It's has been 2 years since i have written in this blog for Jay. He's no longer the little baby but slowly growing into an inquisitive, playful toddler. He's now 30months old. He's picking things up fast-gibberish turning into words then slowly trying to form sentences. Although he's not speaking very fluently, at least he's trying hard.
He's attending Pre-N class now and he's picking up things fast. After sending him there, did i realise that actually he's lagging behind. Children in his class are able to identify and name things and some can speak in sentences. I realised that i have done nothing for him. To me, i thought providing him with a happy childhood for him would be and i have no intention to stress him so early . But seeing the other toddlers speaking fluently, it raised the alarm in me that something has to be done.
I started printing the letters of the alphabets and getting him to watch the Leapfrog disc. It was not easy to get him to stay tuned throughout the disc and he also has his own preference- Barney, Bob the builder, Hi-Five. Sometimes he will follow the disc and say a few sounds then off he goes to find his toys.
Finally, decided to place the disc in the car so that it keeps playing and playing till now, he's able to get the sounds of the alphabets. He can recognise the sound and say them but he can't read the letter. eg Letter A- he says 'air' but he doesn't recognise it as A'. after watching the disc too many times, he can reenact some of the scenes from the disc. So adorable. For instance, the scenes for the Letter 'V' is that where the frog 'Ted' feels sick in a vibrating room, Jay can reenact the scene. Well, if that helps him in recognising his letters, i don't mind. And i really think he can remember the letter better by relating to the scenes in the disc.
At times, he will reject the Leapfrog disc and prefer his Dibo sing along. I don't mind as he is also learning how to sing.
Next, is to get him to recognise the letters of the alphabets. Tried to get him to sit and recognise the letter. The first time i tried with A-E. He managed to sit with me. The next day, he simply refused to sit down and read the letters. He knows the letter but refused to do it for he feels like he's being forced.
Knowing that getting him to sit still and read the letter is impossible (as for kids at this age), i decided to convert it into a game for him-The Fishing Game. He has to fish the alphabet that i read out .He's totally excited. He enjoyed fishing the alphabets. he managed to find out the correct alphabets with a few errors. It's ok. I am totally impressed by him.
Of course, novelty wears off. After a few times, he doesn't seemed to enjoy it as much. I got to think of some more new ways to capture his attention. Consistency is another problem. I need to do it everyday but sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances and his mood, it's a bit difficult.
Sometimes, he wakes up late from his nap, then it will be dinner time. Following which, his bath time then it will be difficult to coach especially when his sister wakes up also. I must tell myself i must let him do it everyday for at least 10 minutes. Well, i must say it's not easy. Let's keep trying and i must not be lazy. Do what i could while i still can and still have the time.
The Fishing Game:-(using letter)
- Lay the Alphabets ( a few at a time-5 letters) on the floor in no particular order.
- Read out a letter-B
- Get my boy to look for the letter and use a fishing rod to fish up the letter.
- Try a few letters each day. Revise what he has learnt the previous day. Adding on to the list of what he has learnt the previous day.eg: A- E on Mon, A-E + F-I on Tue, F-I +J-N on Wed, J-N +O-S on Thu, O-S +T-W, T-W +X-Z.
- After going thru all the 26 letters, place any 5-8 letters on the floor.
- Read out one of the letter.
- Get my boy to fish out the letter.
- If he's able to do it, he's has recognised the letter.
In the cabin...he's thinking...
QQ too distracted to look at the camera.
