Saturday, December 28, 2013

3 yrs 3 mo (Great News!)

CET 3 years and 3 months!
Saying cheese just doesn't make them smile!

Since we didn't want them up till midnight we had to wake them up early from their naps. It was quite the challenge because they DID NOT want to get up. Sorry boys that's what happens when it takes you 2 hours to fall asleep at naptime!
We tried everything to wake them up.
Sitting them upright was one of the things that did not work, ha!
The boys made "kee-coos" the other day!
Caleb
Thomas
Trust me they tasted better than they looked, haha!
Eli
Caleb got into my eyeliner.
So I guess he's going through a goth phase because he now goes by Drakkar Noir.
We went for a walk and we just couldn't resist!
The boys were less than thrilled
A Great Update (among others)!

So the other day, Eli, out of the blue started singing the abc song, it was a complete shock to me because I did not teach him that! A few times I tried singing the tune to the Spanish alphabet and since it didn't quite fit I gave up and never sang it again. Not sure why but I was hoping they wouldn't learn their letters in English, maybe so it wouldn't get so confusing. Well, thanks to toddler radio and the cartoon Super Why they've learned the English alphabet as well (although both alphabets are very similar).

The boys are really smart and have learned everything I've ever tried to teach them. They have their ABC's down pat  (although they like to confuse K with X), they also know the sounds each letter makes. I've started to introduce sounding out simple words, which they act like they are understanding me but when I test them they aren't quite getting it yet. Like with everything else it will take lots of repetition before it's starts clicking, I'm feeling pretty good about meeting my goal of teaching the boys how to read before they start kindergarten (less than two years away!).

The boys language skills continue to progress very rapidly and have graduated on to 4-5 word sentences.  For example, they've said things like "do not eat mami," "me no like that one," and "big one eat chiquito (little) one." Funny, just when I think their Spanish has caught up with their English, their English takes off even more. But that seems to be the pattern so far, at least they aren't completely resisting Spanish as some parents tell me.

So I  looked over language milestones for 3 to 4 year olds (at least according to webmd, it varies so much depending on where you look). It says that during the age of three to four kids will learn to:

-say his name and age (check!)
-speak 250-500 words (check! pretty sure they exceed 500 when you include both languages)
-answer simple questions (check!)
-speak sentences of 5 to 6 words (almost there! we are doing 4-5) and speak in complete sentences by age 4 (feeling confident it will happen!)
-speak clearly (almost there! most of what they say is clear)
-tell stories (they sort of do now but maybe they mean in complete sentences? If so I'm feeling confident it will happen by 4)

According to these milestone markers the boys are not behind on language anymore!!! I really feel like they have caught up, but we certainly aren't quitting our speech class anytime soon. It's still important we keep supporting their language development should they start to fall behind again.

I'm beginning to lean towards starting them early for kindergarten. At least in Oregon you have to be 5 years old by Sept 1st to start kindergarten but if your birthday is before Oct 1st you can contest it and start them early. I know this is sounding like a bad idea right off the bat but after doing a little research on kindergarten readiness I don't think it it's a terrible idea anymore. For a long time I've believed that academic success is determined by how much time parents invest in their children more so than how good of a school they go to. And actually the statistics back this up nicely. My boys already know more than I did when I started kindergarten and even I was reading by the time I finished kindergarten (and I should add that I did not go to preschool but my boys will). I will certainly consult with their teachers when the time comes to make an official decision. The only valid concern is that they were preemies and their full term due date is actually Nov 10 but they were so healthy I have never worried much about them being preemies. I don't think their language development will be an issue especially since they will hopefully be going to Spanish immersion where 50% or more of the kids will not speak a lick of Spanish. Nothing is set in stone but that's the plan for now, we'll do a year of preschool next year and then start them in kindergarten the year after. So that seals the deal, they will more than likely be the shortest kids in their grade, hehehe!

 Here's a cute video of the boys (mostly Eli) singing their abc's...

1 comment:

nan cee said...

Love the pictures! Before you know it the boys will be giving talks in the Ministry School!
Love to you all,
A. Nancy