Little girl is sitting in the car the other day and announces out of the blue,
"Konichiwa means hello!"
I said, "You're right it does - well done sweetie, do you know what language it is from?"
"That is from Japan"
"Ahhh!" I said, "Right again....can you tell me what hello is in Chinese?"
Pause.....pause......."Nee How"
She bowls me over most days - the only time I remember talking about different greetings was a couple of months ago. We also went over a little Spanish and a couple of other languages - most of which she got right - some she didn't know. The other day I woke up to her jumping up on the bed yelling, "Arriba up!" and then jumping down and saying, "Abajo, down". Thank you Dora!
So.........I'm thinking she likes language in general. Hmmmm :)
Friday, October 21, 2011
It's speeding up.....
Sophia is ready for school in her mind......no doubt about it. Her behaviour patterns and her language is changing and she's getting extremely active throughout the day. I'd swear she's craving the company of other children too. Her play seems to have gotten more complex.....we're into hosts of imaginary friends at the moment. I'm told there's someone at the door on a regular basis and when we go to open the door, there can be anywhere between 1 and 6 'friends' coming to visit. Most are from movies or programs she has seen. Often they are coming to 'tea' or a picnic and we've then got to go about finding them all chairs and getting them food and drink! She also likes to play 'school' where I have to give her schoolwork and call 'recess' from time to time. Her paintings are still quite simple most of the time but the subjects are interesting - I have no idea what a Miafologis is for example! Yesterday she did one she called, 'Human Body Selections' and made me label what everything was haha!
The really good thing is that she seems to be getting the hang of conflict resolution. She had an incident where a boy pushed her over at preschool last week. She started to meltdown a bit when her favourite teacher asked her what was wrong and could she help. Much to our surprise, she snapped out of it and told the teacher who then asked her, "What would you like to happen?"
Well, up go her fists onto her hips and her right toe starts tapping furiously (something we've seen her do only once or twice) and she announced very clearly - "I would like an apology!" This wonderful teacher went to the transgressor and asked him to tell Sophia he was sorry - which he did thankfully - and Sophia just lit up and all was forgiven, just like that. It made her day. Now in the last two months, she's been bitten, kicked, punched and pushed and finally when she was given the chance to communicate what she wanted - she took it and was clear about it and it was resolved. I never thought I'd see it. Just Magic!
The really good thing is that she seems to be getting the hang of conflict resolution. She had an incident where a boy pushed her over at preschool last week. She started to meltdown a bit when her favourite teacher asked her what was wrong and could she help. Much to our surprise, she snapped out of it and told the teacher who then asked her, "What would you like to happen?"
Well, up go her fists onto her hips and her right toe starts tapping furiously (something we've seen her do only once or twice) and she announced very clearly - "I would like an apology!" This wonderful teacher went to the transgressor and asked him to tell Sophia he was sorry - which he did thankfully - and Sophia just lit up and all was forgiven, just like that. It made her day. Now in the last two months, she's been bitten, kicked, punched and pushed and finally when she was given the chance to communicate what she wanted - she took it and was clear about it and it was resolved. I never thought I'd see it. Just Magic!
A different kind of teacher to spot and avoid!
Came across another type of primary school teacher this week. And I think I may have gotten a glimpse at why some gifted children 'dumb themselves down' and by 8, they are developing academically along with their peers.
This teacher suggested that the way she likes to 'handle' gifted children is to encourage them to help the teacher out with their slower classmates, particularly with reading and maths. Now initially this sounds like a good idea - to keep the gifted child busy in the classroom after they've finished their work early. BUT....make no mistake folks - I definitely don't approve.
You see.........while the child is acting as a free teachers aid/assistant - they are not developing any further than their peers at all. They are forced to learn at the same pace. And the justification for it? "We have 30 children in a class - there just isn't time to deal with the needs of one child."
Honestly? I'm appalled. It makes me madder still to know that this particular teacher works in remedial reading. She's got all the patience and time in the world if a child can't read at all. The truth is....that teacher never has to research extra material or locate extra resources or deal with any paperwork to accelerate a gifted child.
Grrrrrr!!! If a teacher isn't prepared to help the gifted child in their class, they should at least be handing their care onto someone who is - not crippling them just because they can't be bothered.
This teacher suggested that the way she likes to 'handle' gifted children is to encourage them to help the teacher out with their slower classmates, particularly with reading and maths. Now initially this sounds like a good idea - to keep the gifted child busy in the classroom after they've finished their work early. BUT....make no mistake folks - I definitely don't approve.
You see.........while the child is acting as a free teachers aid/assistant - they are not developing any further than their peers at all. They are forced to learn at the same pace. And the justification for it? "We have 30 children in a class - there just isn't time to deal with the needs of one child."
Honestly? I'm appalled. It makes me madder still to know that this particular teacher works in remedial reading. She's got all the patience and time in the world if a child can't read at all. The truth is....that teacher never has to research extra material or locate extra resources or deal with any paperwork to accelerate a gifted child.
Grrrrrr!!! If a teacher isn't prepared to help the gifted child in their class, they should at least be handing their care onto someone who is - not crippling them just because they can't be bothered.
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