State of the Daisy, Part II
A new behavior this morning (or at least it's the first time I've noticed it): she announced that she was going to read a book to her stuffed dog. She fetched the dog, sat him in her lap, and read a Babar book to him, a bit awkwardly because she had to keep the dog clutched in one arm and turn the pages of this large-ish book with the other. It was cute. Daisy's narrations of her books are pretty funny, and so I've been trying to capture them on video--not easy, because when she sees me filming her she usually asks to watch herself on the camera. So I have to sneak up on her.
I wish I could describe fully what these narrations are like. First of all, whenever we come home from an outing, Daisy marches straight to her room, sits down on the floor, and starts pulling books off the shelf. Then she sits, completely self-sufficient for long periods of time, and "reads" her books out loud. Her readings are hilarious. She babbles on and on, mixing together real parts of the books (her memory is almost unbelievably good) with references to things she did today, allusions to favorite songs, and other preoccupations. So she'll be reading a Babar book and you will hear mentions of Henry and Dena, like they are characters in the book. Or she'll emphasize a new favorite phrase of some kind, like, "The elephants are walking around the block!" She used that one a lot for awhile because it was something she was doing a lot with Mark.
She sometimes becomes so excited by her books that she hugs and kisses them, and (more bizarrely) bites them. I am trying to discourage the biting.
She also finds occasion to weave her books into real life. The funniest one recently happened while she was playing with a little boy named Silas at a baby shower we attended. He was playing with Daisy's ball and Daisy, wanting it back, said, "Stop, thief!" a few times (she learned this expression from Peter Rabbit). Daisy feels very intensely about her books and has them more committed to memory than I would have thought possible. There are a few books, the simpler ones, that she can "read" almost exactly from beginning to end (her "Grandma's Coming to See You" book, for instance).
This raises the question of when she will be ready to learn to read; my mother taught me early, when I was between 2 and a half and 3 and a half, so I know it's possible that she could learn fairly soon. But I am not so confident about it for a few reasons. Mainly, it's that she seems so easily frustrated and to lose her patience with a task she can't immediately master. I'm really hoping this is just a phase and not indicative of how she'll be later, because it will certainly make a lot of things in life hard. Usually it comes up when I am trying to help her with a fine motor-skills task; she tries it, but if she hasn't succeeded within a few seconds, she either moves on (fine) or screams loudly and tries to bite something (not so fine). Well, there is no doubt that I would not try to push reading on her before she's ready. The only reason it comes to mind is that she does love books so intensely and I had learned early myself.
Lately, too, Daisy sometimes lets me know that she'd rather read a book by herself than hear my reading of it. In the last couple days it happened twice. I was reading a book to her, and midway through, she announced, "Daisy's book, Daisy reads it" and took the book away to read by herself. I am sure her versions are more exciting than mine.
Other favorite activities: playing with Play-Doh ("make a green Lowly!")-- we usually make a flat surface and then she makes designs on it with her various Playdoh implements; going OUTSIDE (very, very big with Daisy--any outdoor activity); listening to music and singing; going down the slide (she claims she likes swings but almost never wants to be confined in one anymore); kissing friends (but not hugging, for some reason); "building a tunnel" with paper bricks; climbing on benches and chairs; and dancing! Daisy's dance is beautiful. I should try to record it. It involves throwing her hands in the air and doing a series of squats, mostly. Her favorite song of all time is "Oh, Susanna," though she has many others.
Well, that's Daisy calling from the crib. Bye.
PS
Oh--I also need to record that Daisy is trying very hard to JUMP and makes jumping moves constantly, and actually got a little bit off the ground the other day!
I wish I could describe fully what these narrations are like. First of all, whenever we come home from an outing, Daisy marches straight to her room, sits down on the floor, and starts pulling books off the shelf. Then she sits, completely self-sufficient for long periods of time, and "reads" her books out loud. Her readings are hilarious. She babbles on and on, mixing together real parts of the books (her memory is almost unbelievably good) with references to things she did today, allusions to favorite songs, and other preoccupations. So she'll be reading a Babar book and you will hear mentions of Henry and Dena, like they are characters in the book. Or she'll emphasize a new favorite phrase of some kind, like, "The elephants are walking around the block!" She used that one a lot for awhile because it was something she was doing a lot with Mark.
She sometimes becomes so excited by her books that she hugs and kisses them, and (more bizarrely) bites them. I am trying to discourage the biting.
She also finds occasion to weave her books into real life. The funniest one recently happened while she was playing with a little boy named Silas at a baby shower we attended. He was playing with Daisy's ball and Daisy, wanting it back, said, "Stop, thief!" a few times (she learned this expression from Peter Rabbit). Daisy feels very intensely about her books and has them more committed to memory than I would have thought possible. There are a few books, the simpler ones, that she can "read" almost exactly from beginning to end (her "Grandma's Coming to See You" book, for instance).
This raises the question of when she will be ready to learn to read; my mother taught me early, when I was between 2 and a half and 3 and a half, so I know it's possible that she could learn fairly soon. But I am not so confident about it for a few reasons. Mainly, it's that she seems so easily frustrated and to lose her patience with a task she can't immediately master. I'm really hoping this is just a phase and not indicative of how she'll be later, because it will certainly make a lot of things in life hard. Usually it comes up when I am trying to help her with a fine motor-skills task; she tries it, but if she hasn't succeeded within a few seconds, she either moves on (fine) or screams loudly and tries to bite something (not so fine). Well, there is no doubt that I would not try to push reading on her before she's ready. The only reason it comes to mind is that she does love books so intensely and I had learned early myself.
Lately, too, Daisy sometimes lets me know that she'd rather read a book by herself than hear my reading of it. In the last couple days it happened twice. I was reading a book to her, and midway through, she announced, "Daisy's book, Daisy reads it" and took the book away to read by herself. I am sure her versions are more exciting than mine.
Other favorite activities: playing with Play-Doh ("make a green Lowly!")-- we usually make a flat surface and then she makes designs on it with her various Playdoh implements; going OUTSIDE (very, very big with Daisy--any outdoor activity); listening to music and singing; going down the slide (she claims she likes swings but almost never wants to be confined in one anymore); kissing friends (but not hugging, for some reason); "building a tunnel" with paper bricks; climbing on benches and chairs; and dancing! Daisy's dance is beautiful. I should try to record it. It involves throwing her hands in the air and doing a series of squats, mostly. Her favorite song of all time is "Oh, Susanna," though she has many others.
Well, that's Daisy calling from the crib. Bye.
PS
Oh--I also need to record that Daisy is trying very hard to JUMP and makes jumping moves constantly, and actually got a little bit off the ground the other day!
posted by Sarah Goss at 12:04 PM
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