I can’t believe I am going to write about Target again, but WHAT THE HELL, TARGET? You are hurting me. Deep down to the core.
What I entered the store needing:
Seventh Generation Non-Chlorine Bleach
Secret Unscented Conditioning Solid Deodorant
Neutrogena Anti-Wrinkle Anti-Blemish Cream (This is the best face lotion in the history of mankind. I don’t have acne-prone skin, but I read somewhere that it was good for mild rosacea and HOT DAMN, it cleared my rosacea right up!)
A bath puff thingy
Crayons
What I left the store with:
A bath puff thingy
Crayons
People, I don’t need any more crayons. I am literally drowning in goddamn crayons over here. Wito is obsessed with crayons — so obsessed that you wouldn’t even believe me if I tried to explain. The only way I can get in and out of Target without a nuclear whinefest is to buy him a new box of crayons. (RoseArt makes a great little box for less than a dollar, although it’s probably made from corrosive sublimate. Whatevs.) So I buy him one. Every. Time. And every time, he comes home and sings this highly annoying (yet peppy!) Box of Crayons song from Signing Times.
In a nutshell, he lines up his crayons in order of rainbow color and sings along, signing the colors and practically making out with them. HE DOESN’T EVEN ENJOY DRAWING, PEOPLE. And I’m a little hesitant to admit this, but he knows the names of an enormous amount of Crayola crayons.
(Annnd, begin tangent.)
It’s one of his favorite games – we hold up a crayon and he yells out the color. However, he has to look at the name on the crayon – it’s not pure memorization. (We’re talking pretty specific names here, such as Turtle Green, Apricot, Turquoise Blue and Blue Violet.) In all honesty, we’re not sure how he remembers all of the crayon names, but I do catch him sounding the words out when I’m not looking. Which brings me to my point- um, I think he is starting to read. We’ve finally come to the conclusion that he can’t possibly have memorized two shelves’ worth of books, yet he knows them word for word. And just recently, he’s been rattling off the names of street signs as we pass them. Um, WHAAAAA?
He memorizes everything you tell him, everything he sees, everything he hears. Don’t get me started on the spelling. He would rather listen to me spell words than spend a day at Sea World. Just this morning he asked, “Mom, how do you spell guinea pig?” UM, I DON’T KNOW, SON.
(GOD, this is sounding completely braggadocios. I am grossing myself out. Please forgive me, but if you want to know what’s going on with Wito, well, this is what’s going on with Wito. Please feel free to stop reading right now. I promise I will be back with a detailed account of my very first epilator experience later this week.)
(Painful, yet a truly delightful end result!)
I would be beyond grateful to hear any advice or suggestions you all might have for parenting early readers. Even better, I would love advice from parents who are dealing/have dealt with toddlers who have a never-ending desire to learn. Some days I really struggle with feelings that I’m not doing enough for him. I want him to be challenged, but I don’t want to be Rick Moranis from Parenthood either. It’s a slippery slope, man.
He’s only 2 1/2 years old, but he CRAVES mental stimulation in the form of memory games, spelling and reading. Do you know of any games that would be fun for him? People around here have suggested looking into “gifted programs” for him. It’s way too early in the game for that, right? Right? (Seriously, wouldn’t that be too much for a 2-year-old? He isn’t even potty-trained!)
I would kill for some wisdom right now. As my mother would say, I am “cornfused”. If commenting isn’t your thing, feel free to email me a sarahATwhoorlDOTcom. We thank you muchly!
Marin
April 29, 2009 at 1:51 pmYou don’t sound braggy. This next sentence might, though: I read really early and had to get my hands on everything, didn’t play all that much, if at all. (Sorry, but I figure you might like perspective from someone who was a lot like Wito.) My parents let my read everything, gave me “advanced” books, took me around, taught me. Oh, and I second what everyone said about Montessori. It may be a good fit for your young genius. :)
Beth
April 29, 2009 at 1:59 pmI’m being totally lazy by not checking if this fact has changed, but when I did a story a few years ago about Mensa, the youngest member was 4.
At this point in his development, I think the best course of action is to buy him a smoking jacket, an ascot, and a pipe.
justJENN
April 29, 2009 at 2:02 pmThat sounds like my kid. My son was the same way at 2-1/2. He’s now 5 and knows all 50 states and their capitals. And quizzes ME on the Great Lakes.
It was daycare that helped with his desire for learning. Cause frankly, I got tired of answering.
