The last post was in March and now it is almost end June. Time for a long due update. This is what happens when both mom and me are busy living :)
Well, lets see where we left off and what new has been happening. I have been walking on my own for a few months now. And it has been a relief to some extent for my mom because she does not need to hold my hand all the time when I want to walk except when we are outdoors where there are vehicles or other things that I need to watch out for. I still like being carried, especially when I see people who I don't know (read stranger anxiety) and at other times I just want to be carried because I am still a baby :) hey why not! I also understand most of the conversations that happen, and whenever I hear a word in the conversation that I can speak I say it out loud :) So for example, the other day my friend Akshaya was singing "Sa Sa Re Re Ga Ga Ma Ma Pa Pa .." for me and I recognised the word "papa" in that and said it out loud. Oh, you must wonder why i know the word "papa" so well. I do not associate it with father (that is appa for me), but I associate it with my neighbor who is 2 years old and is a good playmate. Papa in tamil means "child". So whenever i hear or say papa, i am thinking of him and referring to him, unless there is some other child in direct sight or reference :)
So that brings me to the next update. Lots of new words - amma, appa, hi, bye, bath, bat, enge (where), papa, dudu (milk), sta, theeth (sheet), oats, thatha (grandpa), thithi (chitti), mama (uncle), ottu (pottu, bindi), oto (auto), animal sounds, other sounds like bup, bum, ooo, etc, boo (the sound to scare people), poo (flower), baw (ball), and probably many more that dont come to mind immediately. I understand much more than what I can say and actually am trying out lots of new sounds before I begin to speak more clearly.
Another big news is that I have finally come to some peace with my doctor, v uncle, after 6 months of bawling everytime I caught sight of him. This time I actually shook hands with him, said hi, and bye as well. Amma and appa have been patiently prepping me every time we go to meet him (about what and how he will do - cheth (check me - see that is another word i know to speak), but I invariable would be fine when mom and dad are imitating him, and cry when I see him! Lets see what happens next time!
These days i enjoy playing a lot of new games and we create new games on the go - the boo game is one of my favorites, where i say boo and appa, amma, or the soft toy gets scared :) I try on others, try from behind the door, etc etc. As many variations as one can come up with. Lots of play time with my pooh bear, dora, doggie - carrying them around, feeding them, boo game, etc etc. I can actually do some hand gestures for a few rhymes - twinkle twinkle, eensy weensy spider (in english and tamil), where is thumbkin, thumbkin he can sing, wheels of the bus, if you are happy and you know it, and a few others. Plus dancing to music is also fun! I have started playing more on the swing, the slide, and the merry go round. Lots of fun. Plus doing other monkey business, like trying to climb gates, jump, go from one chair to another etc. Playing with water and mud is another fun thing that I can NEVER tire off. My mom says there is probably no child that does not like to play with mud and water! All time favorites. I spent a lot of time during the summer in my bucket pool. Now I have started transferring water between buckets :) The other game which is my favorite is hide and seek, and now it happens with people and things. So I search for things as well these days. Kitchen play as always.
We also took a vacation this month and it was nice because my dad was around for a longer time and I totally enjoyed playing with him for longer hours. Now I dont like the fact that he goes to office, so whenever he leaves I am upset for a bit more than I used to be and I also look forward to him coming back so I can play with him. I am also interested in playing with toys in other kid's house than ours, but at the sane time I also like to be back home to the familiar :) Balancing the new and the familiar.
Okay, quite a long update. I will try and give an update a little bit sooner then next time. Till then bye and a flying kiss.
Well, lets see where we left off and what new has been happening. I have been walking on my own for a few months now. And it has been a relief to some extent for my mom because she does not need to hold my hand all the time when I want to walk except when we are outdoors where there are vehicles or other things that I need to watch out for. I still like being carried, especially when I see people who I don't know (read stranger anxiety) and at other times I just want to be carried because I am still a baby :) hey why not! I also understand most of the conversations that happen, and whenever I hear a word in the conversation that I can speak I say it out loud :) So for example, the other day my friend Akshaya was singing "Sa Sa Re Re Ga Ga Ma Ma Pa Pa .." for me and I recognised the word "papa" in that and said it out loud. Oh, you must wonder why i know the word "papa" so well. I do not associate it with father (that is appa for me), but I associate it with my neighbor who is 2 years old and is a good playmate. Papa in tamil means "child". So whenever i hear or say papa, i am thinking of him and referring to him, unless there is some other child in direct sight or reference :)
So that brings me to the next update. Lots of new words - amma, appa, hi, bye, bath, bat, enge (where), papa, dudu (milk), sta, theeth (sheet), oats, thatha (grandpa), thithi (chitti), mama (uncle), ottu (pottu, bindi), oto (auto), animal sounds, other sounds like bup, bum, ooo, etc, boo (the sound to scare people), poo (flower), baw (ball), and probably many more that dont come to mind immediately. I understand much more than what I can say and actually am trying out lots of new sounds before I begin to speak more clearly.
Another big news is that I have finally come to some peace with my doctor, v uncle, after 6 months of bawling everytime I caught sight of him. This time I actually shook hands with him, said hi, and bye as well. Amma and appa have been patiently prepping me every time we go to meet him (about what and how he will do - cheth (check me - see that is another word i know to speak), but I invariable would be fine when mom and dad are imitating him, and cry when I see him! Lets see what happens next time!
