Learning And Growing

Dear Byron, 

You already started to walk over a week ago, but boy-oh-boy are you getting with it now. You have discovered this new way of getting around and day by day you are becoming more sure of how to do it. Yesterday, as you kept saying "Duck, duck, duck!" you paraded around the living and dining room on your sturdy little legs. Once in awhile you went plop down on your bottom, but then up you came and on you went. Meanwhile your Mommy, Daddy, GGMa and I all kept shouting, "Hurray! You're doing it. Good job." It won't be long now before you're even running. Congratulations on this next important step in your life journey.

And we see that you are learning to use your hands. You're getting quite good at picking up bits of food, holding your spoon, sippy-cup and bottle. That coordination thing, like throwing a ball, is coming along quite well too. And you've learned how to climb up on the couches and chairs. We have to watch as you do that, because a few times you have fallen and almost hurt yourself.

Everything is new and interesting. It's fun to eat food, to use a spoon and bring it to your mouth. And my, but those strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are really good. I notice that once you've learned a new skill you want to do it again and again and again. That's great. It creates the coordination I mentioned above.

You're also learning now to manage your feelings. Basically I see that you are a very cheerful little guy. You wake up happy most of the time, but when you are tired or want something you will let us know loud and clear. Of course there are also those moments when you very much want to be held and comforted. Its complicated, isn't it? Lots of us adults still struggle with our feelings. And I believe you will continue to do so as well. 

We hear you learning to talk. Lots of nonsense mumbles yet, but your vocabulary is growing. You still do lots of pointing and using one-syllable words, but little by little you are trying to combine words. We're trying to teach you what nose, ear, mouth and eyes are. And you're quite good at doing patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's man. We also see you responding to simple directions like, "Get your ball" or "throw it to me."

What was fun last week was to see you bring home your first painting from school—day care, that is. They gave you some water-paint and a brush. Suddenly, there it was. Or shall I say, What was it? In any event, we put it up on the frig. Besides that, you're pointing to the animals and machines in your picture books. You don't know yet about writing, but that too will come in time. 

We see that you love to put things in holes or boxes. When I gave you a bath last night, I was rather amazed to see that you know all about filling up a cup and pouring it out. You love water and you love your soft "blankie". When you hold it, in goes your thumb into your mouth.

And you are discovering music. Mommy and Daddy were plunking away on the piano a couple nights ago. Suddenly there you were pounding the keys yourself as you stood beside them. We notice that you have a growing sense of as rhythm as we sing little songs or keep beat with our hands. All quite amazing. 

So many things to learn. Such great fun, for you and for the rest of us. Keep it up, kid. There's a whole, big, wonderful world out there. 

We love you. 

GGPa

Learning By Imitating

Dear Byron,

We say ball and you say ba. We say Mama and you say Ma. We say Daddy and you say Da. We clap our hands and you try to follow, with a big smile on your face. We frown and you frown back. We smile and you break out smiling. We lift up our glasses to drink. You follow by lifting up your sippy-cup to take a drink of juice.

Its wonderful to see how you are imitating and learning how these grownups around you communicate. Its amazing to see you developing the complexities of language. It won't be long now before you start using short phrases.

Susan du Plessis reminds us about how babies learn their parents' language:

The baby learns language in one way only, and that is by hearing language as the parents talk and talk to it. The more a parent can talk to a child, often repeating the same words, the same phrases, the same structures over and over, the sooner the child will learn language. 

An important thing to note here is that by the time a baby is about nine months old he should be able to understand simple words and commands. He may perhaps also be able to say a few simple words already. Invariably, however, one finds that the baby understands much more than he is able to say. In fact, this remains so of any person throughout his life. One is always able to understand more of any language, even one’s mother tongue, than one is able to use in active speech. This is even more so of any second or third languages that a person is able to speak

She teaches more about how to prepare your child for reading, writing and 'rithmetic

. . . language is at the very bottom of the learning ladder. Its role in the acquisition of the three R's can be compared to the role of running in the game of soccer or ice-skating in the game of ice hockey. One cannot play soccer if one cannot run, and one cannot play ice hockey if one cannot skate. One cannot read a book in a language - and least of all write - unless one knows the particular language. 

If a child's knowledge of English is poor, then his reading will also be poor. Evidence that links reading problems and language problems has been extensively presented in the literature. Research has, for example, shown that about 60% of dyslexics were late talkers. In order to prevent later reading problems, parents must therefore ensure that a child is exposed to sufficient opportunities to learn language.

Susan du Plessis is the co-author of "The Right to Read: Beating Dyslexia and other Learning Disabilities" and the author or co-author of four other books on learning and learning disabilities. She has been involved in helping children reach their full potential for 15 years. She holds BD and BA Hons (psychology).

Visit her website at http://www.audiblox2000.com

Other articles by Susan du Plessis:

Preparing Your Child for the Three R's,  

Nurtured by Love or Matured by Nature? 

If Dyslexia Runs in Your Family, Will Your Child Inherit it Too? 

Dyslexia: Is the Shoe Perhaps on the Wrong Foot? 

We're all going to do the best we can, Byron, to help you keep on learning.