Kimberlee
April 29, 2009 at 2:20 pmIt seems like this post could be filed under “What I’m not buying…” :)
Is there anything more frustrating? Oh yes, not being able to get everything on your list and having your kids with you.
Miss E
April 29, 2009 at 3:44 pmI love the video of Wito reading/reciting the books. I even made my husband watch it because I thought it was so amazing (and I only torture him with the really good/important blog stuff!). You’re lucky to have such a bright young man.
slynnro
April 29, 2009 at 3:45 pmThis whole entry is cracking my shit up. I miss you, Miss Whoorl.
heels
April 29, 2009 at 3:53 pmMy son has adored the Click-Start computer made by Leap Frog. It’s not too spendy, there are lots of good games that not only are good for reading but also for computer skills, and it keeps his attention for a very long time. We’ve had it for not quite a year yet, but we have been very impressed with it.
greyfavorite
April 29, 2009 at 5:07 pmThis is awesome. You don’t sound like you’re bragging, and you should be proud. I can’t speak to this as a mother (because I’m not one), but I was an early reader too and wanted to offer this:
I very fondly remember that my mom read to me for years after I could read (and did read) whole novels to myself with ease. She encouraged my reading in many ways, but reading to me when I was too sick or tired to read to myself is probably my favorite.
kat
April 29, 2009 at 8:27 pmgenius kid! i love it! i started reading early too – so i guess the more you can expose him to, the better. hence the awesome library! ;)
my nephew was extremely gifted from an early start – he was the same as wito. he was an early reader (earlier than me) and memroized things like crazy. he knew all the types of trains at 3. then it was whales and sharks … and then it was birds… and now 18 years later, it’s all about music. my sister did get him a therpist who mostly did physical things with him (hm that sounds weird) but basically they were worried, he was so mentally developed, he wasn’t running outside and wasn’t interacting socially. but i’m NOT saying that will happen with wito. just what happened with my nephew.
anyway. it’s not bragging at all – it’s awesome. and i’m sure as a parent it must just be flat-out amazing.
Lin
April 29, 2009 at 10:14 pmI think I’d write a letter to the early childhood education department of UC-Irvine (is that the closest?) and ask them how you should approach Wito’s obviously advanced academic development. It’s important that children with such skills do not become bored and also that it stays as much fun in the future as it is now.
Backpacking Dad
April 29, 2009 at 10:42 pmA perfect box of crayons….I hope none of them are broken. One, two, three, four….
Siera
April 29, 2009 at 10:49 pmHave you thought of putting him in a montessori school program? He may find that really stimulating. I know it goes beyond the realms of your everyday pre-school.
Amy
April 30, 2009 at 6:43 amSomebody may have mentioned this already, or maybe you know of it, but we use http://www.starfall.com a lot, it helps sound words out and kids can read along with the program. It becomes a little too “stab my eye out” for myself after watching it for awhile, and the songs definitely get stuck in my head, but my son loves it. Good luck, Wito sounds like an awesome kid.
Calee
April 30, 2009 at 9:02 amWhile I’m agreeing with the Montessori recommendations, I’ll save you some research (at least for the Newport Beach/Irvine area)–until they’re potty trained and 3, the kiddos don’t get to go in the awesome real Montessori classrooms. Yes, their toddler programs are better than most, but it’s a big problem we’re having too. The other issue is the miles long wait lists. Send me an email if you want more info about specific schools and their requirements. There is one in NB that will take them at any age, but once again, potty is required…
My daughter is a couple of months behind Wito so she won’t be old enough to go in the fall but she knows all her letters by sight and can recognize a few words. I know what you’re going through…
I love the crayon game idea. She’s a big fan of telling me every color on a book’s page. That would be a nice step up.
Also- I saw “hooked on Spanish” and French at the store yesterday–you could introduce a 2nd language to slow him up a bit!
kakaty
April 30, 2009 at 11:34 amI would look around at daycares that also have preschools – if they have that in your area. I WOH so my girl has been in a few “just daycares” but when she turned 18 months we moved her to a daycare/preschool that is much more stimulating for her (and they help with potty-training – she’s about 80% there!). She’s 2 1/2 and knows her by sight letters and numbers up to 50, all her colors, etc. She loves to “read” her books (we know they are memorized – no sounding out words for her yet) and she is also learning Hebrew (Jewish school although we aren’t Jewish), Spanish and knows about 10 instruments by ear thanks to their twice-weekly music class. She’s there all day but they have half-day and 3-day a week programs. The only downfall is the cost – my college tuition was less