For a stay-at-home
mom like me, the challenge is finding ways to keep an active, curious toddler
NOT bored.
Of course, I can
just prop him up on pillows and turn on his favorite Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
show, then rotate that with baby games on our smartphones, then I’d probably
have half his waking hours covered.
But is that really
what I want for my son?
Have you noticed
the look on a child’s face when he’s been watching TV for too long? My
husband and I call it the “zombie”. It’s that bored, sapped, “bangag” (sorry,
don’t know the English translation for this) look on his face, sitting atop
sagged shoulders. You could almost see his brain getting dull. Kawawa naman L
Since I stay home
with Gabbie, I feel like my son could get so much more from everyday. And
though I am not at all a mega-creative, SUPERMOM (I refuse to be
pressured by such terms!), I thought I’d just do what felt like I COULD do.
I talked to my son.
I started early on.
Since he came home with me (from the NICU—at 1 ½ months), he’s been getting an
earful of stories from me day after day. From pointing out trees, birds,
swimming pool in our condo clubhouse to telling him about our busy day ahead, I
talked to him all the time. So did his dad.
We didn’t really do
baby-talk. We pretty much talked to him like a young boy and we would ask him
questions, too even if he couldn’t answer yet.
We talked to him
while playing, while eating, while poring through books, and while he threw his
tantrums (talking to him in a calm voice is a big help).
And now, at 22
months, I can hardly believe all the stories he tells! He started with
unintelligible words, phrases (we called it Gabbie’s “Mandarin”) but he told
his stories with such passion and expression that we couldn’t help but
“converse” with him, even though we didn’t understand a thing.
Now, he can say
words (“Mommy”, “Daddy”, “books”, “sit”, “eat”, “milk”, among countless others)
and phrases (“Mommy cook”, “Dede please”, “More milk”, among countless, many
others) and he knows all the letters of the alphabet and numbers one to ten.
I couldn’t believe
at how well he can absorb information and remember things. And I am at awe at
how confidently he can express himself (and that includes his
frustration—argh!).
Now, you might ask,
how and what did I do?
Honestly, apart
from the alphabet toy that his Ninong (godfather) gifted him, which sings the
sound of each letter, plus me reading books to him, I can’t say I manipulated
him into this one mean, learning machine.
Gabbie enjoys his books |
He’s a smart boy.
And I truly believe that talking to him has helped immensely with his growing
grasp of the world and learning concepts.
My growing,
talkative little boy means Mommy has to step it up, too. I can’t just sit
around and let his learning go to waste. So, I’ve been researching on several
blogsites on toddler activities that can inspire some creative conversations. Here’s
some of what I’ve done with Gabbie:
·
Number hopscotch –
Write numbers on colored papers and stick them on the floor. Hop on it together
as you recite the number.
·
Read and identify –
Since attention span can’t sit through a page yet, identify a standout image
from each page and “tell” that story (with feelings and gusto!)
·
Color-hunting – We
identify our color of the day and we go around the condo complex. He would
point out everything he sees that is of the same color as our color of the day.
·
Grocery list – Got
this idea from www.intentionalhomeschool.com.
We printed out his own grocery list and off we go to the grocery, where he
picked out what was on the list and ticked them off as we went along. He
enjoyed shopping and learning what each item was called, and what it looked
like J
·
Other helpful
websites:
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