Ready For Preschool
Big changes are coming. I'm not just talking about our upcoming new addition to the family either. Haley is on the cusp of starting preschool, and the whole house is starting to get excited about it. Nicole and I attended an orientation night for parents this past week and came away very impressed. Haley will be only going for a half-day, two days a week, but it sounds like the school is going to pack those 6 hours each week with non-stop fun and learning. If the teacher's presentation is anything to go by, they are not going to pull punches with the education either. When Haley learns about plants and flowers, she'll learn about chlorophyll and photosynthesis. When she learns about "why the sky is blue" she'll learn about the atmosphere and cirrus cloud formations. Sure, she might not be able to grasp these concepts to their fullest scope, but the fact that she is being introduced to such lofty ideas at the age of 3 boggles my mind.
At the same time, I have no doubt that she'll be able to absorb the information. She already has an incredible vocabulary for a toddler. The other day, she thanked Nicole for getting her a glass of milk and told Nicole that she "apee-she-ay-ted" (appreciated) it.
She's also grasping cause and effect very well. Yesterday she and I were playing outside when she heard thunder. She promptly told me, "Uh-oh, dad. That was thunder. We better go inside. Its gonna rain." Might not seem like much, but it impressed me. Another amazing display of her reasoning ability is her use of choices. In a previous post, Nicole detailed her use of choices to avoid problems with Haley. Haley has started to modify the choices she is given. For example, if Nicole tells her she can either play with her ball or a toy, Haley will respond, "I have an idea. I can play with the ball, or the toy, OR I can watch TV!" I'm thinking of teaching her how to cross-examine her dolls and say "I object!".
Haley is also getting very good at her ABCs and numbers. With a few exceptions, she can recognize almost all her letters and numbers. (And who decided to make "Q" look that much like an "O" anyway?) Her favorite thing to do is to point out the letter "H" and proclaim loudly that "H is for Haley". As for math, she is regularly counting to 30.
I'd like to say that this is all because she is exceptionally smart. Don't get me wrong, she is. But I am constantly surprised by the fact that she is actually right on track with the rest of her peers. All of the 3-year-olds she plays with display this amazing level of intelligence.
Remember that scene is the movie Forrest Gump when he finds out his kid is really smart? Yeah... I might as well get myself a shrimp boat and a ping pong paddle. Mama always said life was a box of choc-lates.
At the same time, I have no doubt that she'll be able to absorb the information. She already has an incredible vocabulary for a toddler. The other day, she thanked Nicole for getting her a glass of milk and told Nicole that she "apee-she-ay-ted" (appreciated) it.
She's also grasping cause and effect very well. Yesterday she and I were playing outside when she heard thunder. She promptly told me, "Uh-oh, dad. That was thunder. We better go inside. Its gonna rain." Might not seem like much, but it impressed me. Another amazing display of her reasoning ability is her use of choices. In a previous post, Nicole detailed her use of choices to avoid problems with Haley. Haley has started to modify the choices she is given. For example, if Nicole tells her she can either play with her ball or a toy, Haley will respond, "I have an idea. I can play with the ball, or the toy, OR I can watch TV!" I'm thinking of teaching her how to cross-examine her dolls and say "I object!".
Haley is also getting very good at her ABCs and numbers. With a few exceptions, she can recognize almost all her letters and numbers. (And who decided to make "Q" look that much like an "O" anyway?) Her favorite thing to do is to point out the letter "H" and proclaim loudly that "H is for Haley". As for math, she is regularly counting to 30.
I'd like to say that this is all because she is exceptionally smart. Don't get me wrong, she is. But I am constantly surprised by the fact that she is actually right on track with the rest of her peers. All of the 3-year-olds she plays with display this amazing level of intelligence.
Remember that scene is the movie Forrest Gump when he finds out his kid is really smart? Yeah... I might as well get myself a shrimp boat and a ping pong paddle. Mama always said life was a box of choc-lates.
posted by Haley and Zoe @ 10:58 AM
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