My twins, almost 18 mo old now, are very different from each other. It has been interesting to watch their parallel development and how they have gone in different directions. They are just into different things, and their individual interests have really helped them refine different skills. My boy is very kinesthetic and is usually throwing, running or climbing. We call him spider monkey. He destroys his toys & books and is very good at getting into very dangerous situations. He is very innovative in how he uses toys too; everything has become a stepping stool. He will stack things up and stand on them to reach higher and climb. Even a doll can be dangerous when it is used like that. So I have the choice to strip his environment of anything enriching, or let him get into danger and hope he will learn his limits before there is a really bad accident. So while his sister was reading the “Samsung” logo yesterday he was doing his thing which impressed me as much as it scared me. He balanced on top of a ball (bellybutton height) and used it as a step to climb up onto a window seat. If the ball hadn’t been available he would have found some other tool to climb up there.
It’s similar with my daughter, except instead of climbing she is into language. She is constantly practicing talking, signing, even in the middle of the night.
One of her favorite things to do is to bring me as many books as she can carry then sit on my lap while I read or she points to pictures and I tell her what it is. I really think that she would have read no matter which tool we provided her. It’s just what she spends her time on.
As for as my son reading, I’m really not concerned that he is not as advanced as she is. I know that when he decides it is time he will be reading. Until then I try to expose him to written language in ways he will be receptive. For now we have settled on a combination of flashcards with ASL in a YBCR multisensory style, only a live performance staring Mom & Dad. Some days is really into it, others he isn’t. But is actually becoming more attentive as he gets older.
Along the way we have tried the following:
• Baby Signing Time & Signing Time (we still watch these if I need the distraction)
• YBCR (we only watched for a couple weeks because I couldn’t listen to the out of tune singing anymore)
• Flashcards (love these because they are easy to prepare)
• PowerPoint presentations (I really don’t have the time)
• Following with my finger as I read a book (my daughter likes this my son doesn’t)
I guess we just tried lots of things until we found what works best for everyone, and I’m sure this will change again before we are done.
Something else I would like to bring up. The day before my daughter read her first word, I found an ABC’s book. We must have gone through that book 20 times. I was expecting her to point to the pictures like she usually does, but she started pointing to the letters asking what they were. I told her the names of the letters then she just read her first word. She is also pointing to words today as well as pictures and letters.
Thanks for all your support!
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