James and I have had the pleasure of learning the never-ending fun game of "Why?" much earlier than we should have. Everyone knows the curious question of the pre-schooler: "Why?" I have always been of the ilk that I will not placate my child with a "Because I said so", or "It just is, that's why." I think curiosity is one of the most important characteristics a child can develop and I want to encourage it as much as possible. (You all have permission to remind me of this entry in a few years after Colin's three thousandth "Why?").
Colin doesn't really have any consistent words yet, but he does have "This?" Much of the day is passed in him pointing at an object in the house, in a book, out the window, anywhere his little eyes rest on, and questioning: "This?" We patiently touch the object and tell him what it is called. Traditionally, this game will endure anywhere from 20-50 "This?" at a time. Then we'll have a short rest, only to start it up again.
Luckily my patience hasn't worn thin yet, and I've seemed fairly able to cope with it. We'll see how things go a few kids and a few years down the road, but for now, I'm doing okay. And even though Colin's not speaking yet, I'm betting that one day he'll wake up and have this huge vocabulary we've built in his head and he'll just start talking as if he'd been doing it his whole life.
1 comment:
I can't remember whether you played the 'Why' game when you were little, although if I were a betting person, I would say you did as you were always a curious little girl, wanting to find out as much as you could about things. And when you learned things, you truly 'learned' them. Not just memorizing for the sake of a test, but truly taking it into your memory and etching it on your brain. I can remember when we were talking one time about World War I and you were telling me all sorts of information about it. You had learned about it in high school, years earlier, and yet you still could relate so many facts about it. I truly admired you then (and still do) for your ability to want to learn things - truly learn them - and understand what it is you are learning about.
I like playing the 'this' game with Colin (not sure I would like the 'why' game cuz I'm not sure I would know all the answers :-) But, I, too, feel it's important to share with Colin what he is curious about. And, if I don't know something, I have no problem asking someone who knows the answer. I think it's important for children to know that we adults don't know everything (remember the grade five health nurse saying that, Terri-Ann? :-)
Post a Comment