These days i enjoy playing a lot of new games and we create new games on the go - the boo game is one of my favorites, where i say boo and appa, amma, or the soft toy gets scared :) I try on others, try from behind the door, etc etc. As many variations as one can come up with. Lots of play time with my pooh bear, dora, doggie - carrying them around, feeding them, boo game, etc etc. I can actually do some hand gestures for a few rhymes - twinkle twinkle, eensy weensy spider (in english and tamil), where is thumbkin, thumbkin he can sing, wheels of the bus, if you are happy and you know it, and a few others. Plus dancing to music is also fun! I have started playing more on the swing, the slide, and the merry go round. Lots of fun. Plus doing other monkey business, like trying to climb gates, jump, go from one chair to another etc. Playing with water and mud is another fun thing that I can NEVER tire off. My mom says there is probably no child that does not like to play with mud and water! All time favorites. I spent a lot of time during the summer in my bucket pool. Now I have started transferring water between buckets :) The other game which is my favorite is hide and seek, and now it happens with people and things. So I search for things as well these days. Kitchen play as always.
We also took a vacation this month and it was nice because my dad was around for a longer time and I totally enjoyed playing with him for longer hours. Now I dont like the fact that he goes to office, so whenever he leaves I am upset for a bit more than I used to be and I also look forward to him coming back so I can play with him. I am also interested in playing with toys in other kid's house than ours, but at the sane time I also like to be back home to the familiar :) Balancing the new and the familiar.
Okay, quite a long update. I will try and give an update a little bit sooner then next time. Till then bye and a flying kiss.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Time flies
Wow! It has been three months since the last post. Many of you have been asking for updates. So here it goes. So what have I been doing last three months you ask me. Here is what is filling my days.
I am busy walking (on my own a little bit, and lots with holding my mom/dad's hand), exploring the whole world out there, playing with mud, leaves, sticks, stones, flowers, and whatever else I can get hold of that looks new and interesting. My mom thinks it is amazing that I can play for over 30 minutes with a leaf that has fallen in our balcony! Ofcourse I say, there is so much to do with the leaf, the floor, the air, the grill etc. All possible combinations have to be explored multiple times!
I can now identify many more people and things nowadays and give different expressions to each of them - smile, a scorn, a grin, a demand to be lifted etc. Well, i dont think amma knows how to describe all of those expressions in writing! I say kaka when I hear/see a crow, woof for a dog, and uhmm for a cat. I am learning to say akka (ka is what i say), and other words. I can point to many other things that I know the names of but cannot yet say them - the moon, the ball, flowers, benny our neighbor's dog, the broom (which can keep me occupied for a long time - there is so much mess to clean ;0), names of toys, eyes, stomach, etc etc. The list is too big for this space. You just have to come and spend some time with me :) You will see that pointing is my favorite activity.
have been swinging, watching the pet birds that my neighbors have, singing, clapping, dancing, laughing, giggling, reading books, scribbling with a pen, babbling non-stop, and again this list is also too long for this space. All this means my mom has to walk along with me wherever i drag her, keep things that are not meant for me out of reach, and ones that are meant for me within reach, understand my cues etc etc. In between all of this, I just use some time to quickly eat and take a afternoon nap.
These days I want to play a lot with people I know - not just my mom, but my patti, neighbors, all the annas and akkas, and all the babies smaller than me. I do not need my mom/dad then, but I sure do need one of them when I want to eat, sleep, and be cleaned.
Oh and I forgot to mention - I took my first train ride in February. I also celebrated pongal at a farm near tiruttani and had a wonderful time. I went to the beach and walked in the sand. I got two more teeth and am now getting two more. So I will have 6 in total. If there is anything I have forgotten you can catch up on it in the photos :P [Hint, you have to see the photos to know what u have missed]
I am busy walking (on my own a little bit, and lots with holding my mom/dad's hand), exploring the whole world out there, playing with mud, leaves, sticks, stones, flowers, and whatever else I can get hold of that looks new and interesting. My mom thinks it is amazing that I can play for over 30 minutes with a leaf that has fallen in our balcony! Ofcourse I say, there is so much to do with the leaf, the floor, the air, the grill etc. All possible combinations have to be explored multiple times!
I can now identify many more people and things nowadays and give different expressions to each of them - smile, a scorn, a grin, a demand to be lifted etc. Well, i dont think amma knows how to describe all of those expressions in writing! I say kaka when I hear/see a crow, woof for a dog, and uhmm for a cat. I am learning to say akka (ka is what i say), and other words. I can point to many other things that I know the names of but cannot yet say them - the moon, the ball, flowers, benny our neighbor's dog, the broom (which can keep me occupied for a long time - there is so much mess to clean ;0), names of toys, eyes, stomach, etc etc. The list is too big for this space. You just have to come and spend some time with me :) You will see that pointing is my favorite activity.
have been swinging, watching the pet birds that my neighbors have, singing, clapping, dancing, laughing, giggling, reading books, scribbling with a pen, babbling non-stop, and again this list is also too long for this space. All this means my mom has to walk along with me wherever i drag her, keep things that are not meant for me out of reach, and ones that are meant for me within reach, understand my cues etc etc. In between all of this, I just use some time to quickly eat and take a afternoon nap.
These days I want to play a lot with people I know - not just my mom, but my patti, neighbors, all the annas and akkas, and all the babies smaller than me. I do not need my mom/dad then, but I sure do need one of them when I want to eat, sleep, and be cleaned.
Oh and I forgot to mention - I took my first train ride in February. I also celebrated pongal at a farm near tiruttani and had a wonderful time. I went to the beach and walked in the sand. I got two more teeth and am now getting two more. So I will have 6 in total. If there is anything I have forgotten you can catch up on it in the photos :P [Hint, you have to see the photos to know what u have missed]
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| Jan11 |
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| Feb11 |
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