Another Question..... About My 20Month Old's Knowledge!

Hi again
I taught my little one by drawing and coloring with her. Also every time we passed anything with colors or shapes I would ask what it was if she didn't answer or answered wrong I would give her the right answer nicely. Then encourage her to say it, yes she would laugh at me too or even get really shy but eventually she did it. Draw the shapes in certain colors and whether he answers you or not go over them again and again the next thing you know he will SHOUT out the word when you least expect it -you will fall over with excitement knowing that he can say and recognize it
Happy Learning
A.
www.romance2nite.com

HI J.-
It sounds like you are doing everything you should do to keep him learning and stimulated. I believe that you can only do so much and you have to leave the rest up to your child. Every child learns at different rates. You could do flashcards with him all day and he might pick up on them or he might get bored right away. Every child develops at a different rate. Some kids are very intelligent but they take a long time to speak. Other kids start talking right away, but they might have academic problems later on. There is no way of telling whether your child is "smart" this early on. It sounds like your son is still on track. He doesn't sounds like he is behind. We recently put my son in Speech Therapy. I feel he is very smart and understands everything we say, but he is having trouble saying the correct words back. He also doesn't know all his colors and numbers and he is two and 4 months. He has tantrums when he can't say what he wants, but he is trying. Are you sure your son doesn't know what to say, or he just can developmentally say it yet? There are other things to consider. I wouldn't worry that your son isn't smart. I really don't think he is behind. He still isnt 2 yet! Best of luck and I would talk to your pediatrician he/she will make you feel a lot better. Take care.

For the shapes and colors, I show him the shape, or color, and repeat it several times, and we do this often, and repetitively. Finally I started to ask him to POINT to which one is the 'square', or show mommy the BLUE color. And he does. We bought this Mickey Mouse Toddler game for the computer and it also teaches colors and shapes, and my son just loves it! He's going on three now and he knows how to work the mouse and how to click on the icons, and which icons to click on. AMAZING I tell ya. LOL So you can start with asking your little one to POINT to the color that you say, or shape that you say. :-) And if he doesn't, don't get discourage, just keep working with him like you are doing, and he'll come around. :-)

It sounds like your son is perfectly normal. I taught my son mostly by reading to him. We had books about colors and shapes and counting and such that we read over and over (often the same book many times a day). As we would read I would ask questions about the pictures, like "What color is this bear's shirt?" Then pause for a few seconds. If he doen't answer, then answer it yourself: "His shirt is yellow." Eventually, my son started answering the questions himself. You can also talk about this stuff when you are going about your normal day. Ask him questions like what color is the car parked next to you or what shape does this button make. Follow the same routine and answer it yourself if he doesn't answer you after a couple of seconds. You just have to repeat stuff alot and they will eventually figure it out.

he is normal chill out !!!

I truly believe the best thing you can do for any child is read to them as much as possible. As you read, point out the shapes and colors. He will get them in time. Of course, you can get books that focus on these subjects as well, but I believe that simply reading any book to children is the best way to help them learn. Good luck! J.

You are so passionate about wanting to help your child and that is awesome! I know that I wrote to you earlier about my son and I really didn't expand on where he is academically now!

My son will be four in September. We have struggled to understand what he is saying since about your son's age. We finally got him accepted in the public schools speech program. I really don't think this is the route we really needed to take. I have always stayed home with my children and we run two businesses out of our home. I always felt like I was too busy to do fun activities with my children, but in all actuality I am sure I had a spare hour or two each day that I could have devoted to them.

I feel that my inability to actually sit down with my son and 'teach' him drastically affected his speech. I have a few suggestions for you and this comes from my recent experiences with my son, who is talking our ears off these days. Just by me starting my own preschool and childcare, he is learning by leaps and bounds!

Engage your child in a daily routine consisting of learning activities. Set aside one or two hours a day that you devote solely to your son. You can tell him that it is time for 'school' and sit down with him and engage him in different sensory activities. Here are some of our favorites:

-Play with shaving cream on the table-talk about how it feels, tell him what color it is, and have him smell it.

-Have 'circle time' where you sing songs(you can even make them up) and do finger plays. Google finger plays or children's songs and you will get a wealth of information.

-You can also choose a theme each week and do different activities pertaining to that theme. For example: Bubble Week-blow bubbles, make bubbles in a wading pool, cut out circles, trace circles, talk about the letter 'B' talk about the color blue, etc. Have everything tie into each other for the whole week straight and you will simply be amazed at what he will learn. Don't ask too many questions, this will only frustrate him and cause him to be even more timid about his speech.

-Make lacing cards or purchase some at the learning store. This is good for hand/eye coordination, but also they come in different shapes and colors and he can match the laces to the colors of the cards.

-Play memory. Purchase the actual game or make your own cards on the computer. Each time he flips over a card say the name of the object and talk about what it is. If it is a dog, say, "Dogs bark!" You can then start barking,etc. Try to flip the card over after a few more turns and repeat it again. Children learn through repetition.

-Purchase posters that have different shapes, colors, the alphabet, numbers etc. Laminate them for durability. Use a pointer and point to each object on the posters. We sing songs about the days of the week, the months of the year, etc. Make a game out of it! The youngest child in my childcare is 14 months and she even points and sings about the days of the week!

I recently purchased a Toddler Theme Calendar book from the learning store that has every week for an entire year planned out. It is specifically geared for ages 18 months to 3 years. I highly encourage you to take a trip to the store and see if you can find something like this. It will help you see that learning does not have to be all flashcards and memorization. Your son will learn by having fun with you and knowing that you have taken the time to sit down with him on a daily basis! Sorry this is so long, I hope this helps:)

Hi J., my name is S. and I run an in-home daycare that teaches pre-toddlers, toddlers, and preschool children colors, shapes, days of the week, months of the year, alphabet, 5 senses, good manners, and nursery rhymes, etc. I go the the teaching stuff store and buy posters of the things I would like to teach the children. I have a room that all the poseters and learning supplies are hanging on the walls. I have been teaching my youngest son since he was 18 months old the ciriculum of the daycare, and he has retained and comprehended all of the information. The way I do it, is I make a game of it, I have all the kids take turns in holding the pointer(handle with a hand pointing a finger) and have them say the colors/shapes etc with me and then I take the pointer and review what we just learned and ask what is this. We also sing songs to learn and retain the information. I hope this helps you with teaching your 20 month old.

S.