By Mary Hill
Tiny toes and fingers, with tiny hands and feet, sweet innocent eyes, and that beautiful button nose were what composed by my little Katie Rose. Her love of discovery knew no bounds when she was a toddler, and she was my little angel. My job as her first teacher: direct her. A little sponge, she soaked up knowledge from day one. Learning to nurse was no easy task, then learning to crawl and walk seemed to take forever.
One day, though, she was up toddling then running around. She could barely hold a book at two, but by three she was a picture book expert, reading the pictures. She crawled all over her room picking up every little thing she could get her hands on and shaking them, giggling. Next she was standing and grabbing and playing with toys, experimenting, and asking questions.
The years flew by just like they will for you, parent of a toddler. Enjoy these years because your little one has lots to learn.
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| Learning to manipulate books at age 1 |
Her hands were so slippery. She dropped the book so many times, but I wanted her to start the discovery process. I gave her books all throughout the day. I left them on the carpet where she played. I mixed them in with her toys. She had her own toddler-sized book case to grab the book of her choice anytime she wanted one. I chose baby board books in her early toddler years were, and then, by the time three-years-old, she read picture books. She even went to the book stores and library with me and selected her own books.
Now, parents have so many more choices because of e-readers and tablets. There are even special tablets designed for toddlers that you can load with books. I think if Katie Rose was a toddler today, though, I would still have the traditional books every where for her to discover and enjoy.
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| The joy of discovery of simple things like water from a hose, at age 2. She loved water play. We had a wide assortment of outdoor toys from rubber boats to shovels and gardening kits designed just for the toddler. She had a small bug kit at age three. She would scour the yard and look for tiny insects to examine with her magnifying glass. |
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| Using the familiar to make the medicine treatment easier
At age 3, her toys were also instructors. Her Big Bird encouraged her when she had to take breathing treatments when she has RSV. She had a whole crate of dinosaurs with accompany books featuring facts and pictures. She had blocks with letters and numbers and flashcards. I limited her television and encouraged her to play just like the experts advise. I had to give a little though. When she discovered that Rainbow Fish video at the library and wanted to watch it after reading the book; so, the hour was just not enough. She watched and watched that video for hours. She sung the songs and danced. At three, she could recite the whole video. We checked it out so much our librarian gently suggested we buy the video at a video store. I never found a copy, however. |
(This is an excerpt and rough draft from my writing today for the November Writing Nonfiction challenge. I hope you are enjoying it so far. It also s my fifth personal but the 109th installment of Just Write, an exercise in free writing your ordinary and extraordinary moments. {Please see the details here.} )
Also joining these hops today:
This touched my heart. It brought some great memories about story time and reading aloud to my first graders while I was a teacher. 🙂
What a lovely piece Mary. It brought back many wonderful memories of when my two kids were little. Great going on taking the NaNoWriMo challenge.
Such a wonderful post!
My Daughter loved books as a small child, and still does! =)
Thanks so much for sharing. How old is your daughter now? My kids are four and two and their books are still the real paperback books. Even though I will read books on tablets and such as a lover of literature I prefer the actual book. Following now with GFC. Thanks for stopping by Time with A & N
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Hi, she is 11 now. 🙂 http://mary-anderingcreatively.blogspot.com/2013/10/10-things-of-thankful-about-my-daughter.html
As each of us has children we too are on a learning curve and this delightful excerpt from your own experiences took me back many years when I too was a parent to three children learning and growing up. Looking back over fifty years they were among the precious days of our lives. Life sadly is too short.
Amen. Thanks. 🙂
Your daughter was indeed blessed to have such positive start in life. Children who are introduced to books early, usually love them forever after! The photo of her holding the water hose was just too cute… little angel indeed! 🙂 Thank you for joining us for theme-based writing at Two Shoes Tuesday this week!
Thanks Josie. I try to make sure I join every week. It is tough sometimes to make sure I fit in. 🙂
You are off to a really nice and strong start. I cannot wait to see the final piece. I am sure it will be amazing.
Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I really appreciate it.