the brain of a child
so i'm putting my (almost) three year old to bed tonight. standard issue: bath, teeth, pjs, book, etc. we sit squeezed into a rocker chair, side by side, with him watching and listening intently as i read a new Curious George book he got as a gift at a friend's birthday party this weekend.
i finish the book, close the back cover and give the obligatory "the end." on the back are the covers of 25 or so other curious george books, a couple that we already own. he asks in typical jaden style: "daddy, can you tell me 'bout these books?"
for the record this "tell me 'bout" type of question is very, very common. sometimes it gets so intense you wish you were driving through a complete void instead of a city filled with seemingly mundane things that are, apparently, fascinating and new to a three year old.
so i proceed to read the title on each of the 25 covers. when i finish he asks "daddy, can you tell me 'bout them again?". i pause for a few seconds after which he just plows on without me, pointing to the covers in a seemingly random order, reciting the titles i read to him just then. he's doing really well remembering them so i resist the urge to help him on ones that make him pause.
by the end of it he's easily named 18 of the 25 covers from memory. i'm pretty sure it's not just recognizing the pictures on the cover and describing what the picture is - he's using the same phrasing i used even in cases where it's not the same as the written title or exactly clear from the pictures...
so yes, this is the perspective of a dad but honestly, this is just one of a million little examples of how truly impressive young minds are. you tell him one obscure thing and 5 months later he recalls it precisely in the most random circumstances...
i'm not saying my kid's a genius. this may be quite normal for all i know. i know kids display different strengths when it comes to their ability to learn. it's just cool how i'm consistently surprised by the capabilities of a child's mind.
and though i have that "competitive" side like many parents, i think jaden's ability to interact well with others, show people and animals compassion and love, and entertain like he's robin williams will probably serve him better than any ability to do math 4 grades beyond his expected level - but that's another blog entry...
i finish the book, close the back cover and give the obligatory "the end." on the back are the covers of 25 or so other curious george books, a couple that we already own. he asks in typical jaden style: "daddy, can you tell me 'bout these books?"
for the record this "tell me 'bout" type of question is very, very common. sometimes it gets so intense you wish you were driving through a complete void instead of a city filled with seemingly mundane things that are, apparently, fascinating and new to a three year old.
so i proceed to read the title on each of the 25 covers. when i finish he asks "daddy, can you tell me 'bout them again?". i pause for a few seconds after which he just plows on without me, pointing to the covers in a seemingly random order, reciting the titles i read to him just then. he's doing really well remembering them so i resist the urge to help him on ones that make him pause.
by the end of it he's easily named 18 of the 25 covers from memory. i'm pretty sure it's not just recognizing the pictures on the cover and describing what the picture is - he's using the same phrasing i used even in cases where it's not the same as the written title or exactly clear from the pictures...
so yes, this is the perspective of a dad but honestly, this is just one of a million little examples of how truly impressive young minds are. you tell him one obscure thing and 5 months later he recalls it precisely in the most random circumstances...
i'm not saying my kid's a genius. this may be quite normal for all i know. i know kids display different strengths when it comes to their ability to learn. it's just cool how i'm consistently surprised by the capabilities of a child's mind.
and though i have that "competitive" side like many parents, i think jaden's ability to interact well with others, show people and animals compassion and love, and entertain like he's robin williams will probably serve him better than any ability to do math 4 grades beyond his expected level - but that's another blog entry...
posted by jnichols959 at 11:28 PM
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