Infinite Wisdom
Note from the mgmt: following this entry, I welcome you to add your own stories about teaching kids to read and/or count.
Though Elijah is still not able to do puzzles that contain more than 12 pieces, and still has trouble sitting through a book with a coherent narrative, he's begun the process of learning how to read. He now looks at words and is able to tell us what letter they start with; at some point, he's going to figure out that the other letters in the words mean something as well. The conversations go like this:
"Daddy, what starts with C?"
"I don't know, Elijah. What does start with C."
"Cookie!"
"Yes."
"And cat."
"Correct."
"So does snake."
"No, snake starts with S."
"Cake rhymes with snake."
"Yes, and cake starts with C."
"You have poop on your head."
"No, I don't."
"Cake, snake, bake, rake."
"Yes."
"Schlake!"
"OK, sure. Schlake."
He's also showing quite an interest in numbers, though I'm having trouble persuading him that "thirty-ten" is the same as forty.
The other day, while driving to swim lessons, the family did a numbers run. We counted to 60, and then to 100 by tens, then to 1,000 by hundreds, and finally by thousands. When we got to 10,000, Elijah had a question.
"How many numbers is there?"
"How many numbers are there?" I corrected.
"How many?" he asked again.
"There's no end to numbers," said Regina.
"No end?"
"They go on and on forever, I said. "Just like the universe."
"That's called infinity," Regina said.
"Numbers go on and on forever without ending?" Elijah asked, grasping the concept with frightening ease.
"That's right."
"Letters aren't infinity," he said. "Letters end."
Regina and I looked at each other, our jaws unhinging.
"That's right, son," she said.
"I eat boogers," he said, bringing us back down to the finite.
"OK," I said. "And what letter does booger start with?"
"B!" he said. "What does fart start with?"
"What does fart start with?"
"F!"
He who spelt it, dealt it.
Comments
My little boy was practically born reading. By the time he was 2, he could read the newspaper albeit with very little interest. He learned to read from Sesame Street and astonished his father, me and the rest of the world. In fact, we kept it our guilty secret because nobody would have believed us. He was quite a child prodigy, and as an adult, he is a lover of books and a voracious reader. I have never met a child quite like him.
Posted by: Susan Pollack | June 21, 2006 3:15 AM
You're lucky, NP. At least when she thinks about it, she thinks about the glorious past, as opposed to contrasting it with the present. It would appear.
Posted by: troy | June 21, 2006 7:51 AM
We are teaching our young daughter to read and to revel in English. Our favorite sentences for her so far are: "The dove dove into the brush," and, "Don't put the comb by the bomb." She cries herself to sleep at night, but she is building character and a penchant for sarcasm.
Posted by: Bepah Benoweh | June 21, 2006 10:05 AM
That is funny Bepah bo beppa banana bo bepa?
Posted by: C | June 22, 2006 12:50 PM
My kids have to count in order to get out of time out. The 2 y.o. has to count to 20 and the 4 y.o. as high as she can go - I think she's up to 100 now. Oh, but those fresh kids get plenty of practice, they're so fresh. Leave the g.d. dog's tail alone!
Posted by: Marcus | June 22, 2006 2:00 PM
My husband drives our son to school occasionally; as they pull out of the driveway at 9:00 am you can hear them both singing along to that Morningwood song "Nth Degree." Our 4-year old loves screaming along, at the top of his lungs, "M-O; M-O-R; M-O-R-N-I-N-G; W-O-O-D!!...Say it louder..."(repeat, at top volume). It's usually stuck in his head for half the morning. It is, after all, a somewhat catchy tune. And a fine spelling lesson for the kids at pre-school.
Posted by: kris | June 22, 2006 9:45 PM
Who knew you were a prodigy! That's a great "title" for your business card,
in a pinch. Very very sweet.
Posted by: kris | June 22, 2006 9:49 PM
As far as ages go, thirty-ten sounds better than forty.
Posted by: Kate | June 25, 2006 1:24 PM
are you sure you don't have poop on your head?
Posted by: Anonymous | June 25, 2006 7:09 PM
Maybe you should've stayed in Philly. We are staying near your old place on Poplar near 27th. Zach is obsessed with all the busses going by and he knows them all by number. He demands daily sessions out on the porch or by the window to proclaim their passing. "Oooh, there's one. Big BUS! Number 48! No number 32! It's number SEVEN! Number 48! Want it come this way! Here it comes! Big BUS! Bye BUS!" (do two-year-olds say anything that doesn't entail an exclamation mark?)
He can count up to 20, though a little hazy through the teens, but 32 and 48 will definitely get him through the later digits, I predict.
Posted by: Julia | June 26, 2006 6:48 PM
I was a strong counter as a child but unfortunately I could only count elk. With anything else I'd blank out after 2. But elk? I could count those until the cows came home (all 684 of them).
Posted by: matt | June 27, 2006 5:19 AM
jesus, how can I stalk you if all of the email addreses I have for you don't work anymore?
Are you still working for cracked?
When's your goddayammed book out already?
Posted by: kowgurl | June 27, 2006 6:27 AM
I am a "contributing editor" for Cracked, with all that implies. And my goddamned book is out in January. Six more months...
Posted by: Neal Pollack | June 27, 2006 10:43 AM
fwcsajptr ctrblhxem yakmvjb nvhfyl albsndywj hlvzsd hykg
Posted by: aozy qvzry | June 28, 2006 5:50 PM
I am here to say hello and you have a great site! nokia6630
Posted by: miriam | July 1, 2006 12:09 PM
chair half recliner - http://www.nobaddeals.info/chair-half-recliner.html
Posted by: chair half recliner | July 15, 2006 6:29 PM
rear entry vans wheel chair - http://www.bestallgoodtab.info/rear-entry-vans-wheel-chair.html
Posted by: rear entry vans wheel chair | July 20, 2006 4:20 PM
Rugby players spend a lot of time physical training Compared to other form of sports.I have read the
Rugby laws mentioned on this site. It's a gripping sport which targets the grip strength and the active mindedness of a player. American football and rugby league are also primarily collision sports, but their tackles tend to terminate much more quickly. For professional rugby, players are often chosen on the basis of their size and apparent strength and they develop the skill and power over the passage of time. In modern rugby considerable attention is given to fitness and aerobic conditioning as well as basic weight training.
Posted by: Rugby Fan Steve | August 1, 2006 12:55 PM
All about <a href=http://www.celvista.com>xanax</a>
Posted by: Azazello | August 11, 2006 6:40 PM
Kiss me w http://flounders.net/ rurebmv
Posted by: Johny Bravobmv | August 17, 2006 10:55 AM
Tennis stars photos here: <a href=http://tennisstars.info>Tennis Stars</a>
Posted by: Tennisstars | August 24, 2006 1:31 PM
<a href=http://erosive-esophagitis.net>erosive esophagitis</a> all about
Posted by: erosive-esophagitis | September 2, 2006 8:29 AM
funny ringtones
Posted by: ffxor4w@altavista.com | September 10, 2006 7:48 PM
ionolsen23 Hello Jane, great site!
Posted by: tester | October 19, 2006 9:14 PM
ionolsen24 HI! I love this place!
Posted by: karel | October 20, 2006 3:06 PM
ionolsen24 Your site is very cognitive. I think you will have good future.:)
Posted by: kartoshka | October 20, 2006 3:16 PM