Sunday, February 7, 2010

Book Worm

I can't believe it. Our little man is 11 months old. Only another month and he will have finished the first year in his life's journey. Time goes by so quickly; ever week it seems like he has tackled some sort of milestone. I can hardly remember those pre-crawling days. He's a busy little beaver, all over the place keeping mom on her toes. Although Lachlan is enjoying his new role as a 'mover,' he is still very much the 'observer.' He is a ball of energy but he will certainly stop and smell the roses if something catches his eye; there he can sit for quite a while fascinated by some intricate little detail that I would take for granted. If it is a book, he could sit there for ages flip through the pages and then starting all over again. Though it doesn't take him long to habituate to a page, he is certainly happy to read the book forward to back and then back to forward. If it is a texture book, he will remember where to feel on every page and do so, even if he only cares to do it for a millisecond, he won't forget before turning to the next page!

Lachlan still very much enjoys touch and feel books but his new fascination is in the world of 'flip the flap' books. The first one I bought him was a tiny Christmas board book full of lots of flapping fun in search for Santa. Christmas has come and gone but the book is still in commission. I've been very surprised with how gentle Lachlan has been with the book. I figured the flaps would have been torn out by now but they are all still in tact. He very gingerly pulls the flaps forward and back, we'll see how long that lasts!

Since I have noticed he really enjoys the flip books, we have upgraded our home library collection with a few new flip-flap additions. I've noticed that Lachlan generally stays intrigued with the same book for about two weeks. After that he tends to move on to something else. I typically leave out 3 or 4 books for him to choose from in his main play area. He also has another in his room and in ours...also two for bath-time and more in my office. My son is obsessed with books, what can I say! Out of those, there is usually one or two that he seems to gravitate towards the most. After two weeks are up, I swap out the books for a new set, but leave a book that he still seems to want to explore more. I mentioned in previous blogs how important repetition is for children. The same rule carries on to literacy. Children will learn in their own time and at their own pace so it is best to give them this space and opportunity. There are certain times in a child's development when we are meant to be just mere observers, offering only guidance and resources when needed. The rest is up to the child. Children are pretty darn good at setting their own pace and there is very little we can do to make them speed through a developmental process; but why would we want to do that anyway? Learning is a process and each step, no matter how small it may seem, is really a significant one. I've seen on many occasions where children have been reading a book over and over again, as Lachlan does and caregivers have stepped in and said, "You must be sick of that book. He's another one," while taking the other away. This is a very unwise decision because the caregiver has just disrupted a very important part of learning. Who knows what the child is thinking during the moments of repetitively turning pages; perhaps his brain is making new connections for the first time or exercising pathways that were made only yesterday. These are the moments when we as parents need to just stand back, watch and believe that baby knows best!

Tracking Lachlan's language and literacy development has been so much fun for me. Perhaps it reminds me of all those good 'ol research days back in college. Whatever the case is, I love it and it means so much more when the subject of observation is my precious son. I could literally watch him all day, studying his every move...perhaps I better get a grip before he enters college. Think that might be seen as creepy?